I have looked all around this site and have had no luck finding good instructions on how to change out the turn signal switch. I know I have to start by disconnecting battery. I need to find either pictures or step by step on taking off the steering wheel since the switch is behind that. Also, if someone has a link on how to remove the 5 speed tranny from the V6 engine to change the throwout bearing, that would be so awesome. I am starting to hate this car. LOL

 

Hey there, big creeper here. Can’t help ya with the turn signal. But this is what I remember from my experience doing the throw-out bearing on my 2001 V6.

Lift the car securely up on jacks, preferably as high as possible so you can fit under there easily.

Remove the transmission cross member. If your tranny mount is ok, you can just let the cross member hang off of the mount and tranny. However, if you want to play it safe, disconnect the transmission mount first, then remove the cross member.

Allow the transmission to hang / relax.

There is a rubber mount by the tail shaft that is attached to the exhaust, and torque arm remove that.

Disconnect the torque arm, if you wish.

There is also a bolt that goes through the tail shaft from one end to another. I can’t remember what that is attached to, remove it.

Disconnect the driveshaft from the rear differential. There should be four bolts. If you can’t reach one side put the tranny in neutral and either rotates the driveshaft or one of the rear tires.

Leave the driveshaft in the transmission if possible to prevent the fluid from leaking out, OR take advantage of the situation, and drain / refill the transmission fluid. There is a 3/8 plug on the side, one on the bottom, one on the top (drain, and fill respectively) to do this. If you decide to change the fluid, it is dexron/mercon automatic transmission fluid dex IV works fine. Regardless of which method you choose, you may still lose some fluid. Another option is to find a cover for the tail shaft and plug the hole after you remove the driveshaft. If you look up pics of trannies you may see a red plug on the tail shaft, that's what I am referring to. OR if you have a spare driveshaft yoke to put in there, just put it in there and you’ll be fine.

You should now have the mount/cross member removed, accessories attached to the tail shaft removed, and the rear end removed. You’re almost there.

Look to the front of the transmission on the sides, you will see brackets on the lower end of each side. Unbolt the tranny side of this mount. They are tranny to engine mount brackets. If re-installation is an issue, then it may be easier to remove them and reinstall them later.

There is another quasi cross member with a hole in it and the exhaust pipe right above it; I can’t recall if you need to remove this.

On the driver side of the transmission there will be a steel braided line protruding from the bell housing, this is the hydraulic line attached to your hydraulic throw-out bearing and reservoir. If this is the first time ever removing this from the vehicle, you might have difficulty getting it out. If you inspect the port that it goes into, you will see a plastic ring around the very end of the line. You need to press this in uniformly and pull out. Sometimes it helps to push IN on the line WHILE pressing on this plastic ring to disconnect it. If it is heavily corroded, you will spend quite a bit of time removing this. There should be a special tool that comes with your new throw-out bearing that looks like a fork / tuning fork. However, sometimes this tool is absolutely worthless and you're better off buying your own made of real metal, and not lame metal. This is the tool you need to push that plastic ring in. BTW: Removing this line will not cause it to leak out.

NOTE: I cannot stress this enough. BE CAREFUL WITH THE HYDRAULIC LINE! If you break this, you're spending another 80 - 200 dollars.

Once you finally disconnect the line, you are half way there.

At this point, you will need to disconnect the transmission from the engine. There will be several bolts on the bell housing going INTO the rear of the engine. Remove them. Some are easily accessible; others are tougher to get to (the top ones). If you have a long enough extension, a six point socket, and a swivel, you can attach it to the bolt, and remove it from a better angle closer toward the top middle of the transmission.

You are now still almost there. With all bolts removed, gently pull away the transmission from the engine. You may need to gently push up and down a bit on the transmission while you attempt to separate it from the engine. The transmission weighs a bit over 50 pounds. Having that extra room below the vehicle from jacking it up high will help with some leverage.

You have now removed the transmission.

Place the transmission facing toward you, you should see the throw-out bearing and input shaft in front of you. I believe there are four to six bolts securing the throw-out bearing, remove them. Now just angle the throw-out bearing out, and replace with a new one.

