Ok I spent all last summer/fall working on this 87 Shelby Z I bought from my brother. Altogether I've worked on the car for over 2 years but it was like a month of work on the weekends then I would quit for 3 months. Anyways, I finally got it running, run some brake lines, etc. Car start and idled just fine. Now the trans is all messed up and I need to pull it. It's got an A520 in it now because the 555 blew and my brother didn't know the difference so when the mechanic said a 520 would work he said ok. I'm still debating whether or not I rebuild the 520 or find a 555... but anyways, I need to pull it first. I have a Haynes manual but where do I start? I don't really trust the manuals much because according to it I would have pulled the intermediate shaft to install a starter (didn't have to!). Should I drain fluid, pull axles, pull tranny?
Any tips for pulling a transmission in 87 Daytona Shelby?
1 - 20 of 36 Posts
the manual is sorta correct about the starter cuz it makes the job a lot easier especially on the older cars with the big starters. the haynes manual will give you all the answers on pulling the trans. my tip would be put the car on a hoist, use a trans jack under the transmission, support the engine and pull the trans. shouldn't take more than a couple hours to swap trannies. a 520 will work fine if you don't pound the snot out of it.
Thanks for the help. My main problem and slowdown with the car is that besides not having a hoist I don't even have a garage. That's what it's taken me 2 years to change head gasket and rerun some brake lines among other little things (retiming the motor, redoing vacuum lines, etc). So I'm working in my yard so I will just be using jack stands.
ive done it several times with no hoist. support the block from underneath. i have also used a long twox4 across the strut towers and some strong rope to help assist.
unhook battery
pull the starter long extension to get the bolt behind the engine with a swivel socket pulll the bobble strut. pull the front trans/motor mount.
before you pull the side trans mount make sure your supports are reAdy.
now start pulling the trans bolts then the side mount. and it will almost fall out once you pull the trans back off the input shaft. i jack the front of the car up and roll it out.
ive done this by myself. putting it in you will more than likely need a hand. lining up the clutch and what have you and its a couple difficult angles to get it in there. usually the bobble mount is a pain in the balls.
some type of a jack works well when you go to put it back in. i think i used a motorcycle jack since i iddnt have a lift.
funny too the damn thing will go in and out on a lift in NO time. but dont let it antagonize you just jump right in.
i can pul it alone in about an hour. get a buddy to put it back in tho its kinda a bitch,. oh clutch alignment tool u will need.
unhook battery
pull the starter long extension to get the bolt behind the engine with a swivel socket pulll the bobble strut. pull the front trans/motor mount.
before you pull the side trans mount make sure your supports are reAdy.
now start pulling the trans bolts then the side mount. and it will almost fall out once you pull the trans back off the input shaft. i jack the front of the car up and roll it out.
ive done this by myself. putting it in you will more than likely need a hand. lining up the clutch and what have you and its a couple difficult angles to get it in there. usually the bobble mount is a pain in the balls.
some type of a jack works well when you go to put it back in. i think i used a motorcycle jack since i iddnt have a lift.
funny too the damn thing will go in and out on a lift in NO time. but dont let it antagonize you just jump right in.
i can pul it alone in about an hour. get a buddy to put it back in tho its kinda a bitch,. oh clutch alignment tool u will need.
Joined
·
296 Posts
good luck finding a clutch alignment tool
oh yea what weight and kind of tranny juice you guys runnin?
oh yea what weight and kind of tranny juice you guys runnin?
Joined
·
1,912 Posts
Autozone $2.78
Joined
·
296 Posts
Joined
·
1,912 Posts
Wow, yeah, had no problem getting one, also got one for an A555 at the same time.
Joined
·
296 Posts
well i got a stick of wood that fits the hole in the crank pefrectly... then wrapped ducttape around it till it fit snug in the clutch disk... then snugged the pressure plate up just to hold it... the trans slid on no problem... then when i went to torque the bolts for the pressure platei started to at 50ft/lbs... seems high huh? my haynes manual doesnt have a torque spec for them... so i used the torque spec for the 1.7 motor... 55 ft/lbs left 5 off for "insurance" haha then snap one off...
This is probably a completely stupid question but do I have to pull the passenger side axle/intermediate shaft or just the drivers side? I was thinking that maybe when I pulled the tranny away from the motor the intermediate shaft might just hang there and when I put the tranny back in just slip it in as I am mating them up. THAT would save a bit of time.
if you don't mind fighting, cus'n and swearing for hours on end trying to get it all back together or you can spend 20 min pulling out that shaft assembly to save lots a aggrivation. the choice is yours. try it your way first and see if that works and let us know how it went
Joined
·
4,663 Posts
The best advice I can give is to get some extra long bolts for the top 2 engine to trans and chop the heads off, (allmotor says 2.3 ford headbolts work)then cut a slot so you can screw them in and out with a flat head screwdriver. Make sure the you file down the exposed threads on the guides you made so that they don't cut into the aluminum case and prevent you from mating the engine and tranny.
Joined
·
296 Posts
yea but im sick of ordering stuff... it was like unbeleivable tho... once i got the trans and motor in the same angles it was like it fell together... those DAMN PRESSURE PLATE BOLTS... btw anybody got a torque spec for me?
i just put the tranny in my tona the other day and i found it the easiest to have a engine hoist handy. it actually worked great. i removed both shafts and the front motor mount. just make sure you support the engine with a "reliable jack" because i had to replace a ground and a motor mount on the passenger side.
Well now it seems like the worst part is finding an A555 I can afford. I was hoping to get one for $200-300 but I can't find any locally. I found a DSM shop selling them on eBay for $380+120 shipping ($500 total) but I dunno if I cant swing $500 right now. The car needs so many other things that I kind of hate to put $500 MORE into it knowing theres a lot more to go.
too bad your so far, I've got a 1989 turbo stick minivan i'd sell you the trans out of dirt cheap but you'd have to pull it as I am unable to do so.
Yeah I've found a few 555's online but they're always in Oregon or Michigan. Since gas is $3.50/gallon now and my truck only gets 18mpg highway (F150) it would cost me $250 to go pick one up. And I just thought of something else.... if I bought the $500 one off eBay I would probably want to go ahead and replace the clutch before I put it in right? 
If so, thats another $150 for a standard clutch set with pressure plate and t/o bearing. If i was going to all that trouble I would want to do it right unless it was the unlikely event that they had just put a brand new clutch in it or something.
If so, thats another $150 for a standard clutch set with pressure plate and t/o bearing. If i was going to all that trouble I would want to do it right unless it was the unlikely event that they had just put a brand new clutch in it or something.1 - 20 of 36 Posts
Join the discussion
