Doing clutch on 92 Jetta & have questionsrr

[TylerDurden]

Turnbuckles are a good idea, too.   Now I'm getting the itch to swap my eco tranny back out for the AOP.

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

It's really not that heavy. I was able to throw my blown out 020 off my trailer in to the scrap metal pile.

Not very far mind you...

Throwing it off the trailer is very different than finessing it out while on you back and can't see what's hanging it up. Rather than benching it, I may make a transmission jack out of an old office chair with a strong aluminum base on casters.

[TylerDurden]

Food for thought:

The hole for the AC bracket is a decent hanging point paired with the first linkage bolt. It tends to tilt tailheavy. The clutch cable bracket and the bolt hang the tranny fairly level. I imagine a loop between the clutch bracket and the AC bracket hole would be a decent midpoint. That and the linkage bolt might be a decent angle for a lift point.

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

Cobbled this tranny jack up. What you see is still a mockup. I will bolt the tranny to one of the jack points and lay a thin piece of ply wood between the other 2 jack points so that if the tranny shifts, it won't roll off and is still supported.

[TylerDurden]

That's both intriguing and scary. 

So long as it can safely hold the tranny, the main downsides I see is how much/little down it might go... if it can clear the engine bay, it might work.

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

Why scary? Should handle 80 lbs no problem. Good point whether it's low enough, I will measure. Even if not low enough, I can slide it off the jack onto the ground. I will replace the bottle jack with a scissor jack (3 total) to make it easier to adjust.

How is the ATV jack adjusted? Does it have 3 points of adjustments?

[TylerDurden]

Nah, that's the downside of that rig... I used wood shims to get the angle. Then it was out, down, out down, in small increments until it was clear. Reverse for installation.

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

How far do I have to pull the tranny away from the engine before the input shaft clears?

[TylerDurden]

How far do I have to pull the tranny away from the engine before the input shaft clears?

About 3"... the bellhousing also needs to clear the flywheel, so you'll know. Try to stay fairly straight until it's clear.

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

How far do I have to pull the tranny away from the engine before the input shaft clears?

About 3"... the bellhousing also needs to clear the flywheel, so you'll know. Try to stay fairly straight until it's clear.

So pull approx 3" to clear bellhousing first, then lift the diff up by how much so the flange clears the flywheel and pull further?

[TylerDurden]

Might be kinda all-at-once... the flange is pretty close to the block (like an inch).  I'd rotate the tranny before or during retracting.

It's been 9mo since I last did it, so my recollection is fuzzy.  I do recall it being a bit fiddly and I was rushing to get done.

[RabbitJockey]

stop taking picture get under there and pull it off

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

I had other stuff to deal with and have not done any more work on the car. I don't like the tranny jack and will make another one from scratch. I felt a slipping clutch in my Caddy for the first time yesterday so I need to perfect the tranny jack because it will be needed again.

[TylerDurden]

I looked at HF's tranny jacks yesterday.

The little one is pretty crappy, but a good size.  ($99)

http://www.harborfreight.com/450-lb-capacity-transmission-jack-39178.html

The next one up is better made and easier to use, but will take up twice the space during and after the job. ($145)

http://www.harborfreight.com/800-lb-Low-Lift-Transmission-Jack-60234.html

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

Which one are you buying? I think the $145 one is the one to get since it has 3 saddle tilts, the cheaper one has only one tilt. This is my current jack as it evolves. Should have started with a plywood base to start with and not use the office chair base. Went to home depot and bought a set of 4 casters (smallest they had) for $5. Piece of old plywood laying around was just the right size and didn't require cutting. The tranny has 2 tabs (front and back) with through holes that I think is meant for a transmission jack. I put 2 self tapping screws into the front and rear jacks as locating pins.