Transmission Re-Install Help

[thstone]

I am trying to re-install the transmission (engine stayed in the car) and I can't get the transmission to mate with the engine any closer than shown in the photo.

I have jiggled and jostled and lifted and torqued and everything that I can think of and it just sits right there. I have turned the flywheel with a long screwdriver a little bit and then tried again repeatedly and still nothing.

WTF? Any advice?

[BYprodriver]

IF you are Positive the threads are nice & clean & lubed in the case & the trans bolts.
Make sure the weight of the engine & trans are not working against your progress & you are perfectly lined up. Begin to thread bolts into their proper place & evenly thread them in making sure you are pulling the trans toward the engine, Not pulling the threads out of the case. That is easy to do. Having someone press down on the clutch pedal helps ONLY IF the slave cylinder pushrod is contacting the throwout bearing lever. It looks like it should be in far enough in your pic, But if the slave pushrod is not centered properly it will blowout the slave cylinder. To insure the input shaft is in the clutch splines properly turn the output flange.

PS. Don't use the nut & bolt fastener @ 5:00 position until trans is fully in place with no gap at the bellhousing! (This applys to 6-speeds) not sure about 5-speed.

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by thstone

I am trying to re-install the transmission (engine stayed in the car) and I can't get the transmission to mate with the engine any closer than shown in the photo.

I have jiggled and jostled and lifted and torqued and everything that I can think of and it just sits right there. I have turned the flywheel with a long screwdriver a little bit and then tried again repeatedly and still nothing.

WTF? Any advice?

There are two guide "dowels" on the transmission where two of the bolts go, make sure you are not hung up on one of these, that does exactly what you are seeing.

It also helps to buy two long bolts (same size as the trans bolts, but longer) at Lowes and cut the heads off of them, then thread them in finger tight on bolt holes around the 9 and 3 O'clock position. These will work well as both guides and supports while fiddling with getting the trans aligned.

[coreseller]

Had the same thing happen to me, best advice I could give is walk away from the project, have a beer or two tonight (Don't get hammered, hungover is no way to work on a car) and approach the project with a fresh perspective tomorrow. I bet it slides in with-in 5 minutes...........

[thstone]

Thanks for all of the advice.

As Core suggested, I gave up earlier this afternoon when I started cussing in German at the Germans and that is when I posted this.

Will give it a go again tomorrow morning with all of these thoughts in mind.

[LAP1DOUG]

All good advice above. The only thing I would add is to try placing a jack at the back of the gearbox and jack it up a bit to make sure that shafts are aligned without binding up, then jiggle the gearbox in a vibrating sort of way.

Hang in there - it is always a PITA, but will go together eventually.

[jaykay]

Thinking about it virtually...It might help to look at the gap all the way around the engine trans. interface then shift, raise, lower with the trans jack to get the gap equal all the way around....very carefully, slowly, minutely. Back it off before doing this. Then try to go forward with it.

Hopefully there is nothing hanging things up on top...perhaps you can climb up top and get some eyes on it

Best of luck....breathe!

[steved0x]

Originally Posted by JFP in PA

It also helps to buy two long bolts (same size as the trans bolts, but longer) at Lowes and cut the heads off of them, then thread them in finger tight on bolt holes around the 9 and 3 O'clock position. These will work well as both guides and supports while fiddling with getting the trans aligned.

If you get them at Lowe's you can get the heads cut off where they sell chain using the link cutter. I got guides for doing my sump cover that way.

[Kenny Boxster]

Getting the trans back on the car requires a bit of jiggling, and finding the right angle on the transmission jack. Take a walk, break, and go at it again with good lighting.

[thstone]

Originally Posted by JFP in PA

There are two guide "dowels" on the transmission where two of the bolts go, make sure you are not hung up on one of these, that does exactly what you are seeing.

Ok, it looks like the "dowels" on the driver's side are the issue. It looks like there is a dowel still in the engine and one in the transmission and they are butting up against each other and not allowing the transmission to mate with the engine. See photo. I admit that I did not check this before starting the installation.

