Gearbox removal: 96 K11 1.0 pre-face

SteveG

Intake n exhaust almost done, suspension next :)
Ok, so after a long time I've finally got round to having a go at replacing the gearbox bearings and clutch/bearing and I've got everything else off (I think) following the Haynes manual* and pollyp's post about it.

* so vague lol, no need to undo the bloody trackrod end ball-joint! Had a go and it didn't come out, but the nut is stuck halfway down on the broken remains of the split pin, so just spins the bolt lol... I might be able to get the nut off using some snipe nose mole grips on the bolt, might just limp it to a garage and get a new ball joint or track rod end + ball joint!

I haven't managed to pull the gearbox bell housing off the engine, despite removing the main 4 bolts (9, 11, and 1 o'clock, and the rear engine mount bolt) and the two little ones on the bottom, as well as the 3 bolts off the front gearbox bracket.

First question: do I have to remove the actual rear engine mount bracket (looks like a humpback bridge with a doughnut in it)? It looks like there's next to no clearance around the bolt heads, top one has the steering rack above it and the bottom one has the gear selector end (from the gearbox) in the way. So I'm not sure how to get those off, maybe it will be more obvious when I have some light tomorrow... but it looked really tight in near darkness. I couldn't make out what sits either side of the mount, is it connected to the engine or the gearbox?

Second question: how on earth do you get the gearbox housing off the engine?! It was admittedly pretty dark when I got to the point with all the bolts off, but I tried:
  • prying it with a small crowbar against the centre support
    • the whole gearbox and engine shifted side to side, as one
  • using a length of wood and hammer, smacking it from the top at different angles
    • no apparent effect
  • similar technique with a flat piece of wood and hammer, smacking it from the bottom
    • also no apparent effect
  • grabbing the gearbox from the top and shaking it up and down, back and forth, like a crazy monkey
    • probably got some laughs off the neighbours
  • grabbing the gearbox from underneath and shaking it forward and back
    • nothing, or possibly some more laughs
  • jacking the gearbox up with a trolley jack fairly high and then letting the jack down until it wasn't supporting the gearbox, did this maybe 3 times
    • gearbox and engine moved as one
There doesn't appear to be any decent pry points for getting the gearbox housing off the engine. Everywhere I tried just moved the whole engine+gearbox around. Everywhere I didn't try looked like I'd probably end up bending a bracket.

I've searched the forums and found a few threads where people seem to have just pryed it off, or lifted it with a crane/pulley. I don't have a crane/pulley, and I only have small crowbars which seem to flex loads (it was, however, sufficient a pry to pull the driveshaft out by turning it and prying it all around). Do I need to hammer in the crowbar to try to break the seal?
 

frank

Club Member
it,ll just be the siezed in dowels steve, and always removed the shafts by removing the 2 hub bolts and turning it on full lock
 
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SteveG

SteveG

Intake n exhaust almost done, suspension next :)
yeah I wish I just ignored the Haynes manual and tried that first, with both wheels off and the car on axles stands on the chassis, it was really easy to push the driveshaft end out the hub carrier... oh well

so seized dowels... I think I might have spotted one at the front, can I hammer them out with a spare bolt? or are the dowels welded to the engine?

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Micra Sports Club mobile app
 

frank

Club Member
1 front and rear mate, i usually hammered a flat screwdriver between the flanges, and the preface 1.0 dismantling is different (covered in the k10 manual)
 
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SteveG

SteveG

Intake n exhaust almost done, suspension next :)
ah ok, will have a go with hammer and screwdriver tomorrow... is the pre-face gearbox pretty much identical to the K10? I might try to find the K10 Haynes manual if it's the same (or near enough to be relevant)... I saw some people pointed out the K10 has an exploded diagram of the gearbox... K11 gearbox section is so bloody vague, spent a lot of time trying to decipher the directions!

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Micra Sports Club mobile app
 
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SteveG

SteveG

Intake n exhaust almost done, suspension next :)
cool, I've now got the K10 Haynes manual and some K11 service manuals, so in a lot better position for disassembly/reassembly!
just need to smash it off with a screwdriver first lol

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SteveG

SteveG

Intake n exhaust almost done, suspension next :)
Got the bastard out finally. Turns out I hadn't removed all the bolts from the rear bracket. Took a while to find the last couple! Thankfully the right hand driveshaft was easier to pop out than the left, as there was barely any room to lever it off. Not looking forward to re installing it, but now I have the fun task of rebuilding the gearbox and replacing the clutch. At least I can see what I'm doing now. It's probably easier to just remove the whole engine lol

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John_D

Club Member
Radio Code Guru
Got the bastard out finally. Turns out I hadn't removed all the bolts from the rear bracket. Took a while to find the last couple! Thankfully the right hand driveshaft was easier to pop out than the left, as there was barely any room to lever it off. Not looking forward to re installing it, but now I have the fun task of rebuilding the gearbox and replacing the clutch. At least I can see what I'm doing now. It's probably easier to just remove the whole engine lol

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Micra Sports Club mobile app
Assuming the weight /balance point is similar to the K12 box, when you go to put it back you will find that the dif. side wants to drop and rotate the box. When I refitted mine last week we had a transmission jack under the centre of the box and a trolley jack supporting the the diff side. With one person viewing the gap between the box and engine from the top/front it is possible to give instructions to the other person operating the trolley jack, to 'rotate' the box till the front dowel lines up.
 
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SteveG

SteveG

Intake n exhaust almost done, suspension next :)
I've got a trolley jack and the factory scissor jack. The engine is held up with some blocks of wood on the centre support, so I can probably struggle with the two jacks in the way of each other, lol. Cheers for the pointers :)
 
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SteveG

SteveG

Intake n exhaust almost done, suspension next :)
I've managed to snap the plastic tabbed thing off the switch (#3 in http://nissan4u.com/parts/micra/el_...ssion_case_and_clutch_release/illustration_2/ ).

I guess it might still work, but I'm worried it will only be held in by friction like a lid on a tin of paint. Would that be alright? The first spare part price I found was £55... not overly keen on spending that much to essentially replace a bit of broken plastic!!
 
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