Phalse

iTrader: (2)

Well, for months now I've been procrastinating doing my clutch swap. I love my evo, its nice and clean and I dont do any ghetto modding like i have with my dsms in the past, I keep it all put togeather instead of skimping on **** when going back togeather (again like past dsms- oh this bolts a pain in the ***.. f that *toss*).. so .. I really didnt wanna do it cause I know how easily that **** gets f'ed up, scratched, fluid everywhere.. not allways put back togeather right.. etc..

So, I was thinkin about dropping it off at a shop and having them do it.. everyone wanted an arm and a leg.. talking abou the ACD being a big pain in the ***.

Bulls**t. Having gone through it.. its a complete crock for any shop to charge more for an ACD equipped evo. There is no reason for the Banjo to be removed to access the bolt. All you need is a crowfoot box end to slip over it and break it loose, then it takes about about a min to pull on the tcase and walk it out while turning it.. .

Anyways..
I say alternative because throughout my history of dsms and 3kgts, ive always done clutch jobs basically the same way as everyone else. I pop the struts loose from the spindle and take the tie rod loose to get the slack I need to get the axle loose from the hub.

Well, this time around, given that the evo is different in that the Tcase is above the steering rack instead of under it like on previous DSMs. A friend doing the clutch install with me, convinced me to drop the steering rack instead.

Hold on, before you start condemming this idea, a few good reasons for it.
1. Gets you a **** ton more room.. more room is less banging around and scratching up ****.. less chance for the tranny to get hung in an annoying position while your trying to manuever it around.. less chance for the trans input shaft to hit the pressure plate tob retainer and knock it loose (had this happen before and man its a ***** cause you dont knwo till you stab the tranny bolt it down and the tob wont snap in).
2. Its not a significant amount of labor more. Theres only 6 bolts that hold the rack to the frame. They zip right out, its meaningless even without air tools. The steering input shaft slides right out from under the steering boot with only a 10mm bolt coming loose. The only additional thing you do differently is opposed to the 4 bolts you break loose from removing the strut to spindle, you remove 2 brake caliper bolts, 3 nuts on top of the strut towers, 1 tie rods nut( you were takin them off anyway), and then the bolt at the bottom of the spindle that holds it to the control arm, and the ps pump lines (completely insignificant, big deal, youll spill a bit of fluid at worst).

Now, previously the ball joints on the older style cars with the castle nuts were a pain in the ***, they stripped easily, they didnt always come loose with ease. Not so on the evo. Instead of the old style u joint holding the control arm to the spindle, you have a pinch style assembly going over a dowel, with a bolt and nut on the back.. crack it loose, push down on the LCA, pull up on the strut tower.. and now you removed your strut tower with the spindle, rotor and tower all togeather.. set it to the side.. now drop the rack by lowering it down on a floor jack..

And you get all this lovely room


Heres a shot of the tcase tied off to the intake plenum bracket.. not the ACD line still on


Dropping the rack also means you didnt have to do those annoying bolts on the rear tranny mount..just the one bolt that goes through the mount, instead of breaking the mount loose to clear the rack.. since its no longer in the way.

I really dont know what more can be said about this approach other than I wish to god I'd done it this way before and I'm very glad my friend convinced me to try it. All the extra room allows the tranny to just slide right out and right back in. No catching on annoying things that are just barely in the way. No fighting to get to areas I cant get my big *** hands and arms in. I have never in all my years of dsm'ing had any tranny install go so smoothly. I highly recommend this method and will do it on any evo clutch i ever do in the future.

All told, we spent about 8 hours doing it, which I felt to be very good given its my first evo clutch.

Its all back togeather, alignment is perfect, and I really enjoy the road race xclutch I put in.

Phalse

iTrader: (2)

Only other shots I have.. despite my best intensions to show alot of pics.


Rack on the ground to show how small it is and how insignificant the removal was.



Strut towers set aside



Tranny on the jack.. dropped right out.. no rotating.. no gay manuevering around things that were just barely in the way..

dudical26

iTrader: (17)

I am about to re-install my rebuilt tranmission this weekend and I dont care how long it takes I just want it to be as easy as possible and I think I will give this meathod a try. Do you have any pictures of the bolts that need to be removed for the steering rack to come out?

Also I have never dealt with power steering before, will I have to bleed the system if I loose a lot of fluid? Is your steering wheel straight when you are traveling on teh highway? I once installed steering rack bushing in an older car and after the install the steering wheel was slightly crooked.

