tell me who wrote this- I will not take credit for it, was saved in a document.
Pics will hopefully be working for it soon!
How-to Remove and Install MTX Transmission 98-2003 ZX2:
Please read the entire guide before attempting this procedure, it will save you time preparing and getting parts & tools you may need!
Tools you will need:
Wrench/socket Set, 30MM optional, air tools are recommended but optional
Decent quality Breaker Bar
1-2 Floor jacks
2 Jack-stands
4’ cheater pipe (optional)
Hammer
Sledge Hammer
Drain Pan
Stake tool
Flat-head screwdriver
1-2 Prybars
Parts you will need:
Rear Main seal - optional
axel boot & axle circlips - optional, replace if demaged, they come with a new axel boot
Axle 30MM bolts - recommended to replace these if you remove the axel, but it is not necessary
WD-40/ Anti-Seize and High temperature axle grease
Catalytic converter exhaust seals - if necessary
Fresh Brake Fluid and Transmission Fluid - if you’re not re-using your old one
Clutch disck, pressure plate, pilot bearing - if you’re replacing it + alignment tool
Replacement Transmission
Time Required: 7 to 12 Hours approx., it can be a well balanced 2 day job!
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Disconnect the battery by loosening the 8mm bolt on each cable.
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Remove the battery and battery tray held in place by 4x 10mm bolts.
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Remove the air intake plastic tube and air filter housing, and remove any hoses and electrical connections attached to it.
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(optional, if you are replacing the slave cylinder) Disconnect the slave cylinder line from the slave cylinder hose and unplug the hose. The joint in the hydraulic line is at the center of the tranny, unbolt it, and undo it at that point… you can plug the hole with something, or let it drain to a pan. There is about 6" of rubber hydraulic line joining the steel line so its quite easy to identify. If you do not want to split the cylinder hose here, see step 15 for an alternative method.
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(optional, if you are replacing the slave cylinder) Unfasten the slave cylinder line retaining clip and remove the line from the bracket. Only do this if you did step 4 and you don’t want to remove the lower tranny mount. It is actually easier to remove the lower tranny mount that sits below the upper tranny mount, and avoid disconnecting the lines at all… also saves you from having to bleed the system, but if you need to remove the slave cylinder this is the only way to go.
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Unplug the top and bottom oxygen sensor Electrical connection, step 9 (blue wire), pic below (green wire), also see pic of cat in step 25.
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Unplug the back-up light electrical connection, see pics below.
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Unplug the VSS connection, you can also loosen the insulator nuts from the left-hand engine support bracket, but do not remove yet, see step 15 for pic.
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(optional, if removing axels) Loosen the lug nuts on both wheels. If you plan on removing the axles form the spindle, also loosen the 30MM locknut, unstake it first using a hammer and chisel first, this might prove difficult as its toruqed down to 180 ft-lbs so this guide will concentrate on removing the axles from tranny only. Jack up vehicle with floorjack and properly lower onto jackstands, remove the wheels, and put the wheels under the car for now.
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Remove the splash guard plastic shield cover that goes around the drivers side axle, there are 3 10mm bolts and a few clips that hold it on. I usually don’t get the bolts that are underneath, because they are connected to the crossmember which you remove anyways.
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Drain the transaxle fluid using the drain bolt… see pic! Save fluid for later if still good.
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You can now blend the fluid and make fruit shakes (optional) LOL:
- Remove the halfshafts… this step is done on both sides and is quite time consuming:
13a - Take the screwdriver and the hammer and gently tap the clip holding the brakeline to the strut out. It might be stubborn , and prying might also work, but be careful not to damage or bend the brake line, lubricating it might help. You should tie the hub assembly up to the strut to give it some support as it will be hanging after this step. If you don’t tie it, the strut might demage your rubber boot.
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13b - (I dont think this is required as our struts are not adjustable) Make a mark on your strut bar bolts so you can assemble it with the same adjustment as it is presently. With a 17mm socket and breaker bar on the right and 17mm wrench holding the other side, undo both bolts holding the strut to the hub assembly. You will probably have to hammer the bolts out. Be careful, the entire hub will come down and outward, and it will rest on the balljoint. Make sure it is all resting on the rope you tied previously, if not fix this.
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13c - Get under the car and locate the bracket that holds the axle on the passenger side, remove the 3 bolts that hold this in place. Plus remove the 8mm bolt that holds the coolant pipe to heater core to give you more room… I couldn’t get the bracket out far enough until I removed this bolt.
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13d - Using the hammer, take out the cotter pin holding the nut on the tie-rod end. Use a 14mm socket on the bottom and remove the nut. Using a prybar & a bit of pressure, pry the tie-rod end from the hub assembly.
13e - Now with everything out you can pry out the axles from the transmission. You’ll need two pry-bars to remove the driver axle the first time. Once that clip is broke loose once, you can usually get it out with just one pry-bar. Once these are out, you can run a wire through the differential to ensure side gears don’t fall in as there is a 50/50 chance that they might. Insert a prybar between the halfshaft and tranxsaxle case, gently pry outward to release the halfshaft from the differential side gar. Be careful not to demage the transaxle case, oil seal, cv-joint or cv-joint boot, remove the halfshaft. Again, make sure you install suitable plugs (e.g. wire) after removing the halfshafts to prevent the differencail side gears from moving out of place. should the gears become misaligned, the differential will have to be removed from the transaxle to align the gears, this involves taking the transmission apart completely! See Video of Gears Falling Down! http://youtube.com/watch?v=zfo8vfIMYhA
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Wire going through the differencial to ensure gears dont fall:
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Prying out axle:
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13f (optional, but not required unless you need more room) - If there is still not enough room to get axles out, using 2x 17mm sockets, loosen the 2 bolts that hold the balljoint to the control arm, just below the hub assembly. Remove the balljoint screws that were loosened previously, ensure the hub has proper support form your rope/wire tied to the strut. You will most likely need to remove the ball joint on the drivers side anyways to get it to go back into the transmission later.
