I'm finally ready to get rid of the sound coming from my drive line. The PO thought it was torque tube bearings, but I have not heard the bearings make a single sound.

When driving, as long as I don't get on it too hard, no problem. If I give it too much torque, something clicks and the scraping sound begins. If I kill the engine and restart, the sound will stay away unless I give it too much again. I'm 99% sure it's one or both of the torque converter bearings are the culprits. I'm swapping out my transmission, torque converter, and torque tube this weekend with the units I picked up from Rob Roy. (or at least gonna try)
I was going to just swap the torque converer out, but the parts I received look so nice, that it will be easier I think to just pull a quick swap. I figure that I can rebuild my original driveline with constantine's super bearings, replace TC seals and bearings, and do a general cleanup on the transmission (it works fine) I can swap the whole mess back sometime in the future...(or when I have an issue with the replacement pieces.

Any good recent tips or advice that I should know about auto transmission removal/replacement? I'm using the WSM, but it seems that when ever I follow a new proceedure, I learn the quirkiness of the translation of German to English....


Do I have to use special tool 9164 (chain with hooks) to remove the transmission? Can I fabricate one with a length of chain and some carrabiners? Does anyone know what the length between inner hook faces measures?

Is lifting plate 9163 necessary, or can another method be used? Are the transmission jacks available at HF any good?


Any advice will be greatly appreciated...

 

How high can you lift your car?

If you can't go very high, maybe the trans adapter for a floor jack would work.

Also didn't Rob do this last weekend and take pictures?

 

Get a motorcycle/ATV jack. Undo the suspension points after you do the torque tube and the pinch bolt.. Make sure the trans mounts are undone and all associated hardware.

Place jack under trans and pull it out.

Sounds easier than it is, then again, it's as easy as it sounds.

 

I don't have lift bars, so it's just as high as I can get my stands... I think about 20"

Isn't Rob's a 5 speed?

 

Now that description does sound easy!!! Those guys wasted too much ink in the WSM!!!!

 

Same dance, with a few new steps.

 

Thanks Mike.

 

Ahhh...youth.

Trying to imagine doing this in the garage, 20 years ago.

Nothing to it.

The rear suspension and the transmission, as a unit, are too bulky for me.

I remove the rear suspension, with the axles...remove the calipers and hang them up...undo the wiring. Put the tires back on and lower the whole thing. Roll it away on the tires.

Of course, the suspension supports the transmission, so you will need to put a small block of wood between the torque tube and the chassis stiffening plate. This will support the transmission. If you are afraid, use a ratcheting tie down to go under the transmission, with the two ends attached to the sway bar. This works great.

Then unbolt the transmission from the torque tube, unhook all the lines, shift cables, vacuum line, kickdown cable. There's a 6mm (10mm head) bolt that attaches the kickdown cable tube to the front of the bell housing, where the torque convertor is. This is the hardest part of the whole job. Pretty tough to get out....really tough to re-install. You will want a tight 10mm swivel socket in 1/4" drive, with a long extention.

Remove the transmission. The rest is easy. Bring over the housing with the rear flex plate and the bearings in it...I'll help you change them....you need a press.

 

I think you may have to loosen the engine mounts as well in order to free the torque converter ...

 

Thanks Greg, this sounds more like it.

 

Mike, here are a few pictures of one that Jadz928 and I removed.

The crossmember is indeed pretty heavy and it will rest on the dust shields and bend them, so a couple small blocks of wood sure would help to keep them off the floor.

The car is just high enough in this set-up to manuever the crossmember out easily.

The sway bar is very stout and can handle the weight of the trans and TT, all covered above.

I went to Harbor Freight and bought a trans jack real inexpensively. Didn't need special tools, but positioned a piece of 3/4 plywood to spread the load --- actually lowered it on the pan instead of with the special tool.

 

A good trick is to tie the transmission to the rear sway bar. Tie it as tight as you can before removing the rear suspension. I use a big threaded "J" and wingnut to tighten it and allow up-down adjustments.

I've done this with the half-shafts removed from the tranny, the shocks unbolted from the body and the four bolts of the cradle removed. The brake lines stay in place and the forward lower arm mounts stay attached. Ends up being hard to work around the rear suspension but you don't have to remove, re-install and bleed everything.

Look for six bolts at the torque tube if it's not coming apart.

 

Mike,

This is the procedure I used :

http://landsharkoz.com/tech/stu/trans_removal.htm

 

Mike I recently did this, do you want me to drive there and give you a hand? I could drop Sophy off at work at 1 then shoot up there help out. One thing that really could have made things go smoother was one of those 99 dollar ATV rolling lift jacks.
Give me a call if 130 isn't too late!

 

I've used a ratcheting 1" strap in place of the chain on many transectomies. Whats nice about the ratchet strap is that you can raise the transmission a few inches for added clearance by just ratcheting it up. You can get them at most home builder stores, Lowes and Home Depot. Most have a small D ring already on the straps where you hook the strap hooks through over the rear sway bar, as the chain is shown.


I don't like the chain since it's not easily adjustable after it's installed and mars up the transmission body a bit.

I also fabbed a wooden cradle for the transmission which I attached to the top of a small floor trans jack from Harbor Freight. It supports it at both the front and rear and the pan is suspended in between. Didn't like just putting the weight of the whole trans on the fluid pan.

HTH and good luck!