On the picture below you can see the rectangular shaped cuts on the short tube protruding out of the convertor on the left of the picture. This needs to align with tabs inside the small oil pump gear.

 

Bill glad you have things back together, on your posted picture the larger portion of the front pump is where the bolts are removed then the whole pump slides out, IIRC 14 bolts
there is a paper gasket behind the front pump and a large O ring around its circumference,
if you didnt replace the large O ring there is a good chance the trans will leak
Your posted picture does not show the large paper gasket that you simply wipe off

 

Ali:

My problem was getting through the new seal. The engagement of those tabs is the last step after the snout goes through the seal and the splines engage. Yes, I could have damaged the bushing at that step as it took me a few rotations before the tabs engaged. If it leaks, I'll take the time to do this right. Lesson well learned.

 

Stan: I did as you advised. It got a new o-ring seal too. The paper gasket looked very good, so I just wiped the surfaces. I Vaselined the Teflon rings so they stayed in their grooves, and Vaselined all the bushings and shafts and the radial seal. I'm still not confident that it won't leak after the manhandling getting the TC back in. Doing this with the tranny horizontal is definitely not a good idea. Even if it happens that it does not leak, doing it this way is a very bad idea.

 

Bill: First of all many many thanks for posting this. I was about to start doing the exact same as my car is on a ramp in my garage - a bit more isolated than 4 post lift.

How high does the rear of the car have to be lifted to drag the suspension out?

I am thinking about doing it the way Stan had described (Post #4), using a hydraulic table or motorcycle lift for dropping/lifting.

 

How high you need to get the rear depends on how low that table or MC lift goes. Get some 21" jackstands and raise them way up under the rear jackpoints. You do need to be able to get to the front to remove the exhaust and front TT bolts, so raise the front too, but you can lower that back down later to get the tail higher if needed. Obviously, the rear wheels cannot be resting on ramps.

The primary clearance obstruction is the shock tops. Perhaps you can change that by busting loose the rear nut on the pin and swinging the shocks down a bit. I did a tranny swap once this way but don't remember all the details. Perhaps you could measure the distance from the bottom of the crossmember to the shock tops, adding an inch or two for the studs. Then measure the lowest point on the rear of the car to ground. Subtract that from the first measurement and you have approximately how high the rear must be raised.

 

Thanks Bill,

looks like the pin will have to come out. I am still on original shocks - they could do with replacement. I'll have a go at this in a month's time.

Hope no more ATF on the floor for you.

 

Thanks. Removing the shocks makes the trans removal easier.

I'm having nothing but fun getting this back together after doing it the wrong way.

 

removing the shocks from the top mount ONLY , then drop the rear crossmember with the shocks attached to the lower link pins
if you remove the Lower link pin your gonna have a lot of trouble trying to put things back together with the cross member floating around,
and the shocks will be in the way while your trying to work ..

If you follow the instructions posted at #4 you should have smooth sailing

 

Bill and I used a pair of 6 ton jacks in the back when we replaced the tranny on my car last year:



We had dropped the cross member, shocks and all..



While supporting the transmission on the cheap transmission jack from Harbor Freight.

 

Bill,

I think most 928 owners are masochists. Yes the rear seal and oil pump can be replaced while the transmission is in the car. I would not try it on an over head lift because I hate looking up and getting dirt in my eyes. But it is a snap on the tilter. Next time I will loan you the tilter

But then I was severely yelled at for suggesting the way to go is to cut the bell housing to remove the torque tube - so what do I know.

With the car on the side, the bell housing cut and the trans mounts disconnected it is about an hour to get the torque tube and converter out. The torque tube can be used as a lever to tilt the transmission forward - or down if you are underneath - to gain access torque converter cover bolts. With the transmission pushed back and the cover off there is plenty of room to slide the converter out. From there access to the oil pump is pretty easy. I made a tool from a 2 inch PVC cap and a threaded rod to compress the springs on the pump to get it apart.

I do have an 87 trans with 21K miles - it has been out of the car for some time, so it would probably need some new seals, but it would be good for parts.

It is a good idea - I am sure you know this - to replace the rivets on the plate with bolts and to change the input bearings. They are 6008 I think and can be had for $3 to $7 each.

But you can ask me to be banned if you like. I am resigned to not being around much longer anyway

 

Dan:

Was that a 4-speed? The tranny hump is so tall and the front of the tranny is so close to the hump, I can't see anyway this can be done w/o dropping the crossmember and tranny quite a ways down. I got the TC cover off, no problem, tranny in in the car and crossmember fully intact. But there wasn't anywhere near enough clearance to get the TC out. Removing the tranny mount bolts and tilting the tranny down as far as it would go until the diff case contacted the trunk floor did not change things significantly. I don't see how a tilter would change that. I had to get the tranny down a good foot before there was enough forward clearance to get the TC out. Additionally, putting the TC back in with the tranny horizontal required enough juggling and wiggling it's like asking for seal leaks. You did it and I gather it worked out. I just did it and I'll know if it worked out in another day or so. Even if it doesn't leak, I would disuade people from doing this.

 

THATS how its done....just a bitch getting the space underneath to do it comfortably...and high enough to drag the tranny out after its on the ground.

 

Cutting the bell housing is the only way to do a torque tube job. I did it on my car and then found the 86 that I purchased had already been done. There is no structural harm and if you are paranoid about leaving a space JB weld the piece to the lower bell housing.

I did this and was able to have the torque tube out in under an hour.

Good luck

 

Bill,

In fairness I will defer to your expertise. Yes it was a 4 speed and it was the 85 gold car. I was in there twice - once for the torque tube and once for the front seal and o-ring. Now the torque converter is a bit smaller on the 84-86 (I think US 83 had the 4 speed too - the Euro was till using the three speed). But I think the body was redesigned in the S4 so ot could accomodiate a larger torque converter. We hear horror stories of a 87 four speed being put in older cars with the aid of a hammer.

On the tilter it was easier than I think it would be on your four post lift. But I think you could have more room to drop the trans if you used jacks on the lift. They make one special cor four post lifts that can lift one end of the car for wheel work.

It would have been easier if you cut the bell housing and first remove the torque converter. The lowering the transmission is a bit easier.

Once the bell housing is cut and the mounts on the transmission are released then the torque converter can be used to lever the transmisson down to get access to the bolts on the rear of the tube. I used this on install as well to torque the upper bolts. Since I was on the tilter I used the engine lift to support the transmission. With the transmisson loose it will push back a couple of inches. This and with wedging the transmission nose down I had plenty of room to work. But like I say this was and not an 88. Perhaps the wedges I used helped hold things in place.

If you get to this another time let me know and if I am not using it I will loan you the tilter. It certainly makes the job easier. Even if you can not do all the work on the tilter and still have to drop the transmission, it is easy to get things set up to go. The Exhaust and panels come off in no time and the torque tube is easily removed. Then you can disconnect all the transmission stuff except two bolts on the ends of the cross member, drop the car leaving the tilter in place and have enough space with the car off the ground to drop the transmission out onto the transmission jack. With out the torque tube out and the tilter holding the car well off the ground the trans just drops down.

Putting in is just the reverse. slide the trans under and then bolt up the two ends of the cross member and tilt again. I do the same with an engine pull. I do have a couple of tranny pulls to do - actaually three. I will be glad to demo the tilter when I get to them if anyone is interested.