Need help with removing Tranny Nut.

[sleeper98GST]

I decided to take a chance and to learn a little bit by trying to fix my transmission myself. Being a DSM'er means being a do-it-yourself'er

I read the vfaq's about the rebuild countless times, and finally felt like I was ready to start breaking it apart. The car is a 98 GST w/manual tranny, in the vfaqs they use an AWD tranny but I do know the differences of them.

I'm currently stuck at a point were I can't get one of the nuts off, the one that holds the 5th speed intermediate gear in place.

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I was able to get the one off that has the screw driver in it in the picture. It's the other nut (in the background) that is being a major PITA!! I've tried the penny idea mentioned in the vfaq, but with no luck . I knew they said in the vfaq "Now the HARD part." but I had no idea how true that was .

Does anybody have any helpful suggestions on getting it off? I have access to an air gun at my parents' house, but I was wondering if there was anything I could do before hauling it over there... any help is greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance

 

[sleeper98GST]

Here are some pictures of my progress...

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[adiffrentcity]

Could you put a bolt in the end of the shaft and then turn two wrenches against each other? Maybe with a couple cheater bars? Other than that I say impact time! You'll still have to do something to stop the shaft from turning though.

 

[Blackmitzu]

You need a 1/2 inch impact. Thats the best way to remove those shaft nuts.

 

[sleeper98GST]

@ adiffrentcity
I don't want to risk doing any damage to these internals because this is the tranny with the good internals.

@ Blackmitzu
I also think that this will be my easiest route, but what size socket do I need for that nut?

 

[twicks69]

It is a 36mm socket that you will need. Using a 1/2" impact is your correct way of taking it off. Doing any other way is wasting your time. If you put the tranny into a gear, it will stop it from freewheeling.

Good luck pulling the 5th gears. I have actually had good luck pulling the intermediate 5th gear using a valve spring compressor with thin jaws pulling on the top recess surface of the gear. If you are prying from underneath, you can easily chip the teeth on the gear.

I just finished rebuilding mine, and after taking a couple of trannies apart to learn more about them, I became confident enough to rebuild my own.

Good luck,

 

[sleeper98GST]

Thanks twicks69 for the advice and information. Before, when I ever thought about messing with a transmission I always thought it was too complex for me. But when I started taking this one apart I realized that they're not as bad as I previously thought.
I have a friend that has a 1/2" impact gun and the 36mm socket, so I'll be going over to his house this weekend to get this job done.
Hopefully soon she'll be running and then I can go out and teach all my V8 friends how much potential a DSM truly has! I'll have plenty of Mustang's and TA's to choose from!

 

[twicks69]

If I may ask, what did you break in your transmission?

 

[twicks69]

When you are putting everything back together, I would really reccomend inspecting your bearings on the shafts and the differential along with the gears, hub and slider assemblies, keys and spring clips, synchros, etc. Also, plan on using NEW shaft end nuts (36mm), roll pins, a new wavy washer (on the 5th gear cover), and a new filter at the minimum.

If you are unsure of what part you need to replace, and want some help from pictures, check out http://www.teamrip.com/GENUINE_FACTORY_AWD_PARTS.html and they should help.

Be sure to inspect your speed sensor wheel (they are rebuildable) for damage as well.


When you are at the end of the rebuild, you will need to torque the end shaft nuts to ~92 lb/ft (I believe -- DO NOT QUOTE ME -- check the Factory Service Manual). This can be tricky, because you need to hold the input shaft so it does not move. The easiest way to do this is to fab your own bar using a dead clutch disk and welding a 2ft 1" steel bar to it (I used a steel lug nut wrench so I had a handle to hold onto), so you can have someone hold onto the input shaft while you manually torque the end shaft nuts to spec. DO NOT do something like using a vise grips and a breaker bar on the input shaft -- you will only marr up the splines. Be sure to also peen the end shaft nuts into the detents.

When breaking in the transmission, take it easy for a little. Let it warm up before getting on it alot. Also, if you are going to use the best gear oil out there, use Redline Lightweight Shockproof Gear Oil (~2.4qts needed). If you are going to have this as a daily driver, and won't be launching it...I would recommend BG Synchroshift. The Redline and the BG are both around $11-12 a quart.

If you have more questions, I will be happy to answer them the best I can!

Later,

 

[sleeper98GST]

The tranny that came from my car, I blew 5th gear and it cracked the outer casing around 5th gear.
The one that is pictured above has a broken differential, that went through the bell-housing. I'm taking two broke transmissions to make one good one. I'm expecting the worse (other stuff being broken) that way I don't have my hopes shattered.

Thanks for the help and information you have provided. Don't worry about the break in part I'm going to take it very easy for a while. I don't want to get it fixed and put on, only to have to jump back in there.

Thanks again guys for all your help! Can't wait to get my hands dirty this weekend!

 

[sleeper98GST]

Well I finally got that tranny nut off, and got into the internals of the transmission. Here's what she looked like.

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All the gears, syncros, and every other internal piece looked perfect!
The differential was the problem, as I had hoped.

