I'm not planning on pulling my engine anytime soon, but I'll have to at some point for various reasons, and I was wondering...

How difficult is it to get to the upper bellhousing bolts? It seems nearly impossible when I think about it, but I'm sure you guys know the best way. Is there an optimal combination of tools to do it easily? Can any of them be removed from the top of the engine compartment (as opposed to being underneath the car)?

Thanks guys.

 

When we pulled my tranny out 2 weeks ago, my friend got all the bellhousing bolts from inside the engine bay.
just reached down behind the motor and undid the bolts.

 

Awesome. Anything special required or just typical ratchet/wrench combos?

 

Just used a wrench with another wrench used as leverage to break the bolts free.

 

i had just mentioned thins on another 3rdgen board i goto...

http://www.3rdgen.org/bb/showthread....threadid=21318



just undo the tops before you go under the car, then support the tranny and undo the lower ones.

 

if u do plan on goin from the underside to take the bolts out the best thing to have is a 3-4' extenstion. i did a motor swap on an 85 monty at work, i was helpin the master tech (i did a pretty big chucnk of the work) and the 3-4' extenstion is great

 

Great, thanks.

 

just a matter or the correct tools for the job and they're as easy as any other bolt on the bell. i use a 3' extension 1/2 on drive end and 3/8 on the socket end. impact wrench and a flex socket and it's no problem at all to get

 

I use 2 long *** snap-on 3/8 extensions I have with a swivel socket or a u-joint/socket and turn it with a long handle ratchet.

 

so far thats the best way I can think of to do it.

My friend has a wrench that is bent n he reaches up n cracks them from underneath but the 3/8 ext... is the way to go I think.

the hardest part is getting the socket on the bolt head but once u crack them usually u can turn them with your fingers.

 

yeah, sometimes it helps to have a buddy to locate the socket on the bolt

 

its alot easier from under the car if you just take the tranny off the belhousing first.

i usually take the motor and tranny out as a unit though.......its just easier

 

thats the hard way to do it.

 

argh, speaking of removing the tranny I need to grease my throwout bearing, my car sounds like a horde of angry crickets

 

I beg to differ

 

How do I take the tranny off of the bellhousing first? I don't have a manual tranny right now.

 

either manual or not, just drop the tranny crossmember bolts, put a jack under the tranny, lower it, get about 9-12" of extnesions, and a u-joint, and in 5-10 min your done. not all that hard.

and for those with a manual you can take the bellhousing off of the tranny, because you are going to have to do it anyway to get it back in the car.

because it is much easier to line up the input shaft, when the bellhousing is already bolted to the motor.

 

well your f*ed then
lol