3.7 MT-82 removal, stuck...

sarjxxx

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Trying to swap the clutch in my brother's 2013, we've successfully gotten everything out of the way to get the trans disconnected from the motor, but it just won't budge. We removed 4 bolts from the driver side running from the bellhousing into the block, including the one at the top of motor; as well as 2 bolts on the pass side running from the block side into the bellhousing, and of course the starter bolts. I've searched and searched and can't seem to find any other bolts holding this thing in, and I'm pretty sure it's just the positioning dowels holding it in. The problem is I can't get it disconnected for anything. All I've managed to be able to do towards progress is get it to show about 1/16" of separation at the bottom when prying on it but it closes right back when you let off the pressure. We've been working so hard prying and shaking it I'm nearly worried about knocking it off the jack stands...

Everything else of course has been removed too - drive shaft is out, shifter is dropped, and crossmember is out. The only thing I didn't remove was the X-pipe, since as far as I can tell, with the lower O2 sensors removed, it won't be in the way of removing the trans once it's loose and I DO NOT feel like fighting those cursed manifold-to-downpipe flange bolts {studs}.

Does anyone know if I'm missing a bolt somewhere, or any helpful tricks to pry the thing loose? I've spent over 2 hours just trying to pry the trans loose from the block, feels like we've got to be missing something
:angry1:

Also, side note; Does anyone know why seemingly no vendor carries stock replacement for 3.7 flywheel? The only one I can find anywhere is the Spec aluminum one. Not even my dealer could come up with one, and nobody seems to be able to order one in either. I guess we're just going to end up getting the original resurfaced since we're just replacing the stock clutch anyway, but just seems stange that no one carries the OEM replacement for a <10yr old car
 
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WNYGT5-0

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Impe you need to support the front of the trans and the rear of the trans at the same time and block the engine to keep it from shifting. Then pry the trans straight back with a bar on each side. Your pipes should be out of the way. If you try to pry without properly supporting the trans and engine you may loose all the hair on top of your head if any still remains. The cowl drains are right there and tend to migrate water into the dowls.
 

Juice

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Trans still attached to bell housing?
I always pull the trans without the bell housing.
Then remove bell from engine.
 

tjm73

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Trans still attached to bell housing?
I always pull the trans without the bell housing.
Then remove bell from engine.

The MT-82 transmission bell is integral to the case. In fact, it is part of the case and not removable.

This is a V6 MT-82

V6 MT-82.jpg
 

sarjxxx

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Impe you need to support the front of the trans and the rear of the trans at the same time and block the engine to keep it from shifting. Then pry the trans straight back with a bar on each side. Your pipes should be out of the way. If you try to pry without properly supporting the trans and engine you may loose all the hair on top of your head if any still remains. The cowl drains are right there and tend to migrate water into the dowls.

Yeah I currently have the engine supported by a 2x4 on a jack stand so it's pretty much staying in place. I've tried playing with the support under the trans to varying degrees of lift, from as much as it will go, to completely unsupported, and everywhere in between but I can't get it to budge. My thought was the same, try to pry it out from both sides, but I can't get it to separate even enough to get a pry bar into the sides. The only place I've been successful is the drain/dust cutout at the bottom of the bellhousing where it meets the block and dust shield, which gives me about 1/4" for access.

I've tried looking up photos of used manuals for sale to see if I'm missing any bolts, and I'm seeing 2 bolt holes at the very top of the bellhousing that look like they also mate to the block. I'm wondering if those are something I missed which would the cause of my frustration, and if so will I need to take the upper intake off to remove those, because I can't seem to find any possible way to get to them from under the car...
 

WNYGT5-0

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It can be frustrating for sure. So... the cowl drains like I said, water can leak into the trans/engine plate and the dowels. And you get corrosion. The last one I couldn’t get to break free. I thought I missed bolts as well. Ended up pulling engine and trans together. Smacked the dowel areas with a hammer and still, two pry bars. Good luck.095A5B4F-5D26-46DB-AAB6-305148AAD9DE.jpeg8B356747-63AC-4CAB-AB8D-0CA04BD1C72A.jpeg C48F7090-1618-423F-92B3-71B0A145A640.jpeg
 

sarjxxx

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Well the problem turned out to be that we indeed missed 3 bolts at the top‍♂️ After those were removed it came right out.

Now the new issue is that according to the machine shop we took it to, DM flywheels can't be resurfaced. And as prior mentioned, it seems that no one sells a new one. So is our only option to buy aluminum aftermarket; or is the stock one reusable without resurfacing? That seems like a bad idea to me but I'm at a loss for options here...
 

WNYGT5-0

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Congrats. We have them resurfaced at the transmission shop I work at. I had mine resurfaced as well. Call around and find yourself a better machine shop. I dropped mine off left to pick up chicken feed and picked it back up afterwards for less than a 20. For your 6 a resurface will be fine unless it’s trashed.
 

Juice

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Post a pic of the flywheel. You may be able to just scuff the surface and reuse.
 

tjm73

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Congrats. We have them resurfaced at the transmission shop I work at. I had mine resurfaced as well. Call around and find yourself a better machine shop. I dropped mine off left to pick up chicken feed and picked it back up afterwards for less than a 20. For your 6 a resurface will be fine unless it’s trashed.

Agree. Find a better machine shop.
 

sarjxxx

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Hey everyone, thanks for the replies. After doing further research he decided not to take any chances on the stock flywheel, and just to go full ham so we ordered the Spec stage 1 kit with the matching aluminum flywheel.

We did the braided clutch line upgrade, Exedy throwout, and the Barton shifter bracket too... Figured we might as well do the complete job at once. While everything was out.

So far seemed to work out well enough. The clutch grabs HARD with the new setup. When we put it back on the ground to test drive it I chirped the tires just pulling out of the driveway... wasn't expecting it to grab where it does but everything seems to be back in order. Thanks for the help all.
 

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