I found this laying around the area of the differential. If theirs anybody out there that knows what this is, please let me know.

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Well, now my next step is pulling my tranny out of my car... I'll post more pictures of that tranny when I take it apart.
I will also post a picture of the carnage the differential did to this first tranny.

 

[racemygsx]

That is a magnet that catches all the metal that is floating around in your trans. When I rebuilt mine it had a lot of metal on it from when my diff crapped out on me. I just cleaned it off and put it back where it is supposed to go. It might take you a while to clean it off and find where it is supposed to go, but make sure you put it back it can save other parts of your trans in the future.

 

[twicks69]

The magnet goes into this spot:

 

[sleeper98GST]

Just an update on the tranny rebuild.
I finished removing my tranny out of my car this weekend and thought I would post some pictures of the damage that was done to it.

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[twicks69]

Just an update on the tranny rebuild.
I finished removing my tranny out of my car this weekend and thought I would post some pictures of the damage that was done to it.

PICS

That looks like the 5th gear cover with major damage, and a whole lot of bearing fragments that let go from the tapered roller bearing on the 5th gear main shaft. OUCH. Just remind me that this is NOT the tranny that is going back in.....You are putting in the one that we have been talking about, right???

 

[sleeper98GST]

That looks like the 5th gear cover with major damage, and a whole lot of bearing fragments that let go from the tapered roller bearing on the 5th gear main shaft. OUCH. Just remind me that this is NOT the tranny that is going back in.....You are putting in the one that we have been talking about, right???

This is the tranny that I pulled off my car, not the one we've been talking about from earlier in the post.
I pulled this one out friday and tore it down sunday. If was actually kinda funny I was taking my tranny apart while a buddy of mine was working on his engine (blown head gasket and cracked head). I had my tranny completely stripped down before he even had one of his heads off.

Anyway all I needed (which I was praying was good after seeing those bearings) was the diff. and bell housing. And I got lucky! The fifth gear case, fifth through second gear, reverse, and the tapered roller bearing are just demolished.

I started doing the rebuild last night, and I'm going to continue through this week doing that. I'm taking my time putting it back together, making sure that I've got it all put back together perfectly. I'll post some more pictures later of my progress.

 

[Nicks2319]

Good luck man.

And hey, this may sound like a dumb question, but I dont know anything about my tranny. When I pulled the cover off mine to check that 36mm nut (5th gear popout issue), the gold piece on the end just kinda fell off, is that normal, and OK to just put back in place?

 

[dhermann]

That is the syncro I am assuming and mine fell of when I opened mine up as well. Just put it back in correctly and everything should be ok.

 

[twicks69]

Good luck man.

And hey, this may sound like a dumb question, but I dont know anything about my tranny. When I pulled the cover off mine to check that 36mm nut (5th gear popout issue), the gold piece on the end just kinda fell off, is that normal, and OK to just put back in place?

I helped out another person a while back; here was the post link and jist of the quote:

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=248561

Yeah, it is just floating on there. Take a dab of moly grease or synthetic grease, and lube up the back of the synchro ring so that it will hold on the end of the 5th gear. Be sure you have it aligned properly so that it fits in its proper orientation. Then reinstall the 5th gear cover, using permatex (ultra gray or black), and reinstall the bolts. Refill, and go.

 

[racemygsx]

Wow, now that is some damage. At least you have a "new" one to put back in. Good luck with the rebuild. And I must say its a good thing you didn't have to replace the diff. I had to replace mine because it was ceased, not cheap, especially from the dealer. keep us updated with some pictures

 

[sleeper98GST]

Update time:

Well I've finished almost everything except for those two shaft nuts. So hopefully this will be last question and my car will finally done!

When you are at the end of the rebuild, you will need to torque the end shaft nuts to ~92 lb/ft (I believe -- DO NOT QUOTE ME -- check the Factory Service Manual). This can be tricky, because you need to hold the input shaft so it does not move. The easiest way to do this is to fab your own bar using a dead clutch disk and welding a 2ft 1" steel bar to it (I used a steel lug nut wrench so I had a handle to hold onto), so you can have someone hold onto the input shaft while you manually torque the end shaft nuts to spec. DO NOT do something like using a vise grips and a breaker bar on the input shaft -- you will only marr up the splines. Be sure to also peen the end shaft nuts into the detents.

Ok, my question pertains to your post twicks, but if anybody else has advice/help feel free to throw your two cents in. First I have no idea what you mean by "dead clutch disk". And second, I have really no way of fabbing this "tool" together. So should I just go to a transmission shop and have them torque these two nuts down for me?? Or is it possible (without breaking any teeth off) of me doing this myself?

 

[twicks69]

I had a used clutch disk sitting around, and I welded a lug nut wrench to it (a bar with a 90 degree bend in it). I made it so that you could hold onto the input shaft with enough torque to tighten up the shaft nuts without having to put a visegrips onto it. Essentially, I made a handle for someone to hold onto the input shaft while I tightened the shaft nuts on to torque specs.