I am guessing that these dowels are not permanently mounted in either the engine or the transmission.

Looks like the driver's side dowel stayed with the engine when I pulled my transmission AND the dowel came out and stayed with the replacement transmission - hence the doubling up.

There is no dowel in either the engine or the transmission on the passenger side. Might have been lost somewhere during my three engine removals and re-installations.

What do you guys think? Just pull out one of the dowels and it should mate up?

Thanks.

[Gilles]

Originally Posted by thstone

What do you guys think? Just pull out one of the dowels and it should mate up?
Thanks.

Thstone:

You should be able to remove the extra dowel by backing up the gearbox a little and using vice grips, but you should ensure that the dowel on the opposite side is in place.

Where in LA are you? I am in OC and perhaps could stop to give you a hand (or cheer you up..), it would be a nice excuse to get out of the house (it sure beats the Honey Do's.. LOL)

[thstone]

Originally Posted by Gilles

Thstone:

You should be able to remove the extra dowel by backing up the gearbox a little and using vice grips, but you should ensure that the dowel on the opposite side is in place.

Where in LA are you? I am in OC and perhaps could stop to give you a hand (or cheer you up..), it would be a nice excuse to get out of the house (it sure beats the Honey Do's.. LOL)

Thanks for the offer of help! Let me go try to pull the extra dowel out. Then it looks like everything should mate up.

[The Radium King]

according to pet the dowel is an independent part and the two share the same part number. so, you should be able to remove it and swap it over to the other side.

[thstone]

Originally Posted by Gilles

You should be able to remove the extra dowel by backing up the gearbox a little and using vice grips, but you should ensure that the dowel on the opposite side is in place.

VICTORY!

Backed off the trans a bit and used a vice grip to pull out the dowel on the engine side. Then with a bit of wiggling, the trans slid home!

I'll pull the trans back a bit again and insert the dowel on the passenger side.

Then back to re-installing everything else.

Thanks to all!

[JFP in PA]

For something that is supposed to help line things up, those dowels cause more problems than you might imagine for those that do not notice they are where they are supposed to be.

Glad you found it.

[Gelbster]

Glad you discovered the obstruction. That could have been a real head scratcher. Aren't you glad you didn't just heave on the motor-transmission bolts? ! Your post is a vivid reminder to the diy crowd to be forensic ,not brutal when reassembling aluminum parts.

[Brad Roberts]

Tom? I've done this ONCE (Left the dowels in the block and then realized later the used trans had dowels in it) I miss them typically under pressure trying not to miss a run session and swapping tranny's between sessions or during "lunch"

Sorry I didn't see this post sooner

[zerngl]

Had a similar problem installing clutch in a 2001 Boxster. Could not close half inch gap between gearbox and engine. Turns out I had replacement clutch in backwards. Visually, both sides looked the same but small print on one side stating "gearbox side". Pulled trans and clutch and there was half inch diff between the clutch facing right way and wrong way. Lesson learned. Also ended up buying a transmission jack. Adapter for floor jack sits too high and leveling controls were junk. Trans won't seat unless lined up perfectly. Follow up. Ended up buying a transmission jack (had been using a trans jack adapter on my floor jack) and still couldn't install trans. The problem was that the cross member near the back of the engine kept the jack from lifting the front of the trans. Because of where I had to place the jack, no matter how I levelled, the front would go down and the back up. Had been using an engine support bar to keep the engine up while I replaced the trans. It has a dual hook assembly. I attached the second hook via chain to the front of the transmission. Lifted it up and inch and it slide right onto the engine. What a pain, but it is done with new clutch, pressure plate, throw out bearing, pilot bearing and intermediate shaft bearing. Total cost of approx $800. Interesting experience on my first Porsche. More difficult to work on and requires special tools but it can be done if you are patient and take your time.

[SGK]

Make sure transmission is in neutral or you will have hell of a time trying to get it in last 1/2 inch. Position gear selector so that it has "Reverse" movement enabled, that is neutral. Another way to tell is you should be able to spin axles in the same direction while shaft is not spinning.