I am putting in a new clutch in a 98 camaro and cant get the tranny to go into the pilot bearing it will go into the disc fine but I CAN NOT get it into the pilot bearing this is the 2nd day trying any tips helpfull info please that tranny is kicking my ***!
p.s. its not the slave cyl holding me.

 

Did you use an alignment tool when you set the clutch up? How far away is the bellhousing from the block? Did you crack the bleeder on the slave?

 

yes I used the tool,slave is still unhooked, and I split tranny and bell the bell is on the motor and the tranny is about a inch&a half from the bell. and the throwout is still a half inch from the diaphram.

 

Took me and my dad and a neighbor about 3 hours to get it to go on all the way. All we did was take turns under the car rocking the tranny up and down, left and right, all the while pushing the T56 towards the motor. (That thing gets heavy after 15 minutes of rocking.)

 

Sure its the pilot bearing and not the dowels on either side of the tranny?

 

not even close to the dowels yet.

 

The clutch is not aligned perfectly with the pilot bearing.Those plastic alignment tools get you somewhat close but it has to be perfect.Ever since I switched to a real input shaft the tranny's slide in like butter.Before it was a fight.

So,loosen the clutch and realign the clutch assembly.Visual inspect that the tool is centered and it slides in/out very easilly.

 

use a little bit of upward pressure on the alignment tool when bolting the PP down. you will notice the clutch, with the platic tool, has quite a bit of play in it. it's got to be centered in order for the clutch to slide in easily. if you get it centered good the transmission should slide in very easily. usually takes me about 5 minutes to actually slide the transmission in.

 

Yeah, I usually try and hand tighten the pressure plate first just tight enough to hold the disk up, but still let it be easily movable. Then take the alignment tool and play around in circles to get a feel for where the exact center is. If its not right on, you wont be able to get the input shaft into the pilot bearing, and youll certainly have problems again when you finally get to the dowels.