The goodie boxes...drive train refresh

[BimmerWill]

I just wanted to post this up as a place marker for a job I'm going to be tackling over the next couple of weeks. Parts just came in today and man is it heavy!

In total I will be replacing the clutch, pressure plate, flywheel, rear main seal, differential carrier bushings, diff fluid, tranny fluid, shifter bushings, and the input and output seals on the transmission.

I will not be replacing the transmission mounts as they still look pretty good but I'll check them out when I get the tranny dropped.

I hope I've thought of everything I can do "while im in there" though I'm not sure my bank account could stand much more lol.

Here's a pic of the goodie boxes :)
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/02/azusagy7.jpg

[Hermes]

Why replace the flywheel?

[Avetiso]

Why replace the flywheel?

Cuz 220k miles? :dunno

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[az3579]

Cuz 220k miles? :dunno

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That doesn't mean it "needs" replacing. That's a whole lot of coin for replacing something that doesn't usually fail. If he can afford it, great, but it doesn't "have" to be done.


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[BimmerWill]

From what I've heard based on some of the symptoms I've had it may be on its way out. It's just an in case item. If I don't need it then I'll be much happier but rather have it just in case.

[BimmerWill]

If I don't need it then I'll just send it back. I have to send back a Meyle carrier bushing for the diff anyway.

[BimmerWill]

Talk about a tough bugger to come out of there..
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/11/behu4ezu.jpg

[Avetiso]

Good work

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[BimmerWill]

Thanks. Now I just gotta rig something up to get the two front ones out.

[derbo]

If I don't need it then I'll just send it back. I have to send back a Meyle carrier bushing for the diff anyway.

I did it the same way you did. My flywheel had a nice wobble on one of the discs. I checked the brand new one and the play was next to nothing. I opt to replace the flywheel since I felt it was the root of some intermittent chatter during idle.

[BimmerWill]

Welp just had a wrench thrown into the works. Busted the new carrier bushing trying to get it in. Must have whacked it too good on one side trying to tap it in. Didn't even realize these things had fluid in them.

Gonna be two days before ECS gets a new one so Monday will ship out and I'll be back at work...fml
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/11/u7a2y6en.jpg

[BCS_ZHP]

How close are you to the nearest dealer? Maybe consider going there for the busted part so you can continue to make progress thru the weekend,.

[BimmerWill]

Im gonna call them in the morning. Im pretty sure they want 70 bucks for one which is twice what I'd pay to wait.

Got the front ones out
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/11/yturumu2.jpg

[BCS_ZHP]

Simple economics, is half of $70 or $35 worth being without the car for 2-4 days? If you have something else to drive then wait, but sorry I ain't that patient, I'd drop the extra coin and enjoy my newly freshened up suspension a few days earlier.

[BimmerWill]

That's a good point. I'm gonna call them in the morning and see how much it would be for another bushing. If they have to order it too then I will just wait.

[BCS_ZHP]

Didn't mean to cost you more but I'm an inpatient old fart. And I rationalize crap like that with well how much would I spend on a normal night out for dinner and a couple drinks, then it's easy to justify car parts/mods.

[BimmerWill]

No I completely see your point I just try to watch it just tad more carefully since I'm still in school. Summer money is about the only time I've got cash to throw at the car as much as I'd like to. That and $70 is little over half of a shift for me when I work in the ER at the hospital so it makes me just a little frustrated lol. Honestly getting the car back on the road sooner is worth it to me if they have it. I'll update tomorrow with the plan. Regardless I still have a clutch, flywheel and transmission and motor seals to deal with so I'll be busy regardless lol

[BCS_ZHP]

Are you dropping the tranny on your back or do you have access to a lift?

[BimmerWill]

I have it up on Jack stands a good 2 foot and will have a hefty floor jack to help me maneuver it in and out. It would be much easier with a lift I know but that's what I have available to me. Im curious as to how much the tranny weighs. My main concern is the input shaft when I'm pulling it out and getting it back in. My guess is it weighs at least 150 maybe more so I'm not going to try and drop it without a jack.

