[captain_communism]

My throwout bearing went out, so I'm dropping my 5-speed out of my 99 GT to fix it. I'm to the point where all the bolts are out, but the transmission won't come loose from the motor. I took five bolts out of the bellhousing that attach it to the engine, is that how many there should be? Does the starter have to come out to take out the tranny? I followed all the instructions in the haynes book, but I'm trying to think of what I could have missed. Could anyone help me out?

[energiesource]

did you remove the crossmember?

[captain_communism]

yeah, I can't tell what's keeping it attached. I think I must have missed a bellhousing bolt on the very top of the motor or something. I can't see how I could possibly get a wrench up there, though.

[energiesource]

well you should remove the starter motor, and it looks like there are 5 bolts.

[captain_communism]

There are two in the top still, but I'm having a bitch of a time with them. The only way I can get to them is with some swivels and extensions on my ratchet, but I can't break them loose, the socket always just slips off. Is it easier to go from the top for those ones, or is there a trick to it?

[energiesource]

not sure, i got under my car and i said fuck this and took it to a shop, they make them harder and harder to get out now

[mystang0673]

yeah.... jack the front of the motor up.. it will angle everything down and you can reach it from the underside... or.. if you have a skinny enough arm. you can reach the passenger side from the top with a swivel ratchet wrench... but i normally can get to them by jacking the front of the motor up. also like said above. make sure all 3 starter bolts are out. you can get to the front two by going over the engine support but beside the motor mounts. and i doubt you can get the top bolt back in. but its no big deal to leave them out. you really only need 2.

[1quickstang02]

yeah there is 2 in the very top if you get a gear wrench you can get to them from the top takes awhile and its a bitch but thats how i did it

[mystang0673]

its easier if you just jack the front of the motor up until it wont go anymore. then you can see them from the bottom side... i would also use a jack to get the transmission out and back in instead of tryin to stab it and take it out by hand

[1slowsohc]

jack the front of the motor from the crank pulley then make sure you pull the wire harness loose and pulled up out the way cuz it will get caught between the bottom of the car and the bell housing and cause problems also...good luck

[SWEET2KSTANG]

i used a swivel socket and a bunch of extensions. if you do that, i recommend a 1/2in drive ratchet or a long handle 3/8.

[OcOnnor220]

Be carefull sliding that transmission shaft out and more so putting it back IN, I dont know if you've ever replaced a tranny I have'nt done it either but a friend of mine whos' an auto tech said that the biggest mistake people make when doing transmission removal and replacement is jamming that thing back in, which will just comPLETELY fuck up your entire transmission and possibly your crank shaft or whatever it is that the thing connects to internally. The manual may not tell you that when you attempt to slide it back in, it will suddenly STOP about an inch from being flush with the clutch assembly, it involves a gentile series of slight turns and slow pushing to get it to pop in there. Again Im not a tranny expert but I know that this can cause a lot of damage if done improperly.

[workinprogress]

i am a gm goodwrench service tech, i know i know, but it has the perks of me having access to a lift and all the specialty tools my heart desires. anyhow, jacking up the front of the motor is deff the way to go, and while its off at the very least check the pilot bearing and clutch fork and the pivot ball. i just replaced my clutch with a king cobra kit a few weeks ago because i BLEW up the stocker, like the friction material on the flywheel side was totally off the clutch disk and in pieces flippin every which fucking way inside the pressure plate, also if you pull the clutch off use an alignment tool to get it back in strait (you can rent it from atuozone or advaced).--moral of story--a tab on my fork where it sits on the pivot ball was broken off, i said the hell with it...bad move now i have to take my tranny back out because the fork is sitting slightly sideways and already jacked up my throwout bearing....be careful with it all...oh yeah +1 with watching out for the wiring harness/harness bracket at the top of the bellhousing. one final word of advice is a 1/4 rachet with a 13mm socket on a 6" 1/4 drive extension works well for the top starter bolt.

[dcrow]

I AGREE WITH THE 1/4 INCH RATCHET,I JUST TOOK MY STARTER OUT AND PUT IT BACK IN,IT WAS A PAIN IN THE ASS WHEN YOU HAVE A LONG TUBE HEADER IN THE WAY.
I WOULD ALSO RESURFACE THE FLYWHEEL.

[captain_communism]

Well I got the starter out and got one bellhousing bolt out, but I rounded the edges a little on the top passenger side bolt so now I can't get a bite on it anymore. I guess tomorrow I'll try JB welding a socket to the head of the bolt and seeing if I can't get it out like that.

[workinprogress]

go to a tool store and find a or a set of what are called TURBO SOCKETS they have spirals in them where the more they slip the harder they grab--lifesaver in a dealership with customer cars. sears sells a craftsman version, i think autozone even has a duralast version of them. better yet if you can get to a dealership and find a tool man, mac, matco, cornwell, or snapon. you can get it from them no doubt. mine are cornwell. you can also try hammering a 1/2" socket on to the bolt head....just curious, how many point socket were you using for this...im not going to bust your balls for it i am genuinly curious.

[captain_communism]

One of my dad's friends is going to get a set of those from his friend and let me use them. I was using a 6-point socket swivel socket at first, but after it slipped off I used a twelve-point with a swivel and some extensions.

[ujslost]

swivel socket , 34 inch 3/8ths extension and a 3/8s impact . Thats what I use at work, but thats on a lift. Can still be done on 4 jack stands and jacking front of engine up. Best thing to do if you do incounter the bellhouseing lacking .5 of an inch meeting the engine, get some one in the car to press the clutch in a little bit and wiggle the trans and push it forward, that usually does the trick.