85gt 4sp

my clutch is gone and i'm wanting to try changing it through the wheel well.

had to get rid of another vehicle to have a place to put it 'cause i guess it won't move 'til i figure it out.

anyway, the question is. any idea of how much room i might need on the right side of the car, and behind it? i want to get it as far out of the way as possible, but not end up stuck because i didn't give myself enough room on the other sides. thanks.

Easiest way to change the clutch is to drop the cradle.

Are you planning to cut out the frame/strut tower on the side of the engine compartment to get the tranny out?

I've done two clutches on two Duke cars that way. It wasn't that hard to do, you still have to lower the cradle though but you don't have to remove it. I'm not sure if the V6 makes this any harder to do though. The hardest part is lining up the transmission during re-installation. That was the only part I needed help for, needed my son to work a floor jack under the engine to get it lined up. I lowered the cradle by removing the rear bolts and I also had to remove the driver side front cradle bolt and both upper strut mounts. I did not have to disconnect anything from the engine except for the neg battery cable, one hose from the intake manifold that carries coolant and some miscellaneous wiring that would get stressed from lowering the engine. The whole job took me about 8 hours. I also needed to get the car aligned afterward, the rear toe was out.

No cutting was required.

[This message has been edited by TONY_C (edited 09-23-2010).]

Well, I'll tell you, I'm in the middle of this project myself, and this is my first time. I was convinced to drop the cradle... It /is/ really easy... the only thing that really hung me up is 3 seized, very very hard bolts. I had to cut two out, and drill out the third... that has been a major pain. But, if these hadn't occured, it would have been increadibly easy. Then when the cradle is on the floor, pull the engine, instead of the transmission. The engine is only held in with 2 bolts beyond what holds the engine and tranny together. the tranny has 6, plus a pair of axles.

This project got expensive real quick though... I had to buy a hoist, and the materials to make a dolley, and several blades for my sawzall... but, all of these I can use again... except the sawzall blades >_>

But, I have no idea how hard it would have been had I gone with it the way you are talking about, I considered it but was persuaded not to. I do know you'll need an alignment after you're done. I won't :P But, I'll have to burp my coolant system, and you won't. But, I plan on dropping the cradle again next year to rebuild the engine. So now it will be stupidly easy for me to do. As I'm replacing all the bushings with aluminum while I'm down there, and replacing all the seized hardware.

I've never done it before, but with a guess, I'd say at least half the width of the Fiero would be a minimum I'd go with to do it. The half-axle on the drivers side is really short, and the transmission is pretty much right there. So you probably don't need a whole lot of room. I know you need to get a floorjack under the transmission to pull it out. So at-least as much room as your floor-jack handle sticks out from under the car. Depends on how clostrophobic you are.

[This message has been edited by Twilight Fenrir (edited 09-23-2010).]

thanks. i know it's possible, i'm wanting to know if you needed to be on the passenger side or behind it much to do it, and hopefully a guess on how much room if so i don't take it apart and then realise there's something i need more room for and can't move it.

i'm stuck on my old webtv 'cause my computer's glitching or i could take a pic. the further over i can get it the easier to get into my garage while it's apart. 'cause 8hrs? ain't gonna happen.

well, I should amend the 8 hour part. It was my second one and I do have air tools. An impact wrench and air ratchet saves A LOT of time. And I didn't have any really stubborn bolts to deal with. You need 2 or three feet from the driver side to the garage wall, you will be sitting and kneeling and don't want anything in your way.

quote Originally posted by Philphine: thanks. i know it's possible, i'm wanting to know if you needed to be on the passenger side or behind it much to do it, and hopefully a guess on how much room if so i don't take it apart and then realise there's something i need more room for and can't move it. i'm stuck on my old webtv 'cause my computer's glitching or i could take a pic. the further over i can get it the easier to get into my garage while it's apart. 'cause 8hrs? ain't gonna happen.

Well, as long as you can remove that rear cradle bolt as he said above... I think that's the only thing that needs doing on the passenger side... Behind it, you'll probably need the floor-jack again to lift up the car on the cradle rear-cross-member while you work initially.

i post slow. on the drivers side i have all the room i need. and from the rear it's backed up to a garage door so maybe i can just open the door for more room to at least the drivers side of the rear of the car.

the alignmant issue i'm not too worried about. i've kind of retired the car so my main goal is the get the clutch changed. i'm not too rushed to get it back on the road. so i may take the opportunity to add some lowering springs if alignments are needed after. if i can be ready by next spring i'll still feel ok with it (another reason why i'm trying to get it as far out of the way as possible).

You ARE talking about dropping the cradle correct?

You need about as much space to change a tire on the right-passenger side. Enough to pull the tire, remove the strut and then slide the axle out. I have done it twice on my 88 Formula.

You don't have to remove the trans from the car. After you lower the back of the cradle, slide the trans to the left off the engine until it basically falls off (very heavy) and you can get to all the clutch bolts. The trans will set in the cradle but it will not, and does not have to come all the way out of the car to change the clutch or flywheel.

When reassembling, the easiest way to line up the trans to the engine (use a pilot tool for the clutch disc obviously) is to cut the head off a couple 5-6" long bolts that are the same thread size as the top two trans mounting bolts. I believe I used some old cylinder head bolts. You then hand thread the head bolts into the back of the block and then you only have to lift the trans onto the headless bolts once. After the weight of the trans is on the head bolts you can use a floor jack, or muscle, and slide the trans against the engine without worrying about lining up the bolt holes. It is not too difficult, but you have to be careful because things are heavy and tough to see where they can pinch.

Thinking about the next time I do it. After I drop the back of the cradle, I will remove the top two trans to engine bolts first, and use the headless bolts to help slide the trans off the engine as well. That would prevent it from falling off and make it safer.

Edit to add. If you leave the cradle in the car you don't need a hoist at all. You can secure the engine with a floor jack/wood blocks/engine hanger once the cradle is dropped and then just catch the trans as it comes off the engine.

I have dropped the entire cradle out of my 88 (keep in mind it had been done before and I don't have any AC, insulation or other crap n the way anymore. in less than 45 minutes. Problem is then you need a hoist or some other creative method to separate the engine from the trans. If all you are doing is a clutch than I think it is easier leaving the cradle in the car. Last time took me about 3 hours to get the new clutch and flywheel in the car before hanging the trans back on. I did a few other things while I had it apart so my total time was not really applicable.

[This message has been edited by SCCAFiero (edited 09-23-2010).]

thanks everyone. i think i should be good where i am.

i just thought, since it's preliminary, any other prep type things before i actually start? some pb blaster on the cradle bolts, or anywhere else? stuff like that? thanks.