ok guys is it worth doing it yourself or just let a shop do it.
-mike

 

Depends on what the shop wants.

I found it to be a pain. But I have a cheap jack and just jack stands. No tranny jack.

Get a friend to help and get the car high enough to actually work under it. Its not bad, just not fun the first time.

 

Its definitely do-able for a diyer. I did not have much experience working on cars and I got it done with relatively few problems. Many install guides exist which im sure other guys will post. I would recommend a good transmission jack. That was the hardest thing for me is getting the input shaft lined up to go in smooth. (2) of the upper bellhousing bolts are a beyatch and you need some major socket extensions. It is a bit of a pain but I like doing my own work and learning so good luck.

 

A tranny jack is not needed, and you can forget about a jack adapter unless you can get your car very high off the ground.
Build a wodden 2x6 cradle that fits the tranny and bolt it to your floor jack, the tranny will glide out and in so easy my mother could do it.
I have done a lot of LT1 clutches and is not very hard overall.
The trickiest areas are getting the two top tranny bolts out, you will need to lower eveything a few inches and you will need 3 feet of extensions to reach the two bolts.
Dont force the tranny back in, if it does not glide in the re-allign the disk.
Every thing unbolts and bolts up nice, it is very intuitive.
I say "goforit".

 

If you have a friend that can help you lower the tranny its an easy job...

 

If you have access to a hoist, use it! Had my T56 out around 7-8 times now, takes about 1H 30min to change a clutch in my car now

 

I cant resist asking.
How does a hoist help to remove a clutch without turning the car upside down.

 

I just did mine yesterday for the umpteenth time. straight forward. Just make sure you have, as mentioned, about 3ft of extension and a swivel for top two trans bolts (15mm). Also if its your 1st time you might need a helper to balance the trans on the jack when removing/installing. If trans fluid has never been changed go ahead and drain it. It will spill out the back when lowering/installing making a mess. Put new fluid in after install. I've done it by myself every time with 2 pair of jackstands and two floor jacks. Also, once you remove torque arm mounts it helps to use a 2nd jack to jack the rear diff up/down a little to get the torque arm to move down/up, you don't have to remove it w/ that trick. It will get hung up on the side of the trans but some prying will get it where you want.
socket sizes:
7/16" for the rear diff U-joint (I think)
15mm for all the y-pipe bolts
15mm for cross member
15 mm for the torque arm mounts
13mm for the clutch slave cyl
15mm for the trans
14mm for the bellhousing & pressure plate.

don't forget to replace your pilot bushing.
replace your trans rear seal while you're there and use penatrant (PB Blaster) on the y-pipe bolts ahead of time.

 

i ve done myself 90min start to finish by myself whats a jack i just slide under it pull it out same puttin it in i put the car on jackstands all the way around i would say since you have nt done it get a friend i cant imagin what ashop would charge good luck

 

shop here charges $240. not too bad but its cold right now, i work construction, early mornings late nights so i come home tired, i dont have a jack, most of my friends are stoners and i dont trust them with a screwdriver so to me the shop was worth it. plus if they break somethin they pay for it. i had my 3.4L camaro in the tranny shop a year ago (rebuilding reverse, changing clutch) and the bill was $1240 but some sh** head sat on the hood and put minor but noticeable creases in it. long story short their insurance cut me a $1400 check to fix it.

 

Piece of cake man, everytime you do it, it gets easier and easier.

Just be patient and you will get it.

Honestly, anyone can do it

 

My clutch just went on me and I took the trans down again a few days back. With myself and a friend getting everything off took just under 2 hours except that a bellhousing bolt is rounded off in the hardest spot to get to or the entire clutch assy and everything would be off too. I've done it on my car already last year and an LS1 T/A 3 times. Once you know what has to come off and what you have to do, it all comes apart real quick.

 

i find almost all installations on these cars hard *the first time*. for instance, it took me forever to change the sparkplugs the first time i did it, but when i had to do it again during the header swap, it was a breeze. i consider during the clutch a somewhat daunting job, but im going to try it next year!