Fuzzy_Wuzzy
08-04-2012, 02:04 AM
I wanted to compile a list of tips I found/discovered during my LS7 clutch/pressure plate/Ram Flywheel/ LS7 Slave install. I’ve tried to group my tips by like ideas, but my mind is a little random and keeps thinking of new things, if you are planning on doing this install, take a read through them all before you start and hopefully it helps you prepare better, or know what to expect:
Buy a transmission jack! Get one that has an angle adjustable table on it, Harbor freight has one as their second cheapest trans jack that seems well worth the extra $30-40. (http://www.harborfreight.com/800-lb-capacity-transmission-jack-3185.html)
With the adjustable angle on the jack I was able to get the transmission to slide out with just a few tugs, it came out nicely. Re-installing it was much easier being able to adjust the angle so that it slid in.
When you drop the transmission be aware that there is a vent line that goes to the shifter plate, keep an eye on this before you lower it all the way so you don’t damage the metal tube on the transmission.
When removing the bell housing, remove the starter, or at least pull it out of the bell housing area, it gives you enough room to turn the bell housing around and get it out. (You disconnected the battery before doing this correct?)
If you see conflicting reports of the torque for the flywheel bolts, one with sequences of torques, and the other with a final turn angle, the turn angle is for the base CTS, use the torque sequences. The correct torque per the FSM is 1st pass 15 lbft, 2nd pass 37 lb ft, and third pass 74 lbft
Buy a mityvac or a power bleeder of some type before you start. Bleeding the clutch at the end of the install will take a few hours… yes a few hours, even with a power bleeder, you don’t want to be pumping the pedal that long, for ~$40 buy a mityvac (and better yet order it from amazon beforehand and get it cheaper than your local parts store…)
You will have NO clutch pedal until the very end of bleeding, the pedal will snap to the floor and stay there. It will even pump fluid out like you would expect for quite a while, just no pedal at all. You will know that you are close when it doesn’t snap to the floor quite as hard, bleed for another little while, then pump the pedal ~50-100 times and see if it starts returning to the top on its own. If it does not, keep bleeding and come back.
Plan on having plenty of brake fluid around. If you are swapping to a higher dollar fluid, plan on putting that in once you have a good pedal. You go through so much fluid that I recommend reusing it after you know you have clean fluid coming out of the clutch. There is no reason to waste so much fluid when you are only trying to remove air.
If you have not caught on yet, bleeding the clutch after you are done is the single longest part of the entire project.
Did I mention to buy a remote bleeder yet. If you pull the trans and don’t put a remote bleeder in you are crazy.
If you buy from thelapd.com, call them. I ordered online and paid with paypal and found out that there system does not process paypal orders right. Also I put in the online comments that I wanted a straight bleeder for the CTS-V, they sent the bent bleeder. Just call and make sure they repeat to you it is for a CTS-V and is the straight bleeder.) (NOTE I can only talk to the correct bleeder with the LS7 slave. If you are installing a spacer with your stock slave the bent bleeder MAY be what is needed)
When you are bleeding the clutch, route the remote bleeder up to the engine compartment so you can watch the master cylinder and keep it full at all times, with a power bleeder, it can empty quickly. Even bleeding old school a few pumps can empty it. (Then you get to start over)
With a remote bleeder with the speed bleeder on the end and the mityvac it seemed like I needed at least 15inHg of vacuum to get the bleeder to start letting fluid out.
The speed bleeder is very cool, just loosen it ~1/4 turn, then when you pump the pedal it pushed fluid out then a check valve automatically closes to keep the air out. Good if you are not using any pressure bleeding.
Before you remove the retainer clip from the slave to master cylinder connection, notice how the clip installs. I had a brain fart and tried to install it through the hole, not over the plastic ledge. It installs over the ledge. On the LS7 slave there is a little flat spot where you can pry it off. Once you have it in the correct orientation and figure out how to keep pressure on the two halves to keep it together, the clip slides right in.
When you get your LS7 slave, the pressure line is way longer and way different looking than the stock slave, this is ok. You will have to notch the bellhousing a little to make it fit; this region does not really have any load paths through it so it is ok (some may have bent it around to miss this, but I prefer minimal bending). However, you will have to bend the metal line carefully once you get it in the car so that it does not hit the tunnel. Make sure it is not tight to the car and can move some when you install it.
A personal note, but worthwhile, verify that all the bolts on the front of the transmission (once the transmission is out, and you are staring at the front of it you see the bolts that hold the front of the transmission cover) are torqued to 26 lb ft. When the dealer worked on the car before I owned it I believe they did not torque one of these properly, it came out, and I got a good excuse to upgrade my flywheel.
When re-installing the transmission, get some bolts that are the same thread as the mounting bolts but are longer than stock (all thread will work too) remove the bolt head and round it off, use this as an alignment rod to get the transmission reinstalled. (I knew about this before I started and didn’t do it, it would have simplified things)
Change your transmission fluid while everything is out. It is much easier to get new fluid in when you can pour into the transmission instead of pumping up into it.