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Properly support the engine, find a piece of wood that will sit flat underneath the oil pan, and put a jack underneath it. This will support the engine for the rest of this procedure. Refer to pic below to give you a general idea.
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Remove the previously loosened insulator nuts from the left-hand engine support bracket, see the pic… There is also another way of doing this, on top of removing the insulator nuts (blue in diagram below), you can remove the the three lower nuts (red). In this case you do not have to split the slave cylinder line, but you will have to unscrew the slave cylinder directly from the transmission. If the line cannot be split then you will have to remove the red bolts, blue bolts, and the 2 bolts that hold the clutch slave cylinder to the transmission. This is what I did and was way easier. You will have to swing the upper tranny mount out of the way a bit to get to the last bolt of the lower tranny mount.
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Remove the front upper transaxle-to-engine and front rear transaxle-to-engine bolts. See pic below, these bolts are 13MM and go all around transmission, 2 of them are shorter.
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Disconnect the A/C line from the retainer located on the engine support crossmember, it is a plastic clip you can squeeze on and get it out of the way. It is located at the front of the crossmember, practically below the clutch slave clinder, right after where the A/C line runs from the compressor, there is a plastic ring that holds it to the tranny crossmember. It gives you some room to work with if you take it out of the ring or unclip the ring.
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Remove Crossmembers.
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18a If your car is equipped with a wheel-to-wheel crossmember, remove it, it is held in place with 4 bolts.
18b Unfasten the engine transmission crossmember bolts and nuts, and remove crossmember… there are 8 in total…refer to pic!
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Unfasten the gearshift stabilizer bar-to-transaxle nut, then remove the stabilizer bar and support form the tranny… see pic in next step.
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Unfasten the tranny gearshift rod nut…See Pic.
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Remove the bolt and the gearshift rod as well as the 12MM nut/bolt from the input shift shaft…See Pic above.
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Remove the 3 bolts that hold the Starter Motor to the engine block, put it aside without disconnecting the wires.
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Disconnect the lower slave cylinder tube and remove the slave cylinder
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Unfasten the lower transaxle-to-engine bolts.
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Remove the catalytic converter. Using an extension, reach the two 15mm nuts that connect the cat to the header, if necessary remove the 8mm bolt holding the dipstick to the head and wiggle the dipstick out, this will give you more room. Remove the 2 bolts and nuts at the other end of the cat, where it connects to your exhaust pipe, they are 14/15mm. Inspect the exhaust seals on both end of the cat to see if new ones are needed.
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Put a jack under the transaxle to support it before undoing the last few bolts, we will use the jack to lower the transmission out from underneath the car so ensure where you put it is stable.
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Unfasten the middle to transaxle-bolts, pry tranny loose from engine block using a flat screwdriver or a pry bar. Try not to demage the metal tranny to engine spacer. You do not have to remove the spacer, sometimes it will fall off anyway. Slide the tranny out a bit and lower it out of the the car from the bottom. You may want to run some rope or bailing wire through the differential housing after you remove the axles so the side gears won’t fall in. If they fall in, you have to take the tranny apart to get them back in place! Make sure they are not fallen in on your replacement transmission. Make sure it goes back on the way it came off, if it comes off.
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Installation:
If you are going to replace the rear main seal you will have to remove the clutch and flywheel, pry it out with a screwdriver and slip on the new one.
When re-installing the tranny, make sure the dowel pins are not burred up and are in the block straight or you won’t be able to close the gap between tranny and engine. When plugging the axles back in make sure they are clean, lubrication would also help! Use common sense during installation… you should already know everything since you just removed it!
Install is reverse of removal using the following Torque figures Nm (ft. lbs):
Transaxle to engine bolts (all: middle, lower, and front and rear) 38-51 Nm (28-38)
Lower slave cylinder tube fitting 13-21 Nm (10-16)
Gearshift bolt and gearshift rod nut 16-23 Nm (12-17)
Gearshift stabilizer bar 15-23 Nm (11-17)
Engine support crossmember 64-89 Nm, insulator nuts @ 28-51 Nm (20-38)
Left hand engine support insulator nuts 67-98 Nm (49-72)
Slave cylinder to slave cylnder hose retaining clip fitting 13-21 Nm (10-15)
Also lube up anything as necessary, where the axles go in, coat with axle grease, remove oil filter if necessary when installing passanger side axle, its not required but might give a bit more room. Don’t forget to bleed your brakes, then clutch, and don’t let the brake fluid drop below minimum level, also fill your tranny back with fluid via the fill bolt or VSS… its 3.8L/ 3.5quarts.
Special thanks to everyone that contributed, ed-flip, Pheller, and ZX2Fast. Put together by radzhome. I had to do my clutch disk this time again… the old one fell apart so I revised the write up again. I noted the steps that are not required or optional, and why.
