tranny removal help

mlbuxbaum

Registered User
Hey all,
I am removing the tranny and I have removed all bolts holding it to the block, removed the drive shaft, all cables, oil lines, crossmember, and It still will not come off the block. Do I need to really pry at it to get it away from the block? I have a jack under it just in case it decides to come loose though. I REALLY want to get this tranny out tonight and work on getting the new one installed. HELP.......
 
mlbuxbaum said:
Hey all,
I am removing the tranny and I have removed all bolts holding it to the block, removed the drive shaft, all cables, oil lines, crossmember, and It still will not come off the block. Do I need to really pry at it to get it away from the block? I have a jack under it just in case it decides to come loose though. I REALLY want to get this tranny out tonight and work on getting the new one installed. HELP.......

Did you remove the starter?
 
Careful with that jack. The trannys are heavy and can easily fall off and mash toes, hands, fingers, etc. Might consider tying it up with a bit of slack from the top side just in case. If you have help, shouldn't be a big problem.
 
yeah, I removed the starter, and I have the tranny secured from above with about 1/2" of slack, as well as tied to the jack with a chain. I'll look at it later on........if its not one thing it's another......
 
Got It !!

Just took some prying to get the alignment pins out of the block. I'm letting the converter drain now. :D
 
Is this a manual or automatic? Automatic you still need to take out the bolts that hook the torque converter to the flywheel...




mlbuxbaum said:
Hey all,
I am removing the tranny and I have removed all bolts holding it to the block, removed the drive shaft, all cables, oil lines, crossmember, and It still will not come off the block. Do I need to really pry at it to get it away from the block? I have a jack under it just in case it decides to come loose though. I REALLY want to get this tranny out tonight and work on getting the new one installed. HELP.......
 
TC is still bolted to the flywheel and the tranny is out. Lots of pushing, pulling, tugging and cussing gets the job done everytime. I could not figure out how to get the flywheel to stay put so I could loosen the bolts on the TC. Getting the new tranny in there is gunna be a bitch cuz I have the front wheels up on ramps, and the rear up on jack stands and the car is only 1/2" higher than the tranny is tall. I had to push the tranny off the jack I had it chained to, get the jack outta the way and pull the tranny out by hand, so getting the new tranny in there, lifting it up onto the jack and wrenching it into place is gunna be the stuff legends are made of :rolleyes: . I'll keep everyone informed...as if anyone really cares....its not like I'm the first person to swap out a tranny in an SC.

Oh yeah.... do TC's burn up or go bad? I locked the tranny up by towing the car for several hundred miles with the rear wheels on the ground and not disconnecting the drive shaft, like an idiot, and was just wondering if it hurt the Tc or just the tranny. :confused:
 
mlbuxbaum said:
I could not figure out how to get the flywheel to stay put so I could loosen the bolts on the TC.
Deep socket on the nut, when you start turning it, it spins the converter and all until the socket comes into contact with the engine block.. once jammed, then the socket itself should start turning the nut. Should work on reinstall as well.

mlbuxbaum said:
lifting it up onto the jack and wrenching it into place is gunna be the stuff legends are made of :rolleyes: . I'll keep everyone informed...as if anyone really cares....its not like I'm the first person to swap out a tranny in an SC.:
Agree.. I'd take the converter off now that you know the trick. As far as anyone cares? I'm glued to the set ;) .. OK.. so I plan to do a swap in a couple of weeks when its a bit warmer.

mlbuxbaum said:
Oh yeah.... do TC's burn up or go bad? I locked the tranny up by towing the car for several hundred miles with the rear wheels on the ground and not disconnecting the drive shaft, like an idiot, and was just wondering if it hurt the Tc or just the tranny. :confused:
Hmmm... the reason trannys tear up when towed is because the inputshaft isn't spinning the pump, but clutches and bands are moving and so the insides overheat. A TC should not be succeptible to that as its sitting still. If it weren't sitting still, your engine would be spinning. Its probably OK. :cool:
 
Next time rotate engine and remove convertor bolts first. Also on reinstallation install convertor into transmission and make sure it seats all the way into the tranny. You will have to spin the convertor while installing into the tranny. You will feel it fall in place twice as the splines of the input and main shaft line up. With the trans mounted on the engine the convertor should have some play between the flexplate and tranny or you didn't get the convertor seated properly. The tranny should fall onto the engine lineup pins if everything is right.