If you are planning on doing the diff bushing or diff block, do it now, you will have the driveshaft and exhaust removed. I shortened the bolt that holds the front of the diff on ~1”, it made it much easier to install and has no effect on the function (verify before you remove yours how much is hanging out the backside of the nut that you can remove)
Same for a short throw shifter (I highly recommend PISNUOFF’s shifter) and the creative steel shifter bushings, they make it shift so much better, and you are right there anyways. (https://creative-steel.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=37)
I did the home depot PVC box adaptor mod at the other end of the shifter rails. It seems to be a little tighter, but beware you will need some basic tools to make it work. You need to be able to cut the end of the adaptors off, sand the outside face, and enlarge the center hole (a dremel tool worked well for this) (Original thread for this http://ls1tech.com/forums/cadillac-cts-v/1517800-b-m-shifter.html) Be very careful when testing fitting this in, the outside flange is a thin cast piece which can be brittle, do not force it in, you want the rails to fit in snug, but not too tight.
I also installed the brass shifter bushing from Brian that install at the other end of the shift rail. This was not a bad install, but too some work. The stock bushing is a molded in place ceramic piece (or something like that) you have to break it to get it out, so there is no turning back. I had to use a dremel to clean up the hole in the shifter to get Brain’s bushings to fit in there and allow the clip to be mounted back on. Just a heads up if you are considering this as well. There was some slop here stock that is now removed.
If you plan on taking the transmission out from under the car on the jack, be sure you have the back of the car raised on jackstands. You will probably also need a piece of wood for your jack on the front to get it high enough to just get it out. (you can leave the transmission under the car if you want)
I bought a new plastic shift cup fits inside the shifter assembly, but when I took mine out, it was still really tight (only had ~33k miles on it). The replacement had an additional flange on the top that the stock shifter did not, so I decided not to mess with it. For $6 it may be worth buying one and checking the status of yours while you have the transmission out.
When you remove the driveshaft from the transmission the factory service manual calls out to not remove the rubber adaptor from the driveshaft, but the adaptor from the transmission. I am not sure that it makes a difference, but the manual calls this out several times, so somebody thought it was important (or possibly because its part number is an assembly with the driveshaft), but easy enough to decide which three bolts to remove.
If you like keeping your garage floor clean/oil free be careful when you remove the driveshaft from the differential, there is a little cover that keeps the grease in there that may fall out, and like buttered bread it falls grease side down.
As stated other places, make sure you have plenty of 3/8” extensions ( I would plan on having at least 18” worth, and a good universal joint)
You have a torque wrench right? You will want one for this job, and really most jobs. (you don’t want to risk haveing to do it again)
Loosen the bolts that hold the top of the bell housing to the engine before you jack the car up, it is much easier when the car is at ground level.
This job is doable with one person, I did it, but if you have a friend there are times it would be helpful.
Buy a transmission jack! Get one that has an angle adjustable table on it, Harbor freight has one as their second cheapest trans jack that seems well worth the extra $30-40. (http://www.harborfreight.com/800-lb-capacity-transmission-jack-3185.html)
With the adjustable angle on the jack I was able to get the transmission to slide out with just a few tugs, it came out nicely. Re-installing it was much easier being able to adjust the angle so that it slid in.
When you drop the transmission be aware that there is a vent line that goes to the shifter plate, keep an eye on this before you lower it all the way so you don’t damage the metal tube on the transmission.
When removing the bell housing, remove the starter, or at least pull it out of the bell housing area, it gives you enough room to turn the bell housing around and get it out. (You disconnected the battery before doing this correct?)
If you see conflicting reports of the torque for the flywheel bolts, one with sequences of torques, and the other with a final turn angle, the turn angle is for the base CTS, use the torque sequences. The correct torque per the FSM is 1st pass 15 lbft, 2nd pass 37 lb ft, and third pass 74 lbft
Buy a mityvac or a power bleeder of some type before you start. Bleeding the clutch at the end of the install will take a few hours… yes a few hours, even with a power bleeder, you don’t want to be pumping the pedal that long, for ~$40 buy a mityvac (and better yet order it from amazon beforehand and get it cheaper than your local parts store…)
You will have NO clutch pedal until the very end of bleeding, the pedal will snap to the floor and stay there. It will even pump fluid out like you would expect for quite a while, just no pedal at all. You will know that you are close when it doesn’t snap to the floor quite as hard, bleed for another little while, then pump the pedal ~50-100 times and see if it starts returning to the top on its own. If it does not, keep bleeding and come back.
Plan on having plenty of brake fluid around. If you are swapping to a higher dollar fluid, plan on putting that in once you have a good pedal. You go through so much fluid that I recommend reusing it after you know you have clean fluid coming out of the clutch. There is no reason to waste so much fluid when you are only trying to remove air.
If you have not caught on yet, bleeding the clutch after you are done is the single longest part of the entire project.
Did I mention to buy a remote bleeder yet. If you pull the trans and don’t put a remote bleeder in you are crazy.
