38 replies to this topic

[dmathias]

And DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN on the install.

+1 Torque to FSM specs on install.

[Dave Metz]

J.c. If you are THAT desperate to use your impact, I'm thinking I'm not too far off a swap....

[juliancates]

Wow... due to us moving across the country and not having garage space to work on the car, my hiatus was a little longer than I thought. I finally got a chance to start working on this today.

Transmission came out very easily. It was *much* easier in fact than I thought it was going to be, thanks in part to the fantastic tips I received here. So thanks! Here's a few things that really seemed to help:

* Air tools. Used a 1/2 inch impact with two 10" extensions and a wobble joint. No problem reaching or extracting any of the bolts on the bellhousing.
* Piece of 2x4 wedged between the engine and steering rack. Engine stayed in place when the transmission was removed. Should be a snap to reinstall.
* Ratcheting strap between the cage and the back of the transmission. I considered using a piece of wood across the transmission tunnel, but wound up doing this. It was really easy to adjust.

Now, once I pulled the transmission off, I noticed that the clutch pilot bearing was off center. In fact, it's sitting in there very loose and I can move it around easily. Uhh... is it supposed to be like that? I wasn't planning on doing anything with the clutch, but this looks like maybe I might need to? What do you think?

[Keith Novak]

It sometimes pulls out with the input shaft while removing the trans. Replace it regardless though. I've got one going bad. I can hear it whirring and once I'm certain it came out of the flywheel while unloading from my trailer and made some very disturbing noises. Now I get to remove the whole trans because I decided to keep the old pilot bearing. Pulling the PP and replacing the bearing is just another 5 minutes while you have the trans already out. I don't know what a 1.6 bearing is supposed to look like but mine is sealed. Yours I can see the balls which is kind of odd.

[Keith Novak]

Oh yeah...once you've got the trans back in, tell us how much of a breeze it was. Funny how it's easier to pull the splines on the input shaft out, than it is to get them back in.

[juliancates]

It sometimes pulls out with the input shaft while removing the trans. Replace it regardless though. I've got one going bad. I can hear it whirring and once I'm certain it came out of the flywheel while unloading from my trailer and made some very disturbing noises. Now I get to remove the whole trans because I decided to keep the old pilot bearing. Pulling the PP and replacing the bearing is just another 5 minutes while you have the trans already out. I don't know what a 1.6 bearing is supposed to look like but mine is sealed. Yours I can see the balls which is kind of odd.

Thanks, Keith. This is a learning experience for me... never pulled trans or clutch before. Just did some looking after my last post and realize it's supposed to be in the flywheel. Is that a press fit? Need to pull the flywheel to do it, or can it be drifted in with the flywheel in place?

I think the unsealed bearing is part of the ACT kit. Any suggestions on what to replace it with, or is there much difference?

[juliancates]

Oh yeah...once you've got the trans back in, tell us how much of a breeze it was. Funny how it's easier to pull the splines on the input shaft out, than it is to get them back in.

LOL! Yeah, I was thinking that installation was going to be a bit more difficult! Much easier to pull something apart than to put it back together again, I've found. Guess it's time to go pull the PP and order a new bearing.

[Keith Novak]

You install it with the flywheel in place. I use the flat end of a big socket and a rubber mallet to drift it in. It's not a very tight fit which is why it can come out when you pull the trans. I just use a Mazda pilot bearing. I doubt there's a huge difference but I wouldn't get the cheapest one possible knowing what you have to do to replace it if it starts making noises.

[juliancates]

You install it with the flywheel in place. I use the flat end of a big socket and a rubber mallet to drift it in. It's not a very tight fit which is why it can come out when you pull the trans. I just use a Mazda pilot bearing. I doubt there's a huge difference but I wouldn't get the cheapest one possible knowing what you have to do to replace it if it starts making noises.

Thanks a bunch, Keith. After pulling the clutch, it looks like the pilot bearing I had did at least have one side sealed, which failed:



Now that I'm "in there", how much material should the friction disk be down to before replacing? I'm not sure how much material it has to start with, but this looks fairly thin to me:



Edit: Just took a rough measure with a ruler, and the whole friction disk, including both sides, is about 7.5 mm. I don't have a set of calipers to take a more exact measure. I saw on ACT's website that most of their disks start at 8mm, and they recommend replacing at 6mm. So... I'm good to go, right? And if not (or when the time comes), I can just replace the disk itself, or is the pressure plate also a wear item?

