71dsp

Pardon my Protege newbie-ness, as my expertise lies with Hondas and Miatas. So far our P5 has been flawless (I've only had to do routine maintenance), but this weekend, I'm pulling the transmission to solve the clutch shutter problem and an annoying "growl" that occurs on acceleration.

First, the driver's side driveshaft is about 1/2 way pressed out of the hub, but it won't budge any further. I used a fairly weak impact (200 ft*lbs) with a gear puller with no success. Since the upright really doesn't have any good flat surfaces on it, I'm going to have to make some type of jig to get it into the press to try to press the driveshaft out. I'm hoping that the driveshaft or hub doesn't get damged in the process as I can't find anyone that carries reman'ed driveshafts. I've had very good success with Autozone remans on the track car, but unfortunately, they don't make anything for the P5. Factory units are very pricey, so I'm trying to avoid that if possible.

Also, on the rear mount, I have a bolt that's about 1/2 way out, and it's also frozen. I'm letting it soak in some penetrating oil overnight, and hopefully I can get it out in the morning. That's the only thing holding me back from dropping the tranny now. If anyone has some suggestions, I'd love to hear them. I'm hoping I just have to chase the threads and nothing more.

One last thing, I've seen the threads on the engine mounts, and of course, the front mount is torn up pretty good. I haven't had a chance to inspect the rear because I'm not able to get the bracket out of the way. Are the mounts just a weak point? This is a daily driver, stock car, that doesn't get driven hard, so I'm not terribly interested in urethane inserts or poly replacement engine mounts made for a highly modified car (i.e. stiff) unless they're are some that are quite soft, as I'll get an earful if the car gives you a massage at a stop light. Are there any mounts out there that are more reliable than the stock mounts without greatly increasing NVH?

Also, anything that I should think about upgrading/changing while I have everything torn apart? I'm going to go ahead and replace the struts with something like a Tokico, as one strut is leaking. I'm planning to just use a MSP clutch and pressure plate, as the car won't be driven hard. I almost had my eye on an AWR header, but the Prelude needs parts, so I had to put that idea aside.

kargoboy

Welcome.
Can't help you with the tranny problem, but I can tell you this:
The AWR AT motor mount is apparently a little softer. I think you'll still get some added vibration but maybe not as much. The front is a pretty easy swap and if you don't like it you can replace it with a stock one again.
If you are going to auto-x or drive the car hard, you would want to consider replacing all of the mounts as they are a weak spot on the car but for daily driving replacing only the front seems to be enough.

If you're considering a header, check out my sig and the group-buy section.
The one I'm selling is about half the cost of the AWR. I've got 12 buyers so far between this and the other forum and will be closing it out soon, so let me know!

gcs118

Make sure you really look at the flywheel for hot spots. You probably had it in mind but just forgot to write it in your post. Resurfacing or replacing the flywheel would probably be wise. It's been awhile since I've researched it, but I believe the clutch chatter comes from hot spots on the flywheel, not the clutch itself. Someone correct me here if I'm wrong...