Hi I'm new to the forum i am trying to take the tranny out of my 87 Iroc I have everything disconnected (torque arm, bellhousing bolts, slave cylinder, shifter, starter) and I have backed the tranny out as far as it can go on a jack lifting the rear of the tranny up and down left and right anyway I could to get the spline out of the clutch but the shaft won't clear past the pressure plate and the bellhousing is hitting the firewall preventing the tranny from moving back anymore. My question is did I miss something I've never had so much trouble getting a transmission out? Should I remove the bolts on the pressure plate and have it come out with the tranny or is there an easier way?

 

is the exhaust undone so the engine can tip back all the way?

 

The couple times I pulled just the trans on my 92, I unbolted the trans from the bellhousing. Slides right out.

 

No the exhaust isn't off I could take it off it helps. How would that help me to tip the engine back would I have to jack up on the motor from anywhere? It is so close to coming out I probably just need a 1/2 an inch more to slide the shaft out beyond the pressure plate. I'll try taking the exhaust off if you think that will help

 

When I pulled my T5 I left the bell housing attached to the engine. I just removed the four bolts holding the trans to the bell housing and pulled it out.

Edit: what 92RS said

 

I've done mine with the bellhousing still attached to the tranny, just put a jack under a peice of wood to spread the weight under the oil pan. after the exhaust is detached you can let the engine tilt back until the distributor almost touches the firewall and it should clear.

Taking the tranny out separate from the bellhousing might be easier though.

 

Alright guys thanks I didn't even think about taking those 4 star bolts off I have always taken the bell housing bolts right off to drop a transmission on other cars. This is my first time on a third gen so I guess it's all part of the learning curve. I'll post later with an update

 

I've done it without removing the bell housing, but it is very tight clearance to get the right angle to slide it out of the pilot. I did remove the dizzy first. Sometimes the locator pins from bellhousing to block get seized and it can take a lot of force to pop them loose. That's the only one I pulled seperately. Now I always pull and install the tranny and engine together, even on autos. Much easier. When reinstalling it's much easier to get everything lined up and less likely to damage parts on the manual trannys.

 

Only way I've ever pulled a stick shift transmission, in these or any other cars, was leaving the BH in place. Took it out separately afterwards if needed.

 

Okay update. I tried taking off the four star bolts holding the transmission to the bellhousing and as I turned the wrench the transmission turned 90 degrees on my jack and actually came out on its own. It doesn't look like anything was damaged so I guess I just lucked out. I was able to get the tranny out and then remove the motor as well within an hour. Thanks for all the tips next time I do this it will be much easier