Lastly just to get an idea, about how much time would you say it takes just to remove the steering rack?

Jeff_Jeske

iTrader: (66)

Nice Job..... I'll probably go this route as well. I'll be doing mine on the garage floor and really don't care if it take an entire weekend or not.

I am curious about the power steering separation. Was that a simple top off and go process?

Phalse

iTrader: (2)

Sorry, no pics of the bolts.. its only about 4 though. 2 long bolts, and 2 nuts that go on bolts that stay in the frame.

You dont bleed the ps system, you just keep the fluid topped off and run it all the way back and forth a few times.. not really much to it.

My steering is perfect after having done it, you just mark the shafts orientation on the other shaft before you disconnect it. At worst youll have to reset it and it might be a spline or 2 off and youll have to redo it till you get it right (takes less than 2 mins and just a 12mm ratchet and some needle nose vice grips)

Time to drop the rack? Less than an hour. unbolt the lines, unbolt the universal joints, then the 4 bolts,.. rest is things youve taken out already or would take out anyway.

Really is worth the effort if you're not pressed for time and just wanna make it easy and painless. You cant not enjoy having all that room once its out.

dudical26

iTrader: (17)

Thanks for the reply, I will give this meathod a shot for the re-install.

Were you able to use the jack to re-install the trans and just jack it straight up and then slide it over a little bit? That would be a LOT easier then bench pressing it into place.

Phalse

iTrader: (2)

yeah, it went straight up, slight tilt to the back, when it went up over the pressure place, tilt forward, push, went right up on the dowels.

dsmjeffro

iTrader: (4)

you are the man i must say i was just out in the garadge about to do myevo clutch all i did was come inside to see what approch to take fpr the acd tc & i find this write up all i have to say is thank you & its off to the garadge to take down the rack let ya guys know it comes out

hondafan

iTrader: (25)

man, i wish you would've taken more pics and did a how-to to remove the rack! it would make it way easier, especially with the big a$$ 6-speed in my car. i f$%ked with that thing for days!

dudical26

iTrader: (17)

I re-installed my transmission yesterday and I did it this way. It was way easier than pulling the transmission out. With the sub frame out not only is there more room for maneuvering the transmission, but getting access to all the transfer case bolts is much easier. I think if I have to do a transmission again I will do it this way for sure.

I do have one question, when I re-installed the sub frame I don’t think I was able to get the steering wheel perfectly lined up. Without dropping the sub frame again how can I re-adjust the steering wheel?

Can I loosen the bolt near the bottom of the shaft and slide the shaft further up towards the steering wheel and off from the lower U - joint, then turn it one tooth and slide it back down onto the U-joint?

Thanks

Also how did you remove the ball joints at the end of the steering links from the wheel hub. When I did mine I punctured the rubber boots the are filled with grease.

Edit- After much searching I was able to track down the cover that goes over the ball joints that are on the steering tie rods. They are called "cover back" part number is MB616023, cost is about $7.

Phalse

iTrader: (2)

Thats exactly it. I had mine 2 teeth off after the reinstall, then moved it over, went to far the other way, adjusted it again and it was dead correct.

As far as the boots, I didnt puncture any. If you mean the tie rod Ujoint, i zipped the nut off with a impact, threaded it back down a few, then smacked it with a rubber malet and it popped out. For the hub to LCA ujoint, i just removed the bolt, then put a pry bar through the hole on the LCA and pushed down, popped right out. I'm not a big fan of using ball joint seperators, they ruin to many boots.

Glad people are finding this usefull. I will make a write up with pics in a week or two, regretably, I ruined my tcase and have to replace it.

hondafan

iTrader: (25)

sweet! not that you toasted the TC, i mean that you're making a write up with pics. looking forward to it, please keep this thread updated with a link to the write-up when you finish.

dudical26

iTrader: (17)

let me know if you want some more pics for your write up. After having just done it this way I can lend a hand in making the write up if you would like.

Tips like how to get the ball joint bolts out would sure help others so they dont brake their boots like I did, also the steering column confused me untill I took the subframe off and then I was able to see how it all works.

XK120

iTrader: (18)

this is awesome thanks!

KOM88

can someone please explain how to seperate the steering nuckel, more importantly how do you remove the boot? thanks alot great write up