Gearbox and transfer case removal

[twisted32]

Pics look nasty.
I was advised to only remove the transfer case by first removing the lh driveshaft by a evo specialist (I actually took my gearbox to him to change the input shaft bearing, and my driveshaft was still in the gearbox as I had used the two bolt method).

Was much easier to put back on with the driveshaft out too.

 

[VR-04-TT]

We removed the shafts, but still had problems. But it's all good now.

 

[bradc]

Sent today via 'par avion'

 

[VR-04-TT]

You rock dude Thank you VERY much!

 

[snickells]

Jebus, what job! Keep us posted on the progress Paul.

 

[montgomery]

PM sent mate.

Are we supposed to have a helical LSD in the front there? If not, it turns out I do.

You Lucky Bastard.

Im pretty sure Wil (VR4S) has one of these puppies too.

Good find!!

 

[VR-04-TT]

I just hope it's not shagged now My mate's checked it out and said it feels "okay" but he's not 100% sure until we clean it all out.

 

[Guest]

So are the LSD fronts all aftermarket jobs? someone before you had it put in?

 

[VR-04-TT]

I think it'd be aftermarket, but I haven't seen it yet to confirm.

 

[SiliconAngel]

Paul your car gets more interesting every day...

Sorry I didn't see this earlier mate. As has been mentioned, you should remove the output shaft after removing the left and right drive shafts as the transfer case will come straight off very easily. If you leave the output shaft in, the transfer case has to be pulled off the circlip on the RHS output shaft, which means it has to come off perfectly straight. This is tedious and quite difficult, as I'm sure you discovered.

For those who find this in the future, the easiest way to remove the output shaft is using a dent puller (about $15 from most auto shops) with a bolt attached to the end which screws into the hole on the end of the output shaft. Two or three tugs should be all it takes and it will slide all the way out. Once you've done this, undo the six bolts holding the transfer case to the transmission, ensuring you have something like a transmission jack underneath to lower it gently once detached. Once you've removed all the bolts you will need to gently leaver the case away from the transmission using a small pry bar, as there are sprockets other than the output shaft that slot into the transfer case. Once its about an inch from the transmission it will simply drop down. As suggested, if you have a transmission jack under it this job is simplified substantially, as you can use that to take the weight of the transfer case, ensuring it slides off straight.

Over the other side, releasing the thrust bearing is quite simple. Remove the rubber inspection hole cover and using a torch to see what you're doing (might be best to wear safety goggles to ensure you don't get any fine, black powdered friction material in your eyes) slide a long flat-head screwdriver between the thrust bearing (throw-out bearing) casing and the wedge collar (looks like a spongy spring thing between the thrust bearing and the pressure plate fingers) and twist. The thrust bearing will pop away from the wedge collar with a noticeable click and you should see a gap of a little under an inch between them, although there was only about 10mm with mine due to what was left of the lubricating grease being old and sticky.

Undo the bolts to release the transmission and I very strongly recommend the use of a transmission jack here even more than for the transfer case, as the transmission is about 40kg and if you don't get it off straight it will not budge - trust me, it took me a day and a half of scratching my head to get mine off as I'd never done one before, but once I aligned it properly it was easy.

One of these days I'll get around to writing a guide for this whole process... In the mean-time, you may find this useful as its nearly identical