Just the forest

Sometimes I get so involved with the minutia of a task that I forget to see the big picture. Today was one of those days.

My goal today was to separate the transmission from the engine. There are six bolts that attach the transmission to the engine. Additionally there is an axle going from the transmission through a bracket on the engine.

So I figured I'd start with the easy part. Pulling the axle from the transmission. I had already pulled one axle so this one should be no problem. All I had to do was pull the axle out from the mount.


All I had to do was yank the axle straight out. Unfortunately the axle is held into the mount by a very tight bearing. It wasn't budging. And none of my bearing pullers fit on this bearing. Not to mention that none of my pullers would fit on the axle (it had a thin groove that only the "special" puller recommended by GM would work on).

Plan B. Remove the mount and slide out the axle and mount. That helped a little. The axle started sliding out of the transmission. But there was not enough room to move the mount. Part of the engine block was in the way.

Now the part about not seeing the forest through the trees. Why did I want to remove the axle? Because it was attached to both the transmission and engine. What had I already done? Disconnected the axle from the engine when removing the motor mount? How long did it take me to figure this out? Too long.

Actually, I can't take credit for the eventual solution. After I couldn't figure out how to remove the axle from the bearing I called someone who might know. The parent of one of my daughter's friends tinkers with cars and offered help if I needed it. After explaining the situation he says, "why don't you just remove the transmission. Then you can slide out the axle."

Duh! That sound was accompanied by the sound of me hitting myself in the side of the head. So six bolts later I have the transmission and engine separated. Axle slides out nicely (thank you Chris).

The rest was was pretty easy. Removing the clutch and flywheel. I also disconnected the engine and transmission from the cradle supporting it.



Before and after (cradle and steering rack)



Transmission bell housing, clutch plate, pressure plate, flywheel, and that pesky axle (still attached to the mount).