If you buy from thelapd.com, call them. I ordered online and paid with paypal and found out that there system does not process paypal orders right. Also I put in the online comments that I wanted a straight bleeder for the CTS-V, they sent the bent bleeder. Just call and make sure they repeat to you it is for a CTS-V and is the straight bleeder.) (NOTE I can only talk to the correct bleeder with the LS7 slave. If you are installing a spacer with your stock slave the bent bleeder MAY be what is needed)
When you are bleeding the clutch, route the remote bleeder up to the engine compartment so you can watch the master cylinder and keep it full at all times, with a power bleeder, it can empty quickly. Even bleeding old school a few pumps can empty it. (Then you get to start over)
With a remote bleeder with the speed bleeder on the end and the mityvac it seemed like I needed at least 15inHg of vacuum to get the bleeder to start letting fluid out.
The speed bleeder is very cool, just loosen it ~1/4 turn, then when you pump the pedal it pushed fluid out then a check valve automatically closes to keep the air out. Good if you are not using any pressure bleeding.
Before you remove the retainer clip from the slave to master cylinder connection, notice how the clip installs. I had a brain fart and tried to install it through the hole, not over the plastic ledge. It installs over the ledge. On the LS7 slave there is a little flat spot where you can pry it off. Once you have it in the correct orientation and figure out how to keep pressure on the two halves to keep it together, the clip slides right in.
When you get your LS7 slave, the pressure line is way longer and way different looking than the stock slave, this is ok. You will have to notch the bellhousing a little to make it fit; this region does not really have any load paths through it so it is ok (some may have bent it around to miss this, but I prefer minimal bending). However, you will have to bend the metal line carefully once you get it in the car so that it does not hit the tunnel. Make sure it is not tight to the car and can move some when you install it.
A personal note, but worthwhile, verify that all the bolts on the front of the transmission (once the transmission is out, and you are staring at the front of it you see the bolts that hold the front of the transmission cover) are torqued to 26 lb ft. When the dealer worked on the car before I owned it I believe they did not torque one of these properly, it came out, and I got a good excuse to upgrade my flywheel.
When re-installing the transmission, get some bolts that are the same thread as the mounting bolts but are longer than stock (all thread will work too) remove the bolt head and round it off, use this as an alignment rod to get the transmission reinstalled. (I knew about this before I started and didn’t do it, it would have simplified things)
Change your transmission fluid while everything is out. It is much easier to get new fluid in when you can pour into the transmission instead of pumping up into it.
If you are planning on doing the diff bushing or diff block, do it now, you will have the driveshaft and exhaust removed. I shortened the bolt that holds the front of the diff on ~1”, it made it much easier to install and has no effect on the function (verify before you remove yours how much is hanging out the backside of the nut that you can remove)
Same for a short throw shifter (I highly recommend PISNUOFF’s shifter) and the creative steel shifter bushings, they make it shift so much better, and you are right there anyways. (https://creative-steel.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=37)
I did the home depot PVC box adaptor mod at the other end of the shifter rails. It seems to be a little tighter, but beware you will need some basic tools to make it work. You need to be able to cut the end of the adaptors off, sand the outside face, and enlarge the center hole (a dremel tool worked well for this) (Original thread for this http://ls1tech.com/forums/cadillac-cts-v/1517800-b-m-shifter.html) Be very careful when testing fitting this in, the outside flange is a thin cast piece which can be brittle, do not force it in, you want the rails to fit in snug, but not too tight.
I also installed the brass shifter bushing from Brian that install at the other end of the shift rail. This was not a bad install, but too some work. The stock bushing is a molded in place ceramic piece (or something like that) you have to break it to get it out, so there is no turning back. I had to use a dremel to clean up the hole in the shifter to get Brain’s bushings to fit in there and allow the clip to be mounted back on. Just a heads up if you are considering this as well. There was some slop here stock that is now removed.
If you plan on taking the transmission out from under the car on the jack, be sure you have the back of the car raised on jackstands. You will probably also need a piece of wood for your jack on the front to get it high enough to just get it out. (you can leave the transmission under the car if you want)
I bought a new plastic shift cup fits inside the shifter assembly, but when I took mine out, it was still really tight (only had ~33k miles on it). The replacement had an additional flange on the top that the stock shifter did not, so I decided not to mess with it. For $6 it may be worth buying one and checking the status of yours while you have the transmission out.
When you remove the driveshaft from the transmission the factory service manual calls out to not remove the rubber adaptor from the driveshaft, but the adaptor from the transmission. I am not sure that it makes a difference, but the manual calls this out several times, so somebody thought it was important (or possibly because its part number is an assembly with the driveshaft), but easy enough to decide which three bolts to remove.
If you like keeping your garage floor clean/oil free be careful when you remove the driveshaft from the differential, there is a little cover that keeps the grease in there that may fall out, and like buttered bread it falls grease side down.
As stated other places, make sure you have plenty of 3/8” extensions ( I would plan on having at least 18” worth, and a good universal joint)
You have a torque wrench right? You will want one for this job, and really most jobs. (you don’t want to risk haveing to do it again)
Loosen the bolts that hold the top of the bell housing to the engine before you jack the car up, it is much easier when the car is at ground level.
This job is doable with one person, I did it, but if you have a friend there are times it would be helpful.