marlyman

my trans took a dump an i just got a rebilt t5 only question is i got the rebuilt trans without the bellhousing ..could i just unbolt the bad tranny from the bell housing an slide the rebuilt one back in or should i just take the old trans out with the bellhousing an everything?

mattdel

I find it easier to remove trannys with the bell on, lots of guys on here like to take the bell off. I haven't figured out why, but its possible either way.

mjr46

yup, leave bellhousing in and unbolt tranny

capri debris

Unless you're replacing the clutch, you can leave the bell bolted to the engine and just pull the tranny... BUT if you're in that deep, I'd put a fresh clutch/throwout bearing/pilot bearing/rear main seal in also.... unless you know for sure all that stuff is new and/or working well. If even one of those items needs to be replaced, you'll have no choice but to pull the bell off.

Old Mustanger

You can R&R the trans without removing the bellhousing. But I would recommend replacing the throwout bearing if you have enough access.
Before you go through it all, inspect the clutch thickness to see how much you have left. If the clutch isn't totally bad yet, you may not have to service the flywheel or replace the pressure plate. But I would still replace the pilot bearing & throwout bearings.

TrimDrip

A pilot bearing can be a pain. I don't mess with those if they are good. My crank has 2 pilot bearings in it now.

It is lighter and less bolts to just put the trans in.