[Keith Novak]

If it's an ACT, I don't know the minimum and I've asked it before. They seem freakishly think but they don't seem to wear at all. I couldn't find the old thread but I was shocked at how thin mine was when I pulled it out and found it was normal. They'll wear the flywheel much faster than the clutch pucks. I lost the measurement of my clutch apparently (note to self, keep notes better organized) but I was told that after 4 years people found no measurable clutch thickness difference. If you don't see scuffing on the rivets holding it together...measure it, bolt it back in and the next time you have to pull off the trans measure it again.

[FTodaro]

You need to get a picture and a measurement of the distance between the friction material and the rivet that holds it together. As said above, if its an Act 4 puck they don't start with much material and on an old thread folks said they wear like Iron. I had about 1/16 of an inch between the rivet and the face of the disk and I put it back in for another round. If you do pull off the flywheel, make sue you use some lock-tight on the bolts holding it on the crank, and I think I used lock-tight on the bolts holding on the pressure plate, someone can chime in on that.

[dstevens]

Coincidentally I'm at this exact spot right now. NAPA has the same Koyo pilot bearing that is the stock replacement now for the 1.6. Part number ATM 0781301. It's around $5.

[juliancates]

You need to get a picture and a measurement of the distance between the friction material and the rivet that holds it together. As said above, if its an Act 4 puck they don't start with much material and on an old thread folks said they wear like Iron. I had about 1/16 of an inch between the rivet and the face of the disk and I put it back in for another round. If you do pull off the flywheel, make sue you use some lock-tight on the bolts holding it on the crank, and I think I used lock-tight on the bolts holding on the pressure plate, someone can chime in on that.

Yep, it's an ACT 4 puck. It's hard to measure, but eyeballing it, I'd say there was about 1/32 to 1/16 between the top of the rivet and the face of the disk:



EDIT: I found your old thread:

http://mazdaracers.c...ife-expectancy/

Looks like you had about the same amount of material. I think I'm just going to go with new bearings and call it a day.

Coincidentally I'm at this exact spot right now. NAPA has the same Koyo pilot bearing that is the stock replacement now for the 1.6. Part number ATM 0781301. It's around $5.

Good to know, thanks! It's about $10 through Mazdacomp it looks like.

[Keith Novak]

Coincidentally I'm at this exact spot right now. NAPA has the same Koyo pilot bearing that is the stock replacement now for the 1.6. Part number ATM 0781301. It's around $5.

That's why I try to spend less than $5 deciding whether or not to replace it.

[FTodaro]

The Disk looks good to me, about the same or better than mine when I put it in. BTW when it comes time to replace the disk, if ever this is the best price could fine on replacement http://www.jdmhub.co...product_id=5812
.

[juliancates]

Ok, so everything's buttoned back up. Last thing I did was put the shift lever in place and then row through the gears... only to find that it won't go over to the right at all. So I can't shift into 5th or Reverse. Any really common things this might be?

If I remove all of the fluid from the shift turret, I should be able to remove the access cover on the pax side of the turret to investigate, correct?

EDIT: The nice thing about having another transmission sitting next to your car (busted or not) is that you can start pulling things apart to see how they work.

Looks like if I pull the drivers side cover off the turret (the one with two bolts) I get access to the group of things that has something to do with the shifter going over to the 5/R side. There's a spring, a thing that I think is a "detent", and a ball bearing. Looks like the detent pops out when you push the shift lever over to the right. Taking it out means there is little to no resistance to moving the lever to the right, so it probably warrants taking it apart on the transmission in the car and seeing what happens. Luckily for me, even with everything installed this looks pretty easy to get to.

[FTodaro]

If all you did was pull the tranny to replace the clutch it should not have caused any other issue, if you saying the tranny was in good shifting order, it may be that if you dropped or violently banged around on the tranny sometimes it can cause them to lock up. Not really sure why but if one of the shift hubs in out of position it could cause issues. I am not sure that this has happened just throwing that out.

before I cracked the case I would try rotating the shaft at both ends using your hand on the input end and the drive shaft on the out put end. try rotating the shaft and shifting gears and see if you can get things back in order. Cracking the case you need a wheel puller to get the front of the case off the main shaft bearing then you will be able to expose the workings of the transmission.

I guess I need to get on my little HOT TO write up.

[juliancates]

Thanks, Frank. It's actually a new (to me) transmission going in, so first time it's been in the car.

I'm pretty sure it's all confined to the shift turret. I pulled the parts circled below, and now it shifts freely into 5th and reverse. Now I think it's just a matter of assembling correctly. The enthusiast guide has a pretty good write up. I'll put it all back in, and hopefully it was just mis-assembled or roughed-up a bit in transit.

[juliancates]

Yep, that did the trick. It was the "shift lock detent" that apparently wasn't quite right. Took it apart and put it back together. Shifts perfect now. Phew!