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- From: Frank.Mallory@f417.n109.z1.fidonet.org (Frank Mallory)
- Sender: Uucp@blkcat.UUCP
- Path: sparky!uunet!blkcat!Uucp
- Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
- Subject: Clutch replacement
- Message-ID: <711939646.F00001@blkcat.UUCP>
- Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 04:01:08 -0500
- Lines: 43
-
- GH> >NEVER... never tighten your transmission bolts to the bellhousing
- GH> >until you get the splines aligned and the shaft _FULLLY_ inserted
- GH> >into the clutch. If you do just reaf them down, you will at best
- GH> >strip them, at worst break the bellhousing.
- GH>
- GH>
- GH> Good point.
- GH>
- GH> That reminds me of a trick I like to use lining up the input shaft
- GH> splines.
- GH> Get a couple long, high-quality bolts the same diameter as the
- GH> ones that bolt the transmission to the bell-housing, but several inches
- GH> long.
- GH> Cut the heads off the bolts and screw them into the top two holes in
- GH> the
- GH> bell-housing. The bolts need to be long enough to support the
- GH> transmission
- GH> before the splines have matched up. This prevents busting any veins in
- GH> your forehead or dropping the transmission on your face. Once you get
- GH> the splines in, put in a couple other bolts and replace the homemade
- GH> studs
- GH> and voila! (I suppose you could use some all-thread or something
- GH> similar,
- GH> it's _your_ head ;-)
-
- Many of these inovative suggestions are, unfortunately, not applicable to the
- Mercedes. This is because the M-B transmission is fastened to the bell housing
- by hex-head bolts that fasten from INSIDE the bell housing. You can of course
- use the transmission front shaft as an alignment tool (altho it is not
- particualarly convenient to do so, and plastic alignment tools and used
- transmission shafts are so available and cheap that it is hardly worth the
- effort). Once the driven plate is aligned and torqued down, you might as well
- tighten the tranny to the bell housing and slip the whole assembly into
- position; you might have to put the tranny in gear and turn the output flange in
- order to get the splines lined up right.
-
- Having done a few of these the hard way, I will also opine that using jack
- stands or ramps to elevate the car while you crawl underneath is to be avoided
- if possible. Try to find a grease pit (ideally) or a hydraulic lift where you
- can do the work without lieing on your back.
-
-
-
-