Removing gearbox

[Cloggy Saint]

Just spent a very annoying time trying to seperate the gearbox from the engine. It's moved back a few cm but now it just rotates and I can't get the b@st@rd off. Is it just a case of getting a pry bar inbetween or is there a more subtle solution?

[cakey87]

I had same problem once, are you doing it on the floor or on a ramp?

i was on a ramp n all i did was use a gearbox stand on the front of the engine to angle the gearbox down abit more, then pushed the bell housing up so input shaft wasnt resting in the splines on friction plate, and then slid gearbox backwards, came off nice and easy,

if your on the floor then u could use a jack on front of the engine and slide yourself under the gearbox and use your knees to lift bell housing while pulling backwards,

hope all of that makes sense,

[cakey87]

oh and i take it u have taken starter motor out aswell,

[mark_i]

careful, you dont want to stress or bend the gearbox input shaft... use a pair of threaded rods to support the box.

is the starter still attached to the engine?

[Cloggy Saint]

The engine/box are out of the car and on a pallet so it should be simple. Starter motor is off. I tried slightly raising the rear of the engine so everything's in a straight line but it still didn't budge. I'll give it another try tomorrow.

[daimlerman]

The engine/box are out of the car and on a pallet so it should be simple. Starter motor is off. I tried slightly raising the rear of the engine so everything's in a straight line but it still didn't budge. I'll give it another try tomorrow.

In this instance the gearbox should just slide off with no issue at all.

If it's not playing,this points to a bent first motion shaft.

[Cloggy Saint]

How could it get bent? I prefer to go with cakey's diagnosis!

[daimlerman]

How could it get bent? I prefer to go with cakey's diagnosis!

Fine by me!

BUT...

With the unit completely unbolted,the bloody 'box should just slide off,no force should be needed.
'box refusing to slide off means that;
1 It's still bolted up,somewhere
2 First motion shaft is bent,preventing it sliding out of the spigot bearing on the end of the crankshaft.

[Cloggy Saint]

Ok, so if it is bent how can I remove the box?

[daimlerman]

By placing a suitable lever between the 'box and the engine,working alternately from all points around the joint until it gives in.The alloy bellhousing will suffer most from this approach.

If the engine/gearbox has been stood for a while,the first motion shaft could,just,be stuck on the clutch plate,so should free with this sort of brutality.

Engaging a gear on the box,and rotating the tailshaft whilst levering may help, or turning the engine on the crankshaft nose.

[Brianmoooore]

I take it you've found the single 6mm hex. headed bolt on the exhaust side and undone it?

[cakey87]

is there enough of a gap between the bell housing and the block to get in at the clutch plate bolts? personally iv never seen a bent input shaft on any engine iv worked on so id be suprised if it was that but this is still techinicall possible, more likely is that if its been left sitting in a damp garage or outside then the splines of the input shaft and friction plate may have sized together, if so id suggest daimlerman's approach but using 2 pry bars opposite each other.

[daimlerman]

I would guess that once a gap has been opened up,driving a pair of hardwood wedges in from opposite sides is the way to limit further damage.

[Cloggy Saint]

I went back to it today prepared for a struggle and it slipped off first time of asking

[Cloggy Saint]

Next stupid question, is the filling plug the top circled bolt (which I managed to snap) and draining the bottom?

[Brianmoooore]

Drain plug is at the bottom and circled. Filling plug is the one facing straight out of the pic., about 1/3 of the way up.

[Cloggy Saint]

Thanks, so what's the one I've broken, with a kind of valve set into it?

[daimlerman]

Thanks, so what's the one I've broken, with a kind of valve set into it?

At a guess,it's a breather.

[Cloggy Saint]

I see it's NLA, is it crucial to the set up or can I just replace it with a bolt?

[Brianmoooore]

Don't advise replacing it with a bolt, unless you want a gearbox that blows out oil through every seal! It's called a vent for a reason.

[daimlerman]

I see it's NLA......

Have you spoken to a stealer parts man?

Hard to imagine that this bit is not similar/same as fitted to current BMW's.

Or is this 'box going into your touring?
Can you not swap the same part over from your present 'box?

[Brianmoooore]

Doesn't show NLA here: http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E30/T ... ing_parts/
Who said it is?

[daimlerman]

Doesn't show NLA here: http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E30/T ... ing_parts/
Who said it is?

It's those damn dagio's again Brian!

[Cloggy Saint]

Doesn't show NLA here: http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E30/T ... ing_parts/
Who said it is?

Part 19 in the picture? There's no part # or price in the listing

[daimlerman]

Doesn't show NLA here: http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E30/T ... ing_parts/
Who said it is?

Part 19 in the picture? There's no part # or price in the listing

3/4/5 is the bloody breather!

19 is the sodding reversing light switch!
No way on god's earth is that NLA!

[Brianmoooore]

Doesn't show NLA here: http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E30/T ... ing_parts/
Who said it is?

Part 19 in the picture? There's no part # or price in the listing

3/4/5 is the bloody breather!

19 is the sodding reversing light switch!
No way on god's earth is that NLA!

Any part that appears in the pic., but doesn't appear in the listing, isn't fitted to the particular version of whatever you're looking at that you specified, or, occasionally, is listed under another similar diagram.
Any part that is NLA will be listed, but will show a price of zero, and have discontinued written in red by it.

[Cloggy Saint]

3/4/5 is the bloody breather!
19 is the sodding reversing light switch!
No way on god's earth is that NLA!

3, 4 and 5 is not the part I'm talking about!! it's the top circled part in the picture I posted earlier

[daimlerman]

3/4/5 is the bloody breather!
19 is the sodding reversing light switch!
No way on god's earth is that NLA!

3, 4 and 5 is not the part I'm talking about!! it's the top circled part in the picture I posted earlier

That is not part 19.

[Cloggy Saint]

So what # is it?

[daimlerman]

So what # is it?

3,4 and bloody 5!

[Cloggy Saint]

3, 4 and 5 is this, yes?

[daimlerman]

http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E30/T ... ing_parts/

So exactly;

Which bit have you bust?

(just trying,very hard,to help)

[Cloggy Saint]

The broken part is the top part circled in the first picture I posted. I have put a bolt in it's place for the time being. This part is clearly NOT 3, 4 and 5 as this is on top of the box whereas the part I need is on the side.

[Brianmoooore]

So what's its number in the parts diagrams? If the numbers not there, you're looking at the wrong diagram, or it was never available as a separate part.

[Cloggy Saint]

That's the question I'm asking! It looks like #19 and it looks to go where #19 goes, although from the picture it's not very clear where it goes exactly. It's a hollow bolt with a valve in the head that fits on the right side of the box at the top, just above the filler plug.