Auto Tranny removal questions

[Stretch]

Hey,

I'm in the middle of trying to get this thing out, engine still in car, and i have a question or so.

I lowered the tail end of it, but it only went down 4-5 inches; is this it? I don't think I can even see the top bolts let alone get at them. I did not loosen the motor mounts; would this let the tranny come down more?

Another question; do i have to take the starter off to get the tranny off? I don't see the starter bolts, I only see one bolt with a nut on one end holding some wire, possibly from the starter. Is there another bolt? I'd rather just leave it on if i can, but if it must come off to remove the tranny then obviously I have to try and get it off.

I must say, these bolts are by far the hardest things I have ever tried to get off the car hah. I'm crawling around on my back with about 2 feet of space under the car. It's tough, but PUR auto wants $200 for the removal/install of one, so I'm trying to save that dough. But at what cost!!! Any tips at getting the top bolts other than the long extension method welcome.

eric

 

[mdr40z]

just put 4' of extensions together

 

[Tgood]

He may need a 6' extension! Lol that's about all it drops. The top to bolts are kind of hard to get to. You need to make a long extension with a swivel joint or swivel socket on the end of it. I don't really remember if the starter bolts from the front or the back of the motor but it does have to come off.
Taylor

 

[billwert]

If I remember correctly the starter bolts have a nut on the end of them. The top bolts are just a pain in the ass. Once I took off the drive shaft and the small crossmember plate or whatever you may call it I noticed that still the tranny wasn't low enough. So I took my jack and jacked up the front of the motor by the crank pulley. That allowed me to get my hands up in there so I could get to those bolts. I still had to put like a foot and a half of extensions together with a couple of universal joints for everything to work. Good luck and get some big jackstands so you have more room. Your gonna need it.

 

[Stretch]

Hm, good advice. I will try jacking up the front of the engine a bit. I worry about squishing the stuff on the engine bay though. I'm completely stock there, so I have the egr and all and i feel like I am already squishing it. I would prefer not to bend it all out of shape heh, but I might just be paranoid. It looks squished though, so jacking up the engine might just bend it irreparably. I'll try this weekend if I have more time. I'll be working on my digi cluster finally tomorrow though
eric

 

[deabionni]

Hopefully, you're not dropping this tranny by yourself. If you are, I'd recommend getting another hand or two to help you remove it from the car. Also, you may need to get the same hand or two to help you put it back in the car; as lining the tranny up with the engine isn't much fun under the car.

If I ever have to pull my tranny, I think I'd just pull the engine and tranny both; as it's much easier to separate the two, and line them back up again for re installation while they're out of the car.

 

[Stretch]

Yeah I'm alone so far heh. One question; when I eventually get the bell housing bolts off, will the tranny basically fall off the motor onto me? Or, will it still be attached and require pulling away from the motor to free it?
eric

 

[deabionni]

Once you get the bolts out, you're going to have to separate the tranny from the engine. A pry bar or BIG screwdriver will help with that.

Since you're doing this alone, I'd highly recommend getting your hands on a tranny jack to help you maneuver the tranny in and out of the car. You may want to see if there's any place local that you can rent one from if you don't want to buy one. You can substitute the tranny jack for a GOOD jack (read: not a $20 Wal-Mart jack), but if you're going that route I'd advise getting some help keeping the tranny in place as you're lowering and raising the tranny.

 

[mdr40z]

Hopefully, you're not dropping this tranny by yourself.

I tried that once with a 2-speed cast iron Dynaflow in a '62 Buick, about killed me, never again