Evil.Dingo

OK so last night we broke into it, got the transmission off. It is now supported by the lift with enough room for us to get at the cluthc assembly.

Question: There seems to a fair amount of oil / grease slung around but not caked on the inside of the bell housing. The truck has never dripped or leaked. Is this normal to have the inside of the bell housing splattered with greasey oil. We are going to take the clutch assembly off this afternoon and I am expecting to see a bad RMS. I have a new RMS form toyota but I just wanted to get some opinions on the splatter. Thanks. Oh yeah one more thing, I guess I should bench bleed the new master cylinder before install? and will a auto bleeder work to pull the air out of the clutch lines? What is the best way to bleed the clutch? Thanks

trbizwiz

There is a bleeder right on the bell housing on the passenger side near the slave cylinder you took off to get the tranny out. Once you have everything back together fill up the MC and loosen the bleeder on the bell housing, and pump the clutch until you have clean airless dot3 running through your clear 1/4 inch bleeder hose.
Your rear main seal might be leaking causing the mess on your bell housing, They run about $30 at the parts store for felpro. It might just be the plat that holds the seal too, in which case some Rtv should fix that.
I am in the middle of a clutch change too, and I am going to replace my seal even though it doesn't need it. I also noticed that the main seal plate is leaking at the joint between it and the oil pan, so I'll pull that and clean it and put on some new Rtv. I have a picture of the leaking main seal plate on my thread check the link in my signature there should be a picture at the end of the last page. i just put it on there yesterday. It shows the leaking seal plate.

22mr2

Yeah, there usually is alot of greasy stuff in the bell housing. It could be from the rear main seal, the transmission imput seal, seal retainer gasket or a combination of all 3. If I do a clutch and the seal is wet, I always replace it. Sometimes the seal will wear a big groove in the back of the crank, which a new seal wont work too well and a speedy sleeve will fix. Shouldnt need to bench bleed, just hook up your bleeder and pull it through the slave.

Evil.Dingo

Thanks guys, I appreciate the input. Good to know I don't have to bench bleed. TRBZW, nice build.

Adam F

Just thought I'd point out that the bleeder is not actually on the bellhousing, rather its a part of the slave cylinder itself.

And if you never took the hydraulic line off the slave cylinder, you do not need to bleed the clutch, it will work as it did before. But if you removed the line, then you will need to bleed it. It may be a good idea to go ahead and flush the hydraulic fluid if it has never been done, chances are its dirty and past its service life.

trbizwiz

Thanks. Is that where yours was leaking too? I have heard that sometimes it's the seal on the tranny too.

Evil.Dingo

Got it all done. It was the transmission output shaft seal that was bad. It leaked and glazed the clutch. Replaced everything while we were in there. Drives like new!

New: Master, Slave, RMS, TOS, Flywheel, 1200 ftpd Marlin clutch kit, Fuel filter.

dboatrig

I'm trying to separate the tranny from the engine, but it's not moving. How much force should I apply when removing the tranny? I have the 12 bell housing bolts out (12 of them according to service manual). I've never pulled a tranny on any vehicle before, so not sure what to expect. I have a cheap tranny jack from Harbor Freight. I'm following the service manual, but it just says "remove tranny" at this point, not much help. What's the trick? (this is a 1990 2-wheel drive 3.0 liter v6 pickup).

jreb10

I just did this in my 1992 4WD v6. You should be able to wiggle the back end of the tranny on the jack, and this should open up a little gap if everything is aligned properly. It did not take much wiggling for me to get the gap.

Do you have a gap, but can't withdraw the tranny completely? This happened to me. I could get about 3/4 inch gap but could not pull the tranny back any farther, no matter what I did. By peering in through the driver side front wheel well (with tire removed) I determined that the top of the bell housing was getting hung up behind the bottom seam of the crossover pipe heat shield. It is a wide seam, like a "v".

After walking away from it for a while to avoid doing something rash, I figured out I could get a very long prybar on the seam from the driver's side wheel well, and sort of bend it up. I did the same for the other side, as best as I could reach it from under the truck. Then the tranny moved back and out. Needless to say, after the tranny was out I went to work on that seam and it won't be a problem in the future.

bigt

i had to use a crow bar too!

Evil.Dingo

Did you get the starter bolts? the top one is a stud that you can not see that is threaded into the Bell housing. Other than that, the pry bar is how we seperated mine.

trbizwiz

Quick thread jack for me. I have mine back in all but the last inch. I assume that if i turn it a little and raise it, it will slide right in. I have yet to get the right combination, but I haven't tried except when i am exhausted. i am going to try again tonight but if anyone has any suggestions, they are appreciated. For me it is a one man job, I don't have any friends crazy enough to help with this stuff.

abecedarian

dumb question, but you used a pilot tool to center the clutch disc?
if so, I would recommend a friend to help position things, turning the crank a bit so splines line up, etc. if you pull the spark plugs you might be able to move the flywheel by yourself. but it is a lot easier with some help.

trbizwiz

I did use the alignment tool while I tightened the pressure plate, and it seems to have seated fine, i assume the pressure plate seating holds the clutch in place??
All my friends are more of the take your car to the shop type of guys. they totally don't get the DIY thing. They all tell me get a hobby and quit the projects. I tell them the projects are my hobby. I have built a house, an in ground swimming pool (never, I repeat never do this again), and the back end of a harley v rod by myself, surely I can get this silly tranny in by myself. I am just feeling a little discouraged right now.
Thanks for the tip, i will try pulling the plugs that makes sense lining up the splines. I wonder if I put the shifter in the tranny and put it in gear, if I could just turn the rear drive shaft output. that would be easier than turning the flywheel. I can probably even do it with my foot.

trbizwiz

Got it done last night works great. The Marlin clutch is the way to go.

Evil.Dingo

congrats! I luv mine too!