Front Transmission seal replacement

[SLOSpider]

So while I have the engine out I have a seal/gasket kit for the trans. I wanted to replace the front transmission seal and gasket behind the bell housing. It seems there is also 2 bearings there an input and needle. Questions:

Is there any surprises I need to know about removing the front bell housing?
Do I need to remove the bottom inspection cover for any hidden nuts/bolts?
Is it easy to take out and replace the front bearings while the bell housing is off.

Never really done any trans work so I am seeking a bit of help, Thanks Brian

[ClarkTheShark]

im pretty sure there is one 13mm bolt that has to be removed from inside the gearbox. so youll have to remove all the 10mm bolts on the bottom cover. the seal is set in a little metal shroud. pry the shroud off with a screwdriver and beat the seal out. pay attention to what way the seal came out and put it back in teh same way. ive never had any bearings wear out in a fiat transmission. the input shaft will have alot of play in it when its not attached to the motor. This is the job of the pilot bearing thats in the end of crankshaft. once its all together, its doesnt move at all. as for taking out the input shaft bearing, one would have to disassemble the entire tranny pretty much. my advice is to make SURE you have bad bearings before you start spending megabucks on replacing them.

[manoa matt]

Pay VERY close attention when installing that oil seal. The trans input oil seal is not like all the other seals on the car. It's installed backwards into the housing, and is not driven all the way until it bottoms out. If its driven all the way into the seal carrier, the oil seal will ride on a tapered part of the input shaft and leak.

When you get the seal carrier out, and prior to removing the old seal. Scribe a line in the seal carrier around the perimter of the old oil seal. Punch it out from the other side using the hole in the carrier. Lube the new seal and carefully drive it in with a large socket until you can see your scribed mark.

[gchocevar]

Hi Matt,

I just got my restored 1979 Spider going (not on the road) and noticed after running the engine I was getting a transmission leak out of the front bell housing. I have not pulled the transmission out yet to inspect it yet. I went in to the archives and found your recommendations on the front transmission seal.

So the seal goes in backward and the spring retainer is facing the front? At this point I do not know if I can find a mark where the old seal was. I also probably tapped the seal in backwards without minimal clearance. Do you have an idea what the clearance would be? There are also notes in the forum on bad seals. Have you run into this also?

Thanks for your help
Greg

[manoa matt]

Its not the easiest thing to explain without pictures. I have a spare trans I was using to help with some measurements for a fellow member, the bellhousing is still loosely bolted and I can remove the seal carrier this weekend, provide pictures and measurements for you. Send me an email. matt.scarton@gmail.com

[gchocevar]

Hi Matt,

My email is hocev@hotmail.com. Thanks for you help with the pictures of the front bell housing oil seal.

Greg