Getting Manual Transmission Back In Car

[questforbalance]

After much, much work, I changed the RMS, Clutch, pressure plate, slave cylinder and am now anxious to get my Boxster reassembled, BUT how the heck do I get the transmission back in. The bolt holes are all lined up, but I cannot get the thing to go all the way back to the motor. I greased up the transmission shaft with lots of grease and then jiggled and jiggled the darn thing but the transmission still does not go the rest of the way back. It is about 1/2 or so away from engine. Any advice or suggestions?

 

Thanks

[JFP in PA]

After much, much work, I changed the RMS, Clutch, pressure plate, slave cylinder and am now anxious to get my Boxster reassembled, BUT how the heck do I get the transmission back in. The bolt holes are all lined up, but I cannot get the thing to go all the way back to the motor. I greased up the transmission shaft with lots of grease and then jiggled and jiggled the darn thing but the transmission still does not go the rest of the way back. It is about 1/2 or so away from engine. Any advice or suggestions?

 

Thanks

 

Sure, first take a moment and scan all the way around the bell housing one time to make sure nothing is caught between the trans and the engine (you would be surprised how often it is that simple).

 

Make sure that when you are trying to move the trans into position that the face of the bell housing and engine case are parallel to each other.  We often see first timers with the trans tilted at an angle which will never work.  One trick that really helps with this is to go to Lowes and get some spare bolts that are way longer than the real ones for the bell housing and cut the heads off them and hand thread them into two of the outer bell housing bolt holes.  They will act like guide pins to help hold the trans in the correct alignment while moving it home.

 

Be sure the trans is going over the guide pins on the back of the engine case (bolt holes at 9 and 1 o'clock if you are looking at the rear of the engine), these are a common "1/2 inch hold up" item.

 

Make sure the clutch fork is properly seated and the slave is engaging it correctly (another favorite).  If the slave hydraulic line is attached, open the bleeder and put a drain line on it so that you are not trying to overcome the clutch hydraulic system.  You can always re-bleed the system when it is back together.

 

If everything is clear, put the trans in gear and try rotating the axle flange back and forth while pushing the trans in ( looking for clutch spline misalignment here).

 

Quite often, we see people juggle and juggle with the trans, seemingly for hours until it suddenly lines up and bingo, it is in place.  There is only one correct alignment, and an infinite number or misalignments, so don't get frustrated or try to force it home; when everything is lined up, it will slide right in. 

[Dennis Nicholls]

I bought a pair of bolts the size of the bellhousing bolts (12 mm IIRC), cut the heads off, and cut a slot on the ends for a screwdriver.  These can be used as guides at the opposite sides of the bellhousing.

 

You need to be able to turn the tranny input shaft to mate the tranny and engine.  Unfortunately the diff is in the tranny.  If you grab one flange and turn it, the other flange will counter-rotate.  So you need to put a bolt in one flange so it fetches up against the case.

[Dennis Nicholls]

. I greased up the transmission shaft with lots of grease

 

Thanks

 

Don't overdo the grease.  Just a small amount on the splines is enough.  You don't want grease being flung onto your clutch.

[questforbalance]

Thanks for the responses. Great help. I did manage to get the transmission in. I surprised myself, took only a few hours. :-)