Kinda crazy. All that weight on just that alone, and it all stays in alignment.

I got the kit today, looks to be very good quality.

My father says we are lucky that we have such things as the alignment tool, back in his time(USSR) they had to cut the input shafts off old transmissions.

 

Yeah the alignment tool is quite helpful.

But just to be sure here, you should have the trans on a trans jack or a floor jack or something before you start pulling it out of the motor. Hanging all of the weight on the input shaft when it is just barely mated with the pressure plate is probably not a good idea.

 

Definitely true. As far as putting it back in. I found that after struggling to get the trans back in supported on a jack and not being able to line it up quite right I ended up bench pressing it and got it in in one try.

 

+1, when i helped friend put in his clutch on his 03, another friend and i were the jack stands holding the trans. be prepared for transmission oil to bump out the back of the driveshaft unless u have it tilted toward the front enough

 

Paul and I will be there Sunday to help.

 

Big thanks to Paul and Artie for coming out to help me do this. I couldnt have done it without them. It was more time consuming then any of us though it would be thanks to Mazda over engineering every god damn thing. But they stuck with me till we were done and I really appreciate that.

So the clutch is in and I have been driving it two days. I had to adjust the clutch pedal to bring up the engagement point a bit otherwise its right off the floor. I have toyed with it everywhere, really low, really high and the best is in the middle.

Its not as smooth as the stock clutch, if youre at low rpms and want to start moving from idle without much gas it just grabs and bogs the engine. You have to give it more gas then normal or else it just tries to stall. You can also feel it fighting to grab the flywheel, weird sensation in the stick and pedal.

The pedal is significantly heavier then stock, but you get used to it fairly quickly. You just need to pay more attention now when starting out in first and shifting to second because it grabs really hard and bucks if you arent shifting smoothly.

For the first time ever, I can chirp first on launch(not dumping the clutch). Shifting quickly through the rest of the gears shows zero slip. It just grabs and goes.

My stock clutch was definitely **** because the car felt faster and built boost better. Rev matching is also much easier because there is no momentary slippage.

A great investment and im glad I didnt cheap out.

 

So what did you guys do to bust the very top bolts (left and right) off the bell housing? I am struggling with those right now. The one on the left I suspect is going to be difficult since it is right next to the exhaust manifold. An impact wrench with 1/2" impact extensions and a 1/2" impact swivel did not budge it. I have used penetrating lubricant on all of the bolts.

All of the other bolts came right out with the impact, except the two that hold the stock downpipe bracket. Those had to be busted loose with a long cheater pipe. Again I suspect they are harder due to the heat exposure.

 

Are you using a bunch of extensions connected together? That could be your problem. There is too much play in all the connections for the gun to do any work on the bolt. Use a breaker bar on it, keep the extensions and swivel as straight as possible.

The thing that hung us up for 2 hours was the EGR bracket above the bell housing. We didn't realize it was too low and not allowing us to push the trans up high enough to line up the shaft and the clutch. Once I realized it the trans was on in literally, 3 mins.

 

I used one extension and swivel bit for the whole tranny....granted it almost 3' long.





the key to winning here would be air tools.

 

We used one 12 inch extension, and one 3 inch extension, both 1/2" drive with a swivel attachment. That was enough to get to them. Also, no air tools.

Did that really take us 2 hours?

God damn.

 

Thanks for the info. That picture of the ratchet with the extensions is great.

EDIT: Well I broke the last of the bolts loose this evening using some tools I picked up at Sears on the way home. All I have to say is 1/2" swivel head long-handle ratchet, cheater bar, and 1/2"x20" extension FTMFW!!!

All together I used the 1/2" ratchet with a 3' cheater pipe, a 20" extension, a 12" extension, the universal swivel at the socket, and the impact socket. Swivel head ratchets are great. I already have a 3/8" version that has come in handy several times.

The transmission is finally ready for extraction.

 

When the M.net garage article says you shouldn't attempt this without a universal joint, they aren't ******* around. :P

 

I personally found it more difficult to torque those top bolts than to remove them.