Well, it took 45 minutes to get the car in the garage, up on stands, and the last bolt out of the trans. My buddy and I dropped the clutch fork and started pulling and prying. We got about 1/4" of clearance all around, and now the thing is STUCK. We can wiggle it and rotate it, so it's not a bolt... but this thing will NOT move out any further. Adjusting the transmission jack doesn't seem to be helping. And we checked for obvious stuff like the torque arm or tranny tunnel getting in the way. Over an hour of messing with it and no luck. At this point we are ready to use crowbars.

Any ideas? Thanks!

 

Did you take off the starter and flywheel shield?

 

Unless you've got the clutch fork completely off and laying to the side the T-56 is a pain to remove. Its very possible that the fork (even if you lowered it) is getting hung up causing you to not be able to remove the trans. If the fork is not off and laying on the ground you'll have to use a wrench and loosen the bolt to it. I say wrench because you only have 1/4" gap. I think its a 13mm you'll have to spend some time with this. I've taken the T-56 out several times and could never get the thing to come completely off with the fork still attached to the tranny.

 

I'm leaving the bellhousing on and just pulling the transmission from the bellhousing.

I might try this. Seems like the last option right now. The clutch fork is as down as it can go, but still being a biatch. I'll give it a shot and let ya know.

 

It should only take 10-20 minutes, and thats because you can only turn so far. But once you get it to move a little you can get a 1/4" ratchet and small scoket in there. Go ahead and just go this route and you'll have your trans out.

 

After taking a look at things, I'm opting not to go this route. The clutch fork has plenty of play in it, even when we're pulling against the transmission. My fear is that if I remove the clutch fork and can't remove the trans, getting the clutch fork bolt back in will be next to impossible.

 

If you have the fork pulled completely out the tranny and the eight bolts removed it will come out with little effort.

Make sure you are not hanging the rear-upper most part of the tranny (where the shifter bolts to) on the unibody. I bet this is what is happening.

Lower your jack a few inches and try again but dont over do it, look at the hole in the unibody to get the right clearance.

If this does not work somthing is bad bad wrong and unconventional.

 

Yep, checked for that. Plenty of wiggle room on all sides.

Still no luck. I have a feeling that the pilot bushing could be seized to the input shaft. How, I'm not sure... since the car doesn't grind going into gears from neutral, and it doesn't move when the clutch is in.

I'll put some serious pressure on it tonight and see what happens.

 

mine put up quite a fight too, but we just kept wiggling, pulling/pushing until it came out.

 

I would just go ahead and put a big *** prybar and spacer in there and pop it out. You are sure to find the evidence of what is causing this then. I guess its conceivable the pilot bushing may cause this but I have never heard about it before.

Obviously what ever is causing the problem will not be reused so who cares if it is further damaged.

 

if u cant put stuff together, take more stuff apart, you'll figure it out, eventually

 

My transmission was stuck to the bellhousing real good, but once it popped loose to where you could wiggle it, it was almost there. If you slide the shift fork out (not unbolted) It should easily clear.

Is it possible that its getting stuck on a wiring harness or vent tube?

Can it rotate at all?
If not, it may be hung up on a dowel. Other than that, I guess I would try prying but something really doesn't seem right.

 

The two dowels are less than 3/8 in length, unless there is a wierd rust issue it should not be that.
I cant think of anything else other than worn out bumper bearings that can cause a problem like this.

 

The trans rotates freely. (That's right, still haven't resolved this issue... car has been sitting up on jackstands since I haven't had time to wrench on it this week).

Basically, if I grab the tailshaft housing I can spin the thing easily. All 8 transmission-to-bellhousing bolts are out. The clutch fork is not catching on anything. Even when we pull on the trans, I can wiggle the clutch fork easily, which implies that there's no load on it.

No interference by the wiring harness
Shifter is out
Torque arm is out
Nothing is hitting the tranny tunnel or the shifter hole

 

maybe the release bearing is stuck on the trans