Freakin' taildraggers..., are a MAJOR PAIN to work on! Options

[Dave_Darling]

Now, I know I work slowly. Just one of those things that makes me "special", I suppose. But I can whip out a clutch job on a 914 in an afternoon--I did just that a little while ago on my blue car!

I'm in the middle of replacing the clutch on Lisa's SC. Not only do the parts cost double what the 914 parts do, but you have to pull the whole freaking drivetrain to get access to the clutch! And there's a fair bit more stuff to deal with in the way than on the 914... That funky- munky- motion setup they have for the 915 clutch is really bizarro! It's been frustration after frustration on this job, let me tell you.

Once I had gotten everything (and there's a lot of it!) unbolted and the engine and trans were on the ground (more or less), I found I needed more clearance so I jacked up the body some more. And as I'm trying to get them bolted back up again, I find my floor jack doesn't go high enough with the body up where it needs to be to get the motor under it. So now I've got to get everything supported again, get the jack(s) back out from under the car, and lower the car down to where it was before.

Sadly, much of the frustration is due to my own lack of experience with this job, so it's self-inflicted. Grr. But it is really irksome to realize that I've spent five or six times as long on this as on a 914 clutch, and I've still got a ways to go.

Just had to vent about this one.

--DD

[Dave_Darling]

Ugh. Is there some SOOPER SEKRIT trick to getting the trans mounting bolts started? Those buggers just will not go! I'm using a light to make sure I have the hole through the mount lined up with the threaded hole in the chassis, and I still can't get the stinking bolt to start!

More of the same frustration tomorrow.... Is this supposed to be fun? I forget.

--DD

[jcd914]

Ugh. Is there some SOOPER SEKRIT trick to getting the trans mounting bolts started? Those buggers just will not go! I'm using a light to make sure I have the hole through the mount lined up with the threaded hole in the chassis, and I still can't get the stinking bolt to start!

More of the same frustration tomorrow.... Is this supposed to be fun? I forget.

--DD

Long (mine is about 15 inches) tapered bar shoved thru the mount into the threaded hole on 1 side and used to move the trans & mount around until you feel the bolt on the other side push into the threads. Then turn the bolt and maybe wiggle the bar some to take the tension off the threads. It does not take much misalignment to keep the bolts from starting.
Is the engine all the way up in the ass end? An angle on the engine and trans will make it hard to start the bolts.

Good Luck
Jim