Transmission removal and engine mount questions...

1991 Integra, manual tranny.

Question 1:
How high does the car need to be off the ground before you can drop the
tranny and roll it out from under the car?

Question 2:
If I have access to an engine crane, and the tranny is already out, can I
remove the rear engine mount without dropping the crossmember? If I hoist
the engine instead, does the exhaust need to be disconnected from the
manifold first?

Question 3:
When you remove the driveshafts to remove the transmssion, do you need to
also remove the shafts from the wheel hubs, or can you leave them connected
at that end?

Question 4:
Can a 5" bench vise be used to press control arm bushings out of and into
the front lower control arms?

Thanks.

 

believe so. it's been the case on my 89, 91 & 2000 civics at any rate.

can leave connected - just pop the lower contol arm pivot & you can
swing the shafts far enough to clear the transmission. like they show
in the manual, put plastic bags over them to keep the crud off.

 

1991 Integra, manual tranny.

On the 87 prelude I did, about almost 2 feet.
We had it very high. I know it sounds like way
more than you need, but we found the easiest way
to get the trannie out was by getting underneath
it, and having someone manouver it from the
top.

Once the trannie dislodged from the engine, it could be lowered onto my
chest. (I was on a creeper and the trannie was a manageable
weight). Installation the same as reverse, made
it easier, since I was under it, to get it back
where it belonged. It was like benching some
weights. Had help from the top from my buddy.

I've heard of people using jacks for this, could
work, but the way I did it worked to, got the
trannie linked up in about 20 minutes or so of
monkeying around with trannie position and
engine position until we got it just right.

Good question. From what I understand, its
almost impossible to get at that rear mount, I
guess removing the cross member might help. I
haven't seen your integra setup before though...
And we didn't try to get at the rear mount on the
prelude.

We lifted the motor about 6 or so inches without
disconnecting the exhaust, and didn't have any
problems. I guess you could try that, just keep
your eye on the exhaust, make sure its not
hitting anything as you lift the motor.

PS. you will need that engine crane to get the
trannie back in, helps if you can move the engine.

We did remove the shafts from the hub on the
prelude. I don't think you can get around that
one. Do you have stubborn axle nuts? or what
is the reason you want to leave them in the
hubs?

The reason it was good we pulled the axles from
the hubs was that we were able to pull the axles
quite a bit away from the trannie, thus
facilitating easier movement, i.e.no interference
from the axles when manouvering the trannie
around. We did not remove the axles outright,
there is a part of the control arm that prevents
that without either disassembling the trannie
end of the axle. I experienced this when the ball
joint popped on the 'lude, and the inner boot
got destroyed, along with the rest of the inner
CV joint. Found all the rollers and parts though
and it went back together like butter. the axle is still not clicking
either!

My only thought on that is I wonder if 5" is
enough. I'm sure once you have it on the
bench though, you should be able to figure
something out. I'm afraid I'm not much help
on this one...

No prob. Hope my limited experience is helpful.
This old prelude has been a godsend in the way
of educating me. Working on the prelude is
almost (but not quite) the same as my 98 civic.
At least the experience has made me somewhat
braver to try things....

t

 

Thanks.

 

Why's that?

In case the shaft splines are stubborn. I don't know a method of forcing
them out of the hub. We have lots of rust up here.

That's my situation now. I want to change my clutch later in the summer.
I'm tired of waiting for it to fail. 245K miles so far.

I've done timing belts and the clutch on RWD cars, but never on FWD, so I'm
starting the planning now to make sure I've covered all possible angles.
The car in question is my daily driver, so I MUST make sure I can finish
the job.

Thanks.

 

PS. you will need that engine crane to get the

Well, if you use my method of removing the trannie,
(getting underneath it) then whatever you are
supporting the oil pan with on the engine will
most undoubtedly be in the way. It is far easier
to use the engine crane to keep the engine high
enough. Also, when you decide to put the trannie
back in, it helps to be able to adjust the
position of the engine, in case you can't quite
get the trannie where you want it.

Well I'm in Winnipeg, salt-central... we didn't
have any major problems with the splines rusting.
But I guess it pays to be prepared. I saw Jim's
post saying you don't have to remove the axles from
the hub, that is good to know, but I stand beside
my statement, without the ends of the axles there
to get in the way, I think it makes it easier to
move the trannie into a position to mount it
properly. It might be a room issue too, the
prelude is MUCH tighter room-wise than my civic
is, if you need the room, it may be necessary
to pull the axles.

It took us about 7 hours (over 2 days) to do the clutch (first
time is always the longest). Problem was, we
were idiots and forgot to replace the release
bearing. And guess what was squealing about 2
weeks after we put it all back together. That
was pretty aggravating, since the bearing came
with the clutch kit we bought. The second time
we dropped the trannie, it took us about 3 hours
from disassembly to completion.

Also good to check the pilot bearing (if there is
one, the 'lude didn't have one), usually they are
not included in the kit. The flywheel is attached
with 16 tooth bolts, so make sure you have a set
of sockets that will remove them, they are tight!

 

That's what I've done for RWD cars.

I was also thinking that if I use a jack to raise the tranny, I'll save
myself some of the trouble trying to squirm around just-so, so the input
shaft will slip into the clutch. It's hard to get the exact angle when the
box is sitting on your chest.

Also, with a FWD car, the top of the tranny is exposed, so a helper can
move things around from up top, which you can't do with a transmission
tunnel above the box.

There's a tiny bit of rust on mine. How did you get you shafts out of the
hubs? What kind of puller? Or did you just back off the nut and hammer
away?

Then I'd better be prepared.

Sounds like my Macpherson strut experiences. My first time it took an hour
to get the strut out. The second thime it was 20 minutes. The third time it
was 5 minutes. Experience really counts.

Oooh. A real gotcha there. My factory manual shows hex bolts. I hope that
drawing is accurate...


Thanks, all.

 

PS. you will need that engine crane to get the

For sure, the help from the top was imperative
to making sure we got the trannie lined up in
as short a time as we did.

I have never had an issue getting the axle
out of the hub. I guess just make sure you
have a big rubber mallet handy. They are not
really pressed on that hard in my experience,
the splined hub is not a pressure fit.

For sure, man my blood almost starts to boil
thinking about that stupid release bearing.
lol how could I have been so stupid! it was
sitting in the box... grrrr... lol

Also, good to have a small impact gun, to get
these bolt off. They are REALLY tight on the
flywheel, and it spins, making it pretty
difficult. Imagine my surprise when we
finally got the flywheel off, and there
was no pilot bearing to inspect or replace!
I love getting experience. lol...