89 Clutch Replacement

[WizBang]

Also removed the shifter extension housing and confirmed that the rails shift firmly and have healthy detents.
I wiped all the black residue I could reach in the extension housing (likely black plastic and metallic powder from shifter wear. There was about 1/2 cup of black gear lube trapped in there too. Wondering if any fresh gear lube should be added or grease should be applied to the forks? My assumption is grease only. Any suggestions on the best grease to use here?

[fixkick]

THANKS FOR SHARING, GREAT PHOTOS ALL, .

JUST GREASE THE SHIFTER Extension housing and rails. that marine grease is good. and sure can even use GL3 to lube all those parts.
really is the time factory before, first start, up, as oil can drip dry , if tranny parked for say a year, those upper parts, are best greased.
yes, grease forks tips if , there now. on any dry box, just like engine builds ,assembly lube or grease light. (fork tips sure)
just for first startup not being dry reasons.

do not expect running car to push GL3/4 Lube up to the shifter pocket, this point must be greased.
im taking 2 boxes to make 1 good box here. and new bearings. below.


http://www.fixkick.com/tranny/5speed-rebuild.html


Happy trails !

[WizBang]

Couple of questions before I reinstall all the new clean things:

Do I need to put anything like a light brush of high temperature brake grease on the tranny shaft before reinstalling?

Do you recommend replacing the main output seal on the back of the block? I recall you saying it is very robust and holds up well. I do have an SKF seal on hand and will replace it if it is relatively easy to re and re.
It was very dirty behind the flywheel but I believe this was all dizzy pizz


Hard to tell if seal is leaking after you've cleaned it



Another oddity on my tranny is that I didn't have the block to tranny reinforcement braces (7026 and 7028 on the FSM Manual Transmission Section 7B) when I pulled my tranny.
Do you know if they are supposed to be there on an 89? I do have a 92 Sidekick parts car that I could pull them off of if they are important - especially considering I am often on rough terrain and pushing snow with my plow

[fixkick]

Couple of questions before I reinstall all the new clean things:

Do I need to put anything like a light brush of high temperature brake grease on the tranny shaft before reinstalling?
yes, i use brake grease, there , thin coat brushed on, thin as possible, (can't fly off), same as rear spline in to transfer case




Do you recommend replacing the main output seal on the back of the block?
I recall you saying it is very robust and holds up well.
I do have an SKF seal on hand and will replace it if it is relatively easy to re and re.( it is easy, just bolts on that mount, it is self centering , I think)
It was very dirty behind the flywheel but I believe this was all dizzy pizz



Hard to tell if seal is leaking after you've cleaned it



Another oddity on my tranny is that I didn't have the block to tranny reinforcement braces (7026 and 7028 on the FSM Manual Transmission Section 7B) when I pulled my tranny.
that is odd, who would throw those away.? my guess only for heavy 4wd offroad stress?

Do you know if they are supposed to be there on an 89? (i do not know this for first years now but will look in the book on parts \89/90)

I do have a 92 Sidekick parts car that I could pull them off of if they are important - especially considering I am often on rough terrain and pushing snow with my plow
boy if they fit, I'd use them.
the engine to trans bell is not strong on the bottom side. the braces I think make up for the weakness of the lower engine mounts to bell.
I think they are not optional. "called siffeners by suzuki" seen on all years of this car. (and varies by trans type)

[WizBang]

Thank you so much Fixkick for excellent guidance and generosity. You have acquired an incredible knowledge base.

I obviously have been given the wrong seal. Should have looked at it first.


So these five bolts are removed and seal slides out?

[fixkick]

You are very welcome
and thank you for sharing you build and such great photos !

yes those 5 bolts.
NATIONAL 710334

here
is good

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/suzu...+seal,5604

[fixkick]

scratching head, I think Napa had the seal. on the shelf or , in few hours from other stores.

[WizBang]

Rear crank seal removed and replaced (SKF 26749). This seal was very tight to re & re. It took using a large punch and hammer to get it out. There is no flange on the aluminum housing so you can punch it out from either side. However, the shape of the seal makes it easier to use the punch from the outside (or flywheel side) to punch it (inward).

I used a piece of black ABS plumbing pipe and a rubber mallet to punch the new seal back in. I also ran a light coat of Marine grease around the inner ring of the seal where the crank is constantly turning and rubbing against the seal. I wouldn't suggest putting any lubricant around the outside of the seal. Although it would make pressing the new seal in to the housing easier, it might allow the seal to migrate out once the block gets warm.

Bolt holes in the block and the bolts were cleaned thoroughly with Q-tips and brake cleaner. Bolt threads dressed with Loctite Blue gel and RTV applied as the new gasket. Note two longer bolts which go into bottom holes. Also ensure that the two metal bushings on these holes are seated up to the flange on the housing. I used a vice very carefully to press them and there should be about 1/8" of bushing that will project into the block holes. I found them to be very tight to press in and would NOT have wanted to use the bolts (in aluminum threads) to act as the "press" when tightening up on reinstall.



BTW I REALLY like the loctite GEL. Less messy, doesn't drip, and one stripe of it along one side of the bolt threads is plenty. Bit hard to find in most stores for some reason (Canada)

[WizBang]

After much swearing, laying on wet asphalt, co-habitating with spiders, wasps, and all things crawly, I was able to wrestle thickly coated greasy black bolts to remove the two engine-to-transmission support brackets from my 92 Sidekick parts vehicle that has lived, dormant, in my driveway for 7 years.

After cleaning, degreasing, and painting them pretty with black engine enamel... I discovered that they were obviously never used on this tranny. That's four hours of my life I'll never get back again.
There were no mounting bolt holes on either side of the bell housing.



Makes me wonder if the 89 comes without the brackets? Or was this an import tranny swap from a P/O?

UPDATE: Again, fixkick comes through!! I was able to determine that this tranny was at least from an 89 via the "K" on the serial number from this fixkick page
http://www.fixkick.com/specs/VIN-motor-decoder.html
Here's my tranny model#



If the tranny drop wasn't such a big job I'd have just swapped the bell housings on my 89 and 92. No doubt I'd find THEY weren't compatible either after all the work. I'll just leave well enough alone.

[WizBang]

And... as if I didn't have enough to do already, I decided to drop my rusty old oil pan before it got so bad that it perforated, and repaint it with black engine enamel which can withstand the block heat and oil/gas/chemicals. Once the tranny and flywheel are out it is much easier to get at the oil pan.

I horribly underestimated how much work this would be since it required removing the front diff and involved a ton of prep work to sand, degrease, remove RTV from the pan and the bottom of the block. I also thoroughly cleaned each pan bolt and bolt hole thread in the block with brake cleaner and q-tips so the blue loctite would bond properly.


SUGGESTION: If you are going to drop the pan, let the engine drip/drain at least overnight before removing it. A couple of days is better to let most of the block oil to drip out.

I used a new Felpro gasket (only for 95's and earlier) and used a light bead of RTV on both sides of the cork gasket to help ensure I never have to redo the job due to an oil pan leak.
Blue loctite to the bolt threads. 7ft/lbs torque.