94, 6spd. I am removing my motor. I have everything disconnected I THINK..I took off the C-beam. the motor is being held up by the engine hoist. and I took off the 5 bolts from the tranny to the bell housing. Am I missing something? I am getting no movement. I have never done this before. Am I supposed to disconnect the bell housing from the motor or the bell housing from the tranny and keep the bell housing connected to the block? I have the tranny supported as well. I am stuck here

 

My memories go back years ago to manual trans.......but I believe that the clutch assembly is bolted to the flywheel. You have to unbolt the assembly from the flywheel ....then lift up engine and slide forward to disconnect the trans from the engine.

You did remove the two bolts from the engine mounts?

 

well the c-beams had the two bolts to the outer frame then the 2 bolts (each) to under the oil pan. The motor mounts to the c-beam there was one bolt. I took that off. Tranny wise I am not sure what else to unbolt and take off ?

 

I would normally leave the trans in the car, with support. I'm assuming you removed the various engine accessories, fuel line, exhaust, wiring, hoses, etc. Don't forget to remove the starter and the clutch hydraulic line. When you say "no movement", do you mean you can't lift the engine off the mounts? Or that the engine and trans will not separate? With the C-beam out, the trans will be unstable as you separate the engine from it. At this point, you could consider just taking the trans out first, you only have to remove the shift lever and the wiring connectors.

 

They are frame braces ; the C beam is the big lump of alum on rear of trans

 

Doesn't the throw out bearing on the ZF6 stop the trans being pulled straight off the bell housing?
Recall I had that problem when splitting mine apart.
IIRC Had to access clutch fork pivot from inside the bell housing after bellhousing split from block to get throw out bearing off

 

ahh, nothing is as simple as it seems.

first the good news. dropping the 6 speed trans does not require removal of the shifter assembly.

now for the rest of the news.

the 96 uses a pull type clutch. what that means is that if you unbolt the bellhousing from the back of the engine block and try to pull the engine (aka a conventional push type clutch) the clutch fork will not disengage from the pressure plate and will prevent the engine from separating from the bellhousing.

not all is lost, you can unscrew the mounting stud that holds the throwout bearing fork to the bellhousing. be forewarned. As you place the large metric allen wrench into the base of the stud, the mounting stud unscrews by screwing INTO the bellhousing.

if you can't pull the entire engine and transmission as an unit, and I have no idea if you can or can't, probably pulling and dropping the transmission first would be the easiest.

 

"Big lump of aluminum" as in something attached to the tranny or the long cover kind of thing aligned with the drive shaft? LOL sorry guys. I know ...

 

at this point, I have everything off the block ( headers, all electric, valve covers and intake plenium, fuel lines ect. ) EXCEPT starter. Then I went and took off the 5 bolts from the tranny to the bell housing. I am confused as to where to start now to get the motor out? haha stick with me guys

 

motor mounts

 

I didn't take the motor mounts off the block but I unbolted them from the motor support brackets.

 

Why? Remove a single nut from each engine mount stud that passes thru the frame and move on with life.



When removing/installing the engine there is no reason to mess with the mounts....



Drop the transmission and pull the engine out. If you're this far along, it should take a few minutes at most assuming you've removed the shift ****, pulled the center console, and unbolted the rubber shift boot from the tranny. Even if you haven't removed everything yet, it's a 15 minute operation. If you have a leveler, leave the bellhousing attached. If you don't, then remove the bellhousing and flywheel as well.

The c-beam has 4 bolts total...2 thru the beam and the differential, 2 thru the beam and transmission tailshaft housing.

 

I can't get to the upper bolts of the rear c-beam. There has to be an easier way !! My plan is as follows...

remove the c-beam bolts
somehow take the drive shaft out
then unbolt the shift area bolts ect
and see if it drops or moves

Is this the correct path of attack?

any hints on the upper bolts to the c-beam? I am scared I wont be able to put the upper nuts back on. I barley got the wrench up there

 

Is there any chance that the motor and bell housing would just seperate from the transmission if I used the engine hoist and cranked it upwards and out?

 

The c-beam uppers are a pain but they can be done. Getting the c-beam out once you've pulled the bolts is more of a hassle than the bolts.

Pulling the trans isn't a big deal. In our club we pull two or three c4 engines every year. Mine alone usually at least once a year (race car) so we've done this a few times. Take the shifter **** off and put the shifter into third gear. The lever won't clear if it's in any other gear. Removing and reinstalling the shifter lever is no fun and not necessary. Make sure you support both the trans and the motor independently before you pull the driveshaft and c-beam out. The c-beam acts as a frame member between the rear of the trans and the front of the differential. If you don't support the trans and the motor ugly things happen if you pull the c-beam.

After you have the driveshaft out disconnect the trans from the bellhousing and remove the trans. Plug the rear of the trans or you'll have fluid all over the place. Be careful as it's not like an old Muncie or other early trans. The ZF-6 has some weight to it. Remove the clutch slave then remove the bellhousing.

Then assuming everything else is disconnected pull the motor with a leveler type adapter on the engine hoist. the "Happy Hooker" from TPIS is great for this. It helps a lot as you can change the angle of the motor as you pull it out.

Be careful at the back of the engine near the firewall. There is a fitting in the upper rear of the motor / intake manifold that is very, very tight to the firewall and can snap off with minimal force.

 

I have the leveler on the hoist, I have the hoist holding up the motor right now in original place ( haven't moved motor) then I have a trans jack supporting the trans. I took off the 5 bolts from the trans to bellhousing, I have 2 of the front c-beam bolts off but not the rear. I cant even get my hands up there to feel the bolts. I have to use a wrench and blind feel for the nut. WOW insane.

Ok, so once I get the c-beam and drive shaft out, will the trans just drop and wiggle it self out?

I am sorry for this. I know I am getting tuns of good help. I guess I just have to get in there and figure things out for myself.

 

Man, your working under some extreme weight, I hope you have everything good and secure and a buddy helping you...safety first.

 

well I got the C-beam bolts off. I started sliding the c-beam around a bit. Its funny, I had the clutch replaced obviously but I can see marks where they hit the beam with a hammer and bolts that have scuff marks. So it is helping kind of to see what someone else has done.

Which way do I slide the c-beam? towards the rear of front of car?

I noticed the trans is more movable now !

 

You'll have to move the trans rearward a little bit to get it off the input shaft. Pretty easy.

As stated elsewhere in this thread, be careful. There's an awful lot of weight hanging on just a few bolts and it seems secure until you remove that last bolt....

I cheat on the c-beam bolts. We pull the trans and / or the motor pretty often so we cut access hatches in the tunnel and made covers with dzus fasteners to secure the hatches. Someone gets inside the car and pops the hatches open and the c-beam nuts are right there then we use a rachet from inside to get them out.

Of course it helps that there is no carpeting in the car to worry about.

 

So I have to take the drive shaft off before sliding the trans back a bit?