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WTF? Transmission won’t separate from engine. Need help ASAP!


jipedersen

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Okay, I am in the middle of replacing a clutch on a friend’s 05 Legacy GT Wagon and having some serious issues. I am doing the move the transmission back method. I have a transmission jack along with a engine hoist to support the engine. I have spent numerous hours now trying to separate the tranny from the engine. I tried everything from different amounts of force on the tranny jack and the engine hoist. I had a heavy duty ratchet strap pulling back on the tranny while I pried with a bar. Absolutely nothing, not even the slightest gap yet. Oh and I did down load the service manual so I knew I had all the bolts out!

Finally a 1am on the second night of wrestling around with it we decided to give up and I released the ratchet strap. All of a sudden a small gap appeared in the seam! Enough to get a screw driver in there and we kept tapping larger ones in and then finally the pry bar fit. We managed to get about a ¼” gap and that’s it. I pried the crap out of the thing on the bottom and top of the case and nothing.

What the hell? I don’t want to wreck anything.

Has anyone else had this hard of a time and if so how did you get it apart? Am I missing anything? Please anyone?

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It is a PITA and there is no way around it. Obviously double check that you really have all of the bolts out and everything out of the way. What happens is that corrosion builds on the dowel pins and they seize to the bellhousiing.

 

Good luck.

 

 

Sooo, if I REALLY get after it can I mess something up like bend the input shaft? Could it be that the pilot bearing is seazed up on the input shaft?

 

Thanks

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It is a PITA and there is no way around it. Obviously double check that you really have all of the bolts out and everything out of the way. What happens is that corrosion builds on the dowel pins and they seize to the bellhousiing.

 

Good luck.

 

I'm with this guy. Same thing with mines....damn dowel pins. Use a good screwdriver and go around it nice and easy.

"Gimme mines Balboa...Gimme mines".....Clubber Lang - Mr. T
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trust me the transmission can take a beating!

 

you need a pry bar, what we did was use flat head screwdrivers to get some room in there... pry it all the way around, repeat with thicker screwdriver. Then once you get enough room to get the pry bar in do the same process... we had it separated like 1"-2" and it still wouldn't crack off!

 

i could see in and look at the whole pressure plate! just gotta wiggle it off little by little....

 

your lucky if you got a trans jack, i had my back on the tar! lol

 

wait til you get in and you need a damn T-50 torx "plus" for the flywheel no one stocks it! hope you have one, the fw aint coming off with out it!

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=57766&d=1222276408

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Sooo, if I REALLY get after it can I mess something up like bend the input shaft? Could it be that the pilot bearing is seazed up on the input shaft?

 

Thanks

 

 

Of course you can bend the input shaft, damage the bellhousing, etc. You have to use some common sense.

 

It is not likely to be the pilot bearing - unless you have a real mess on your hands.

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I didn't pull the transmission back, but took the engine out instead, so my experience isn't 100% applicable here. However, rusty dowel pins were the main source of my frustrations and it wasn't until we had opened the gap enough to fit a pry bar in there that things really started moving.

 

Since you have already backed the transmission off a bit I would wager the pins aren't what is holding you up. Are you sure you've disconnected the shift linkage and the pitch stopper?

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Same thing happened to me when I did my clutch, the bottom studs ending up bending from trying to shake the Trans out so hard lol. Now, about 15K miles later, my trans makes a ton of noise on accel, decel, and when the clutch is disengaged.. who know how it came about. have fun, don't mean to scare you =]
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Hey guys, thanks for all your replies. It is slightly comforting to know several others had this issue and were able to succeed. I do have everything disconnected and out of the way. It's just extremely stuck I guess. The only thing I can think of that I don't have that might help is that specialty tool that is shown in the service manual. It is a support bracket that bolts to the engine and then ties back to the firewall where the transmission support bolts in at the top. Anyone use one of these or know what I am talking about. I figure it's got to stabilize the engine a great deal while I am shaking and pulling on the transmission. Maybe it might make all the difference. I dunno. Well, I'll be back at it tonight. wish me luck.
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got to ask did u remove the starter. i know from my buddys exp that one of the bolts for the starter is longer and that what stopped his trans from spliting all the way

 

Starter has to be removed...

"Gimme mines Balboa...Gimme mines".....Clubber Lang - Mr. T
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yup, the starter was removed. Finally got it seperated last Friday. We had to remove the front drive shafts in order to get a little more side to side movement to break it free.

 

Now two new issues, if anyone has any input I would appreciate it:

 

1) The snout is pretty grooved so we ordered the tsk3 to hopefully salvage the t-case. Anyone have any idea of how bad the snout can be and still be repairable with the tsk3? If anyone has any pictures of a damaged snout that they used the kit on that would be sweet!

 

2) Since we removed the front drive shafts we are looking at haveing to replace the differential side retainer oil seal or at least that is what the service manual says to do. Did anyone remove and re-install the front drive shafts with out replacing this seal? Did you have any issues with it not replacing it?

 

Thanks!

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The last tranny I pulled was a 4WD Jeep (never pulled a Subaru Tranny) and one trick was helpful. I had a little hand torch - the tiny ones - and used it to slightly heat up the area around the dowels. Since the housing was aluminum and the dowels steel, the housing expanded making removal possible.

 

It all comes down to having the room to get to them.

 

Also, you only need 150-180 degrees-f. Don't fry the thing.

 

Pete

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  • 8 months later...

I had a hard time getting my trans seperated, a few things that helped me out:

 

1: Heat, used a map gas torch to heat up the dowel pins and studs.

 

2: Wood chisel, I wasnt making any progress, so I gave it a try and it worked! It was the perfect size for wedging between the engine and trans...

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