Quote:
Originally Posted by QB93Z
Yes you have to have the rear wheels off the ground (or lift) in order to allow the drive shaft to be rotated to get to all the u-joint strap bolts on the drive shaft at the differential. The C-Beam is not the issue for raising the rear end.
The drive shaft is a sliding spline connection at the transmission output shaft. Once the differential U-Joint is removed, the drive shaft can be pushed forward slightly and disengaged from the Differential then pulled aft to remove it from the transmission. Be ready for a small amount of oil when the driveshaft is removed from the transmission.
Note: On some cars the drive shaft can be removed with the C-beam in place. On some cars, you have to unbolt and move the C-Beam to get the drive shaft out.
The way to remove the C-Beam is as follows. Support the back of the engine with a jack and block of wood that is as wide as the rear of the oil pan. Make sure that the jack and wood block do not prevent access to the bell housing front shield bolts if you need to get to the clutch or flywheel. Remove the C-Beam bolts. If the bolts are under tension, raise or lower the back of the motor to relieve the strain. Using a hammer and wood block, tap the c-beam forward and away from the transmission. Then from the back tap the c-beam forward until it clears the front of the differential where the U-joint was. Next lower the rear of the engine until the c-beam is angled down and below the differential. Then slide the c-beam aft and off the transmission. Most cars require some hammering to accomplish this. I have done one ZR-1 where the c-beam could be removed with no hammering at all. The BFH is not necessary, it just completes the task with fewer strikes. Some times you just have to convince the part to go where you want it to go.
You could install the C-Beam plates without removing the C-Beam or the driveshaft, but you would not be able to inspect the surfaces. I don't think you could remove the C-beam without removing the drive shaft.
All of the above requires removing the Exhaust system.
To me, a 25 year old, 30K miles clutch on a ZR-1 is just getting broken in. The ZR-1 Clutch System is very robust in my opinion. I have removed many clutches from 80K or more miles cars that were in very good condition. If you don't have any drivability issues, I would leave it alone.
Installing headers is an all-day (8-hour) job for a team of workers. We have done a lot of header installs in WAZOO and it is not technically hard but there are a lot of bolts that require patience and ingenuity to remove and install.
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Thanks so much for the responses, come to think of it I will just remove the clutch inspection plate and maybe do an inspection and be done with it. I also imagine that installing the new headers is a lot easier than removing the old.