Then undo the spring bolts on the back flange of the pipe:

Then get yourself one of these for the next step. It makes life so much easier:

I remove the Y pipe and mufflers as one unit to save on having to buy new gaskets. Start by removing the hanger on the center of the Y pipe:

Then remove the two hangers on each muffler:

Then remove this heat shield from the drive shaft tunnel:

Then remove the 4 bolts that connect the rear driveshaft to the rear diff. Trick here is to set the parking brake so it can't turn, remove two bolts, then release the parking brake and rotate the drive shaft, then put the brake back on and remove the last two. The shaft will stay in place as it indexes onto the diff flange.

Then remove the two bolts that hold the center carrier bearing onto the underside of the car. You can then support the rear of the shaft with your knees and slip the front of the shaft out of the transmission and remove it altogether.

Next: Finish removing the starter. This will remove another bellhousing bolt as well as one wire. The wire connector simply pulls off.

Next remove your shifter linkages: On the bottom horizontal stud is a nut that needs to be undone. And although hard to see in this photo, there is a vertical nut and bolt that needs to be undone to disconnect the top linkage. Do your best to move these out of the way.

Next you need to find a way to support the engine so it doesn't tilt forward when the trans is removed. I like this method: Use a soft wood board 3/4" thick and hammer it between the back of the oil pan and cross member:

Next remove the last two bottom bellhousing bolts and the bottom two bellhousing nuts: Same on both sides.

If you use this transmission jack from harbor freight you will need to trim it to fit between the subframe and transmission cradle:

Get your jack in place and secure your strap. I like to fold up a few shop rags and place them between the jack plate and transmission just to try to keep it from sliding around as best I can.

Once the transmission is supported, remove the front two larger transmission cradle bolts. Same on both sides.

 

Then remove the four smaller transmission cradle bolts, two on either side. Finally remove the two nuts that secure the cradle to the transmission mount.

Then drop the transmission. This will be the most frustrating part of your entire life. Over time the bellhousing becomes almost fused to the block due to corrosion. You will need to lie on your back, and cannot use a creeper. Then begin to wiggle up and down and side to side ... violently ... but not too violently, you don't want to rock the car off the jack stands.
Ideally you want to only do this by wiggling. But if after a while all you can manage is a slight gap between the bellhousing and block, you can use a pry bar. But this a last resort, remember that both the bellhousing and block are aluminum and can easily be damaged.

Here you can remove and replace the throw out bearing and spring clips and fork assembly. Remember to clean the area of dust and debris and lubricate the snout that the TOB slides on as well as the pivot ball that the fork pivots on.

Now I apologize because at this point I was getting kinda tried of the project and just wanted to get it finished so I forgot to keep taking pictures, but its pretty straight forward.
Remove your pressure plate bolts and take off the pressure plate and clutch disk.
Then remove the flywheel bolts with an impact and remove your flywheel.
There will be some sort of harmonic plate or something behind the flywheel, reuse this.
Install the new flywheel using new bolts and red loctite and torque to spec in a star pattern

There is a trick to keep the flywheel from turning the crank when tightening. Use a wrench to make a stop between one of the flywheel dowels and the lower bellhousing stud: (Excuse my crude paint skills):

Clean both the surface of the flywheel and pressure plate with brakleen.
Then align the clutch disc and pressure plate using the tool included in the kit. The kit also will have instructions on how to do this properly. Use red loctite again on the bolts and you shouldn't need a stop this time to tighten as the ft/lb is relatively low.
Last thing to remember is to mate the transmission back up as straight as possible, if you go in with too much of an angle you can knock the clutch disc out of alignment.
And then reinstall everything in reverse order of removal.
You will hear a slight swirl sound from the clutch along with a small amount of slippage feel when you let the pedal out the first few times. This is normal as the new clutch is bedding into the new flywheel.
Remember not to drive like a grandma but also not like a race car driver for a while: you want to deliberately re engage the clutch and cause as little slipping as possible until the flywheel, clutch, and pressure plates are bedded in.

 

Reserved for tool list and part #s

 

Dam fine job. Very impressive. Guys like you restore my faith in this forum.

 

Great write-up @Sleezer1533 - I will add a link in the DIY section; just one comment that the ground/earth/negative should always be removed first / replaced last to prevent any sparking. For this job probably best to remove both - & + cables

Disconnect your positive battery cable

 

Excellent write up! The pix are great.

 

@1982 - Thank you!

@Kevin - Good catch, you are correct, I will change the OP

@FixinSube - Thank you!

 

Great write-up. I am doing mine this weekend. Is a 2007 OB.
About the engine tilting backward.. I have a ratchet strap that I got from HD. I can strap on the pitch bolt and to the engine hoist bracket hanger (check term). Lets how it goes.

 

Thanks for the great write up and videos! I just completed the clutch job yesterday on my 2010 Foz and used this as a guide. I know just enough about working on cars to get myself into trouble. Luckily I get myself out of it eventually! It was a great learning experience for me.

I bought a kevlar clutch kit from Phoenix Friction: here I've only driven like 50miles so far so I have no idea if the engagement will be smoother after break in as advertised.

I also highly recommend aftermarket shifter bushings! The install is extremely simple if you've already dropped the trans. It would also be pretty easy with the trans in and makes shifts feel much more precise.

My notes:
Removal of the rear exhaust pipe and mufflers is not required. One can simply pull the driveshaft out around it. Also I didn't replace any of the exhaust seals. I live in WA and the roads don't see much salt.

My shift shaft seal seemed to be leaking, but not badly. I was going to replace it, but then I reconsidered. I highly doubt it matters in the grand scheme of things and my 3rd gear syncros will probably go first.

I used the same harbor freight transmission jack and instead of cutting it I removed the cradle while the transmission was still bolted to the engine. The engine was ratchet strapped to the front of the car at the time.

To tilt the engine I used the ratchet strap method detailed above. It worked well and allowed me to adjust the angle relative to the transmission during reinstall.

DO NOT REMOVE THE CV AXLES FROM THE TRANSMISSION FIRST LIKE ME! Mine were pretty stuck in the hubs so I worked really hard to get them out on the inside, tearing the axle seals to pieces in the process. I think maybe my 1" lift had something to do with it? The passenger side eventually came out of the hub when I railed on it with a rubber mallet. As for the driver's side, the machine shop I took the flywheel to was kind enough to loan me the special tool intended to unstick rusted in axles. I bought new seals but didn't have a proper tool for installation so I just put them on the axles when I reinstalled them and so far I think that worked!

(unverified) Torque specs I used for reinstall (lb-ft):
Flywheel bolts: 53
Pressure plate: 12
Bell-housing bolts: 37
Transmission cradle: 14mm 52

17mm: 103​

Camber bolts: 129
Caliper: 60
Axle nut: 160 (wife held brakes while I jumped on the torque wrench)

I also found that Brian's mobile one videos were confidence building:
Part 1: https://youtu.be/hwy9leulOYU
Part 2: https://youtu.be/C_CSbYJU2RQ

Hope this helps somebody! These cars are so simple to work on and great to live with!