Jerry
 
TbirdSCFan

where am I supposed to put a deep socket? I can barely get a box wrench between the flywheel and the convertor. I did find the TC drain plug while trying to loosen the bolts though. I'm debating whether or not to go into work today on my day off and try to get the tranny in. I probably will.
 
mlbuxbaum said:
where am I supposed to put a deep socket? I can barely get a box wrench between the flywheel and the convertor. I did find the TC drain plug while trying to loosen the bolts though. I'm debating whether or not to go into work today on my day off and try to get the tranny in. I probably will.
If I recall correctly, the converter has 4 short studs which fit through the flywheel and 4 nuts on the front side hold it on. The rubber flap covering the plate exposes them. You should be able to turn the crank a bit (22m socket on the harmonic balancer bolt) to get each nut centered in the hole and then take it off maybe with a shallow socket. That is I think you can :confused:
 
TbirdSCFan said:
If I recall correctly, the converter has 4 short studs which fit through the flywheel and 4 nuts on the front side hold it on. The rubber flap covering the plate exposes them. You should be able to turn the crank a bit (22m socket on the harmonic balancer bolt) to get each nut centered in the hole and then take it off maybe with a shallow socket. That is I think you can :confused:

with a lot of determination you can hand turn the crank....i didnt have a 22mm socket
 
removed TC this morning. Easy enough once I got that rubber flap off that hides the hole. Drained the TC...damn burnt trans fluid stinks !.....fitted it to the new tranny and here we go......re-install time. :D
 
mlbuxbaum said:
removed TC this morning. Easy enough once I got that rubber flap off that hides the hole. Drained the TC...damn burnt trans fluid stinks !.....fitted it to the new tranny and here we go......re-install time. :D

If the converter is installed correctly it should be flush with or slightly below the face of the bell housing. If it's sticking out any..it's not on all the way and will be damaged by tightning the bellhousing bolts. Since there are three shafts to align, the converter usually has to be rotated slowly after the two main splined shafts are in to get the slots on the converter drive collar to line up with the transmission pump.

Once installed (transmission bolted onto the motor) the converter should turn freely without binding on the flexplate...make sure it does before installing the bolts that hold the converter onto the flexplate.

David
 
Damn car is cursed !!

Well, while TRYING to re-install the new tranny, (that I could not seem to get aligned right for some reason,) (and after thinking I had finally gotten it aligned,) I started tightening up the passenger side bolts, with 2 of the drivers side bolts semi tight, and guess what ? I broke the bell housing on the drivers side ! I broke a nice little section right off. :eek: WTF !? It was like the tranny didn't want to seat up against the block. What gives? I looked and there is nothing preventing it from seating correctly ( yeah I know, there obviously is) The only thing I can think of is the nipple (?) on the TC isn't lining up with the hole on the flywheel. I'm so pissed right now I could cry. Should the tranny just mate right up to the block with little effort at all? This may be a really dumb question to ask but can I get that piece welded back on? I would have them do a full weld inside and outside? I notice that the bell housing isn't a sealed unit anyway. OR.....I guess I could take the guts out of the good tranny and install them in the old burnt up one, but I would most likely have to take that to a shop woudn't I ? Sorry for rambling, but I'm ticked. :mad: I need some f@#&ing Hagen Daaz........
 
Yes it can be rewelded. Swapping the guts over to another case is going to cost nearly as much as a full rebuild of your old tranny, which is what I would do.

Stabbing the tranny is usually a two person job and requires lowering the rear of the motor and giggling it around until it falls into place. It wouldn't hurt to emory cloth that nub on the tranny to make sure it's smooth.

David
 
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