Transmission removal help (Cant separate driveshaft from trans)

[peytonracer4]

I'm currently trying to remove the manual trans from my '89 vert, I am stuck trying to remove the driveshaft from the transmission output flange. i've remove the 3 bolts and nuts that connect the guibo to the transmission. I CANNOT get enough clearance to get the transmission output "shaft" out of the center of the guibo. It looks like there's a bearing that is in the driveshaft, not the guibo, that this smooth, transmission shaft slides into. I have tried slightly lifting the engine and this gives only slightly more clearance.

In an idea world i would drop the exhaust, drop the entire drive shaft, and that would probably work. but due to the exhaust layout and the only removal point being the rusty headers, that's not going to work. I can't even really access the center support bearing due to the exhaust and shields.

All of the articles seem to just act like the drive shaft will fall out of the way once it's disconnected.

[lukeADE335i]

You need to either unbolt the centre bearing or if you loosen the nut on the back half of the driveshaft you might be able to shorten it on the splines enough to get clearance. Ultimately it's best to just remove the driveshaft. To do that you'll need to remove the heat shield and normally to do that you need to remove the exhaust.

You might want to check out the Pelican article on transmission removal here - there's a lot of steps to getting the transmission out, but biting the bullet and removing the exhaust and then the driveshaft is your best option. Modding your exhaust so there's a point where you can unbolt it while you have it out is going to be better in the long run anyway.

https://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/tec...ny-Removal.htm

[glnr13]

agreed with luke on all points. if you drop the center support bearing it should give you a hinge to "fold" the driveshaft and gain the amount of room you need to clear the output shaft.

[peytonracer4]

Ok thanks for the help guys. I was able to get the driveshaft out (still working on the top trans bolt ugh). I dropped the muffler hanger to where the exhaust was basically hanging free other than the headers. Then i was able to flex the exhaust enough to get the heat shield out as well as drop the CSB and the drive shaft was able to flex completely to the point where it's folded down to the floor. This is slightly risky because the only support is from the headers and they risk cracking, but this hasn't happened to me yet.

[lukeADE335i]

Good to hear! If you unbolt the gearbox mount and carefully jack the front of the engine up as high as you can to get a bit more angle on it, it can make getting to the top bolts easier. Sometimes you can use an angled ring spanner and get to them from the top too.

A flex extension bar for the ratchet can also help if you can't quite get the right angle for a socket underneath.