Some specific questions about dropping the tranny?

[AdamP]

Hi, I'm dropping the SR20DET trasmission by myself so I'm just going by the research I do on the web. I have a few specific questions though that I don't know the answers to.

So far I've got the driveshaft off, tranny fluid out, shifter out, downpipe off, slave cylinder off.

Here are the questions:
#1 The starter motor - where are the bolts located for this? The front of the bellhousing or will it be on the motor side? What do I have to disconnect from the starter? (I have the battery disconnected, btw).

#2 All of the harnesses that need to be unplugged will be using snap connectors or are there some other ones as well?

#3 The bellhousing bolts, how do I get the top ones out? Do I take the tranny support out to lean the motor down first to do this? I have some 3/8" extension bars which are like 3ft long. I am going to be doing this myself so I'm gonna probably prop the tranny up on a motorcycle lift instead of a jack because of the larger area. (Sorry, this question may be intuitive but none of the tutorials tell how to do this, they just say to pull it off and that's it).

#4 Are there any tricks to lining the transmission back up when putting it on? I'm just going to be pulling it back to replace a busted pivot ball.

Some miscellaneous stuff when putting it back together:
#1 How hard do you need to tighten the drive shaft nuts when putting it on? Like finger tight, finger tight + like 90 degrees more, or "hard as fuck"?'
#2 The heatshield off the down pipe is pretty mangled (in terms of the shielding material inside which is flaking). Do I need the heat shield anyway? The thing just rattles anyway.

Thanks for any help.

[jrmiller84]

The nuts for the starter are on the tranny side and screw into the starter towards the front of the car and all of the harness plugs are snap connectors, aren't all of the connectors on the car snap connectors or am I missing something?

I believe you'll have to use a wrench from underneath the car to get to the two top bolts. You may have to jack the engine up some, not sure. I just took my motor out when I had to do tranny work (not the most efficient way).

You just have to kinda fidget with the tranny to get it back in right. It'll slide in, might just take a bit.

I'm not sure of the torque specs, but the driveshaft bolts need to be pretty tight. Wouldn't be a bad idea to use some loctite.

[ladiesman8527]

for the heat shields, just take them off if you want. they do tend to rattle and you wont really notice a difference with them removed. my advice is to get a friend to help you. moving that tranny around by yourself even with a jack is gonna get tiring. just take your time and dont force anything.

[onepuff]

for the top bolts drop the tranny crossmember and maybe jack up the front of the engine a little. use the extension and a swivel to get at them. It is much easier to have a friend to help, but not that hard with the motorcycle jack. just be careful. Getting it back in is a hit or miss thing. Could go in easy first try or it can be a @#$%@. Just try to get it lined up as perfectly as you can. Don't know if the sr trannies have the crank position sensor in the bellhousing or not. If it does make sure to take that out while pulling and installing the tranny.

[zackt69]

From what I remember some of the tranny bolts are different sizes (I could be thinking of a different motorset though, so if I'm wrong someone correct me)... I think there are 5 different sized bolts actually. Keep track of them and where they go, or get a fsm - I think they all have different torque specs as well.

[kleenS14]

2 cents. my pilot bushing (didnt read if you have a new one) was way to tight for me to get my tranny in so i dremelled it a little and got some extra clearance for my input shaft. Dont know if i got a wierd one, but after you get that shit in its not too hard.

The two top bolts on the tranny, i used some offset wrenches to get em off. There is room, at least with stock motor (balsa wood) mounts.
N' yea just push and shake the tranny n ittle go in soon enough. Done 2 by myself and it isnt fun, but itll happen. With the tranny out, the motor will rock about 6-8" or so on the mounts. So you can get a decent working angle from there.

Tranny bolts are different sizes from what i remember as well. Pretty damn sure though.

[AdamP]

Thanks a lot guys. That basically answered most of my questions. I have a pretty good idea now.

Is there anything else to look for when doing this job? Hard to screw up?

[sleepy_s13]

to get to the top bolts jack up the engine from the crank pulley but make sure the exhaust hangs freely and isnt bolted up. when you jack up the engine it should tilt pretty far back ( the motor will touch the firewall). if the exhaust isnt free the motor wont tilt enough. by doing this you should be able to get to them fairly easy with some extensions. use this same method to put the tranny back in. If the motor isnt tilted the tranny isnt going to go in. Good luck you should be able to pull it off. just double check all your work, and make sure those drive shaft bolts are tight enough if there not the vibration will make em loose.