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I've taken my 95 to the shop recently to have work done on the car which also was to include tightening the C-Beam on the transmission due to shifter moving up/down & I can feel the tranny bounce if I take off with any type of aggression from a stop. There is also lots of play in the clutch when I'm coming out of first or reverse until I'm completely off the clutch. My last mechanic in another state replaced the clutch a few years ago & the trans came loose over time. He tightened the c-beam bolts, but my current guy hasn't a clue. Can anybody point me in the right direction with what specifically he needs to tighten up. He's a great mechanic with engines but appears lost when it comes to trannys. Thanks,
The c beam bolts should not come loose over time. The nuts definitely need to be replaced and possibly the bolts if they were over tightened. There are four bolts in question, to at the front and two at the rear. They need to be torqued to spec. If he can't look this up and handle it, you should probably look elsewhere.
Yeah, just to add to Dave's reply, once you look at the C-beam it's really obvious what needs to be done. Two bolts attach it to the transmission tailshaft and two more attach it to the differential snout. All have nuts on top of the C-beam. Most likely it's the ones at the tailshaft that need to be tightened, but of course he should check them all. He needs to get a wrench on top to hold the nut while he tightens the bolt from below.
I've circled the two bolts at both ends in the pic below. When you look at the car from the bottom, you'll see the bolt heads at each end of the C-beam. It would literally be impossible to miss them or mis-identify them. They're the only bolts on the C-beam.
It's important that the 'bores' be round and not worn to be elongated. The nuts are preferred I believe to be 'prevailing torque'. After repeated tightening that you mention I'd say it's time and actually they should have been replaced already maybe. Someone will stop by and likely suggest 'beam-plates'. Might be a good idea.
Here's a picture of a beam plate installed on my 95 ZF6. There is a plate on the top and bottom, front and back (4 total). Top ones are threaded. These are available from Bill at ZFdoc. Let me know if you need contact details.
Beam plates are good; although they are easily fabricated if anyone cares to do so and save a few dollars
The real problem is two fold
one, continued tightening , and probable over tightening of the c beam mounting bolts, will fracture the webbing on the mounting brackets on the transmission tail shaft housing and the differential housing.
two, the mounting holes in the c beam become elongated with the constant flex of the soft aluminum C beam against the hard steel of the mounting bolts.
the first thing to do is pull the c beam....it ain't all that hard, all the rumors to the contrary, and inspect for damage and go from there. Also a good time to pull the drive shaft and replace the u joints, but I digress.
It should be remembered that the factory also used an adhesive when mounting the c beam...there are all kinda theories as to why, but it's my belief that it was to stabilize the c beam on it's mounting points and prevent damage to the c beam mounting holes. Personally, I use "Liquid Nails", contractor grade
95 ZF6 Question