If you are unable to do this due to the bell housing, then you may need to remove the bell housing first. This is just four large bolts through the bell housing into the transmission.

Note: On V8 models, you can get away with just removing these bolts, and separating the transmission from the engine this way and not have to worry about removing bell housing bolts.

After you install the new throw-out bearing, everything is done in reverse order.

Recommendation: Use a floor jack maybe with a piece of wood for stability to help evenly lift the transmission under the vehicle to help reconnect it to the engine.

As the penultimate last and final step, follow the directions that came with your new throw-out bearing. Some newer ones do NOT come with a replacement plastic sleeve for the hydraulic line, and, instead, have an opening on the side of the line port coming out of the throw-out bearing, and it is simply a matter of putting the line in, and inserting the metal lock that comes with the new bearing. There may be two; one holds it on tighter than the other. I got away with using the normal one just fine.

Once you have everything put together, remove the cap from the clutch hydraulic reservoir, and top it off. Have someone get in the driver’s side and pump the pedal three times, and hold it in. While you are below the vehicle, and the pedal is still held in, look at the line going into the throw-out bearing, above it there is a bleeding screw. Use a wrench or socket to open this. You may see a lot of fluid come out, and bubbles. Close it quickly, have the person let go of the clutch. Check the fluid, top off if needed, and repeat until it no longer explodes with fluid, and no more bubbles come out.

You are done.

Verify that every bolt has been accounted for, and everything is back the way it goes. Take the car for a spin, and enjoy your fresh new firm clutch pedal. The car will feel different for a bit until you get used to it again if at all necessary.



Have fun doing this!


--Rex

 

More hints:

Some throw-out bearings come pre bled from the factory. It is still a good idea to bleed the system though to be safe.

Like with any project, air tools help out a lot. Don't fret though if you don't have access to these.

You might break a small metal bracket when disconnecting the drive shaft from the rear differential. Don't worry about this. If you want to go ahead and replace the U-Joints, go for it. They're cheap.

I forgot to mention too, there are sensors attached to the transmission. A speed sensor, and a reverse signal. Unless you like the idea of soldering / using electric tape to repair a broken wire, DISCONNECT THEM.

If you change the fluid in the tranny, remember, drain on the bottom right, fill on the top right. If you can avoid spilling, fill it with it with it resting on the ground in its normal upright position. Otherwise, devise a way to deliver the goods while it is in the air unless you are willing to remove the center console, and shift boot to feed some clear plastic tubing you can get from a hardware store into the fill port while using a funnel, inside the vehicle. Another option is to remove the shifter and just pouring it in there (its a little slower), leave the top plug removed from the tranny and wait for it to start leaking from up there. I recommend you do this after the tranny is secure and relatively level.

Try your best not to lose bolts / screws.



Sorry for such long posts You sounded like you needed all the help you could get.


--Rex

 

Check this link for the instructions: My Files

 

Thanks for your help and advice. I do need all the help I can get. Here is the next big pain in my tush. I replaced the clutch plate and the pressure plate. I replaced the bushing since it was tore up as well. Hell, we replaced the entire tranny to one from a 99 Camaro. We changed the clutch master cylinder and throw-out bearing. Put it all together. Now the damn thing won't bleed right. We put in fluid, try and bleed it but pedal goes to the floor. We changed the throwout because the store said if put in wrong, breaks and it will never bleed right. So we put this one in slow and easy. Then put it back together. Still, pedal goes to the floor. So we changed the master cylinder. Bleed again. Pedal goes down and comes back up of the floor by an inch but not enough to get back to top. So, we take off hose from tranny and bleed master through to hose which has a stop so when you press down, the ball stops fluid from coming out. We did this. Pedal still near floor but not all way down until you bleed at hose end. So, we attach it all together and now pedal drops like a rock to the floor. HELP!! Can it be the throwout again? Master cylinder? Hose? I have taken this tranny up and down three times and I am tired! Thanks!!

 

Did you bench bleed the master cylinder before installing it? If you don't you can pump the pedal forever and nothing is going to happen.