M6 Tranny Question

I have FINALLY got the McLeod Street Twin Clutch in to change out the clutch.

I have went out and purchased a HUGE floor jack, 1000 lb tranny jack, 4 SUV Jack Stands and EVERYTHING I need.

The car is up on the jackstands, I have drained the engine oil and tranny fluid.

I have removed the drive shaft successfully.

My question is, where do I unbolt the tranny from the engine? Do i unbolt the tranny from the bell housing and leave the bell housing on the engine, or do I remove the remove the tranny with the bell housing still attached to the tranny?

Also...will I have to remove the starter?

Also....any good hints on how to get to the bolts on top of the tranny to loosen them? Thanks.

Pull the tranny, then pull the bell housing.

Let the tailshaft of the tranny drop a bit (you might even need to jack a little on the front of the engine), to move the top tranny mounting bolts a little lower. Then from inside the car, reach through the shifter openeing in the floor, with a veryyyy long extension on the ratchet, and have someone reach up and guide the socket on the bolts so you can loosens them from inside the car.

tranny bolt locations (http://cjcfo.fbody.com/members/injuneerzz@aol.com/PhotosC/DCP02754.jpg)

i always get the 10 o'clock bellhousing bolt with the trans still attached... use something to pry with, between the shifter opening and the trans, 2x4 is excellent. this will allow enough room to get your socket on the bolt and get it out.

once that bolt is out, pull the trans, then pull the bellhousing.

ok, I've got the tranny loose from the bell housing now the tranny won't come loose.

The tranny will come loose from the bell housing about 1 inch and then won't budge. I took a flashlight and looked in between and I saw the "fork" looking thing in this picture ( http://cjcfo.fbody.com/members/injuneerzz@aol.com/PhotosC/DCP02754.jpg ) is connected around a shaft and come loose from the shaft. How do i get the fork looking thing to disconnect from around the shaft? Thanks.

Nevermind guys,

I figured it out. Word to people that are trying to do this in the future...Do NOT try to seperate the transmission from the bellhousing without removing the "Throw-out Bearing Fork" first. Once you start pulling, there is NO way of getting it loose.

The Correct way to getting it loose is to remove ALL the bolts that connect the tranny to the bellhousing. Remove the Slave Cylinder pump that plugs into the transmission completely. Look in the hole where the Slave Cylinder pump was and you will see two springy pieces of metal that are retaining this whole throw-out bearing fork on the throw-out bearing. Once you can hold these two retention springs down, you should have NO problem pulling the TOB fork out of the hole. Once you get this removed, you'll be able to slide the tranny back NO problem and remove it.

HINT: Put your car on REALLY high jackstands if you are using a tranny jack. You'll need the clearance to slide the tranny out from under the car.

Now tomorrow night is the AWESOME task of removing the bell housing, pressure place, tob, flywheel. Then clean everything with Simple Green and re-assemble the whole thing.....maybe not all of that tomorrow night. <oh by the way, I am doing this 100% on my own.>

If you decide to do it on your own, MAKE SURE you have the right tools. Be SAFE!!!

*Use SUV Sized jack stands (4, not 2)
*Full sized floor jack, transmission jack
*A HELL OF ALOT OF EXTENSIONS (both 3/8" & 1/2").
*3/8" & 1/2" angled extenders (So you can get those out of the way bolts)
*HUGE Breaker Bar (I used 1/2" breaker bar with 3/8" to 1/2" adapter)

The hardest part was trying to find all the extensions I needed to reach the bolts WAY up on top of the tranny where it connected to the bellhousing.

I used a 1/2" breaker bar with two 3" extensions, then I used a 1/2" to 3/8" adapter, then a 6" extension, then a 3" extension, then an angled 3/8" extender and then a 14mm socket. This whole apparatus I made up went all the way back past where the shifter plugs into the tranny. That way I could get good leverage in the drive shaft tunnel. I'm so happy I finally got it out. Hopefully it'll go back in easy. Thanks for all your help guys.

i hope you got that 10 o'clock bolt with the tranny up otherwise your in for a long day tomorrow...

sorry, thought you knew about the slave, and fork..