I used enough extensions to move all the way down the tunnel. Probably 36-48" at least

^ I used a 36"x1/2" extension [with a 17mm swivel(IIRC?)] as well when I installed this clutch back in November or so. You have to kind of hold the impact(or socket wrench whichever you have chosen) high in the tunnel to reach the 11 o'clock and 1 o'clock bolts on the bell housing to get as square of a turn as possible and keep from the extension binding up on stuff. great DIY todd! definitely rep'ping this one. Wish I had: had this months ago when I was doing my own but it was thankfully pretty straight forward. One thing I do want to note for you and maybe the help of others is that if you cant get the input shaft splines to align on the clutch correctly its nice to have a second person slip the drive shaft into the output end and rotate the input shaft slightly while yourself or another person applies the forward pressure to seat the trans. I speak from experience as I was a dumb@ss and played with my input shaft and couldn't get it to seat back properly until the following day when I could get the help of my dad

this is exactly what i end up having to do! granted i had to wait till the following day to get some more extensions but it worked out perfectly. and using a impact is useless in this situation. learned that the hard way

oh and one more thing. you can actually get to the crankshaft position sensor through the top. much much easier IMO.

Steps to get the crankshaft position sensor through the top (if you arm is small enough):
1. removed the passenger intake piping where it connects to the throttle body.
2. place some type of good light at the bottom of the car so you could see where things are at and see where you're working.
3. reach down to where that "heat shield" is that is right next to the sensor and feel around for the 10mm bolt.
4. unplug the sensor, use a 1/4in ratchet with a 10mm socket attached to remove the bolt.
5. removed bolt carefully as to not let it drop into a random area, then extract the sensor through the top.

I found this method to work very well and easily. if you move parts around correctly, you actually could see the sensor and the bolt. Also it doesn't hurt to climb on top of the motor and reach down for the bolt.

man i wish i knew to do this yesterday! my buddy and I spent like 2 hrs trying to get the shaft realigned into the transmission and slide it in!

Awesome write up!! I'll be doing this install in the next week or so. Thank you!

So, for those of you that have done this.... did you experience a significant shrink-fit on the pilot bushing? I needed a steering wheel puller to get my new one in... and now my clutch alignment tool doesn't even want to slide in nicely... makes me nervous....

To get the new one in? Or the old one out? The alignment tool should not be tight or binding. If so, something is wrong. Take a pic if you can.

They say we learn something new every day.


With the few time I pulled and installed the whole engine/tranny together, I never thought about that big plate being removed between the engine/tranny to access the lower bolts, I always wondered how peoples were doing it ... lol



:tup:

To get the new bushing in... it was such a heavy press that the alignment tool would not fit in... Gonna go pick up a new one at the dealership and try again... Took a fair amount of work to get the factory one out, too. Seems fishy compared to what other people describe...

Thanks for the DIY! I finished doing a flywheel yesterday.

If using the "spin the driveshaft" method to align the splines, put the transmission in gear, the driveshaft will stop spinning once it pops into place.

My transmission took some work to pull and replace. It took quite a bit of "wiggling" to remove it. To put it back on; once I knew everything was aligned properly there was still a good half inch of space between the engine and trans. I ended up having to pull the trans in by tightening a bolt on either side. The bushing was very tight.

Also, I question whether it is necessary to remove the crank position sensor for this task. On my '13 trans, the CPS hole is split in half. I was able to put the trans back on with the sensor bolted in place.

Awesome DIY! Helped me a ton!! In the process of putting everythign back together but the hard part is done, trans is back in and bolted..reps!

And just wanted to let anyone know when putting the shifter assembly back in..There is a little squarish silver piece by the ball on the bottom and that has to be pointed to the passenger side when bolting it down.

Is dropping an AT about the same?
 

Thanks for a great DIY.

Can you comment on differences, if any, dropping an AT?

Is the heat shield you removed absolutely needed? I have a rattle somewhere under my car, and it sounds like heat shield... When ever i take one off i never put it back on

Not really. I don't have it any more :)