[BCS_ZHP]

Will,
Many moons ago, I'm in college and need to do a clutch replacement during a T-giving or Xmas break. The car is '72 Renault R17 Gordini, front wheel drive, lightweight with maybe a 100 lbs tranny, we're on jack stands and my dad is helping/directing. We have everything disconnected, but it won't break free, we've been tugging and pulling on it for 15 minutes. He asks me how about a beer and goes inside to grab two. I'm still under the car trying to break it free and it suddenly drops, right on my chest, my arms are pinned in such a position I can't move it, it's slammed on my chest and I can't breathe with it on me. Plus the tranny is too tall to pull myself out from under the car on the creeper with this thing on my chest. Dad finally comes back, he was probably only gone 30 seconds but it seemed forever. He calls me out for the beer and I kick him, he looks under the car and sees my dilemma, got me freed rather quickly. Absolutely make sure you have an assistant when you try to drop that tranny.
Bruce

[BimmerWill]

Thanks for the story Bruce. I will most definitely have dad helping me. I can only imagine how scary that probably was for that period of period of time. Was good he came back as soon as he did.

[BimmerWill]

Called BMW they want $84 for there's. Guess I'm gonna wait for the Lemfoerder replacement from ECS. Hopefully everything will be ready to go back together by then.

[BimmerWill]

Some progress made today. Anyone have insight on these input and output seals on the transmission?

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/13/my8u5eze.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/13/y8e2u7y6.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/13/ajyjumyp.jpg

I also cleaned the tranny up with some gas and joy. Looks much better than it did when it came out.

[BimmerWill]

Well yesterday I got started putting everything back together. I had everything out on the drivetrain except the motor itself at 8 am. From 8 am until 1030 this morning I was working. Buddy of mine came over and we hung out while I worked on it. The car Is now thankfully on the ground and took me to work tonight with no issues. Shifter feels 10x better than it did and engagement of the new clutch is great although just a hair different than what I'm used to.

What started as a simple bushing replacment job ended with the car being on stands for nearly a month if not more. I'm thankful to be done but also glad to have learned what I have in the process. I unfortunately didn't take that many pictures but if anyone had any questions regarding the parts that I did replace I will be as helpful as I can.

So far the list totaled at.
Dual mass Flywheel
South bend clutch and pressure plate
Input shaft seal on transmission
Rear main seal on motor
Rear output seal on transmission
Diff fluid (Redline 75w90)
Transmission fluid (pentosin)
Flex disk / Giubo
Shifter rebuild kit from ECS
Front differential mounts
Main carrier differential bushing

What gave me the most trouble is the carrier bushings for the diff. Where the tolerances are so tight dad had to fabricate a tool for me to pull and place the new ones in with. With the tools I would give the diff bushing job about a 5/10 as far as difficulty just due to the amount you have to take off in order to get to them. The tools are well worth the money or the time it takes to fabricate them. I ruined one main carrier bushing trying to get it in my way and that just didn't work out. If youre going to tackle the bushings find someone who has a tool or procure the resources yourself to make one. Overall excellent experience I just wish I had been able to get it done sooner.

Please let me know if anyone has questions. I got all my parts for this job from ECStuning.

[danewilson77]

Awesome job.

[BimmerWill]

Thanks Dane. Here she is in the parking garage at work :thumbsup
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/21/ybybu3u2.jpg

[TWong1200]

Great work! Have any issues getting the tranny back on? Specifically getting the input shaft into the clutch disc.

[BimmerWill]

It was a little difficult. You have to jack the front of the motor up in order to get the angle right. A helper is a must otherwise there is no way to position it if it's just on jack stands. Luckily the tranny only weighs about 75 lbs but even then it's very awkward to handle.

[BimmerWill]

Hardest part is keeping it supported while your searching for the right angle. I used a 6x6 piece screwed to the floor jack. That prevented the block from shifting on top of trying to keep the tranny steady. I wish I had taken pictures but there was no way to get good ones and still get it in.