engine and drivetrain Replacing front seal on 5 speed

[mike472]

How do you get the sleeve off that covers the front transmission seal on a 245 5 speed? I got as far as taking the six or so 10mm bolts off but after tapping and pulling this seems on there pretty tight. I don't want to damage the surface that the throwout bearing rides on by trying to grab it with a pair of big channel-locks. Is there a trick here? The rear seal and shift seal were easy enough to get at.

[Guest_anonymous]

I found the factory RTV material to be very secure. after unbolting the outer shaft cover from the inner bell housing I used a soft drift to punch and rotate the cover to break the soft seal material. I also found the shaft cover to be very tight over the splined transmission input shaft. I did not use any tool to grasp the cover that the throw out bearing rides on. I had wondered about the same issue, at how much it took to get that piece off. It seemed as though I used an abnormal amount of force to break the soft sealant. That cover sits metal to metal so I was glad I didn't use a pry bar under the cover and damage the mating surface. Since there is no paper gasket, I used Grey RTV upon reassembly.

Daron

[mike472]

Thanks Proslack

I was wondering how hard you could hit one of those tabs on the flange. When you say soft drift, do you mean copper? I have a set of hard flat headed steel punches, but I was afraid of breaking that tab off. I will have to borrow one from my other shop. I started to tap and but didn't hit it too hard before I said to myself, "better get on the forum and ask before I f' something up". As usual, I'm glad I did.

[Guest_anonymous]

I was in the exact same place. I used a 1/2" wood dowel that I splintered up pretty good with a dead blow. I guess I could have used a copper rod which I had laying around but was pretty cautious around the tabs of that cover. Its just a cast piece and seems easy to crack.

GL