Transmission Removal? Help

[IdealProductz]

Alright im going to be pulling my tranny in a few days Manual. How hard is the job and how long should it take. should i drop it out the bottom or top. Also my tranny is stuck in third gear so will that complicate things any? If anyone knows how to do this with instructions that would be sweet. Any help would be great. Thanks guys!

[mellott73]

i have it down to about 8 hours to get one out and have the new one put back in using just jackstands and a jack but thats providing everything goes right...ive also done a few in my time so that helps to...

but heres a little thing wade sent me when i needed help a while ago

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some things you'll need to buy and have ahead of time:

Axle nuts (shouldn't re-use these)
Top strut bearings if you need them (they'll fall apart when you pull the struts)
Transaxle fluid (Ford's Honey is the best)
Brake fluid (will need to bleed slave cylinder)
PB Blaster

Here we go!


--------------------------------------------------
Remove intake, battery, battery tray.

Remove both front wheels.

Drain transaxle fluid.

Remove exhaust Y-pipe.

Unbolt caliper brackets on both sides, along with the line holder on the strut, pull caliper/bracket assembly from knuckle and hang in wheel well (never let it dangle by the brake line).

Now remove the rotors.

Unbolt tie rods, sway bar links, and ABS sensors (if equipped) from knuckle.

Remove axle nuts (32mm) .

Remove ball joint pinch bolt, and use a long pry bar or your jack handle in the lower control arm to pry down and pop the ball joint out of the spindle. You can use a fork style ball joint separator if you have to (and you may if it's never been apart), but you will probably ruin the ball joint.

At this point the strut/knuckle assembly should only be held at the top. Thread one of the axle nuts backwards on to the end of the axle, and tap it out of the spindle, hitting on the end of the nut. DON'T just hit the end of the axle, as you will ruin the threads and end up having to either re-thread them or buy new ones.

Once the axle is out of the spindle, take off the top nut holding the strut assembly in, and remove the strut/spindle from the car as one piece. Don't **** around trying to get the knuckle off the strut...there is no reason to.

Remove the two smaller splash shields on the passenger's side (not the big fender one) and using a long extention, remove the two 10mm nuts holding the jackshaft to the bracket on the back of the block. You can see them looking in along the axle/jackshaft assembly. Once you've removed those two nuts, remove the passenger's side axle/jackshaft as one piece. There is no need to separate them.

Stick a long, thing screwdriver in the hole in the differential that you just pulled that jackshaft out of, and tap until the driver's side axle comes out. Don't just pull on it...you'll separate the CV joint. It will help if you have a friend supporting it. Look in there with a light...there is a rod that goes across...you'll either need to be above or below it.

At the top of the radiator support, where the radiator sticks through, you'll see two small holes in the plastic. Stick something through there to support the radiator (radio DIN tools work great). Now unbolt the 4 small bolts that hold the bottom of the radiator to the subframe.

Unbolt the AC Dryer from the subframe.

Remove the front and rear roll resistors (mounts).

Inside the car, right above where the steering shaft passes through the floorpan, you'll see a plastic ring around the steering shaft. Remove that, and draw a line with a permanent marker down the steering shaft where the two pieces of it come together. You'll want this to line your steering wheel up later.

To remove the subframe, I put a couple of jacks under the control arms. I loosen the front bolts, and remove the rear ones, allowing the rear of the subframe to drop down. Tie the tie rods up into the wheel wells somehow to hold up the steering rack. On the top of the subframe frame, there will be about 5 or 6 bolts holding a metal cover over the steering rack. Remove then, then two large bolts hold the rack to the subframe. The rack should now be free of the subframe.

*Note* You can remove the steering rack with the subframe, AirCougar does it that way. I just never have because I didn't want to dick with the power steering fluid, so I leave it in the car, tied up by the tie rod ends.

There should be one bolted clip that holds the power steering line to the subframe...remove that.

You should now be able to lower the subframe out of the car.

Pop the shift cables off the rods on the shift tower, and unbolt the bracket that holds them to the transaxle.

At this point you'll need to support the engine using an engine jack or 2x4

Or carefully put a jack under the oil pan.

Remove the top transaxle mount

Remove the starter.

Remove all of the bellhousing bolts, taking care to remember where they go. There will be different lengths and styles. Before you pull the last couple bolts, make sure you have a transmission jack (or willing friend) under the transaxle, as it will slide away. You may need to lower the engine down a little to get it out of the car, but it will come. The MTX-75 isn't terribly heavy, about 100 pounds I think.

You can now see your clutch!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

hope that helps

[wadespencer99]

Nice how-to

[mellott73]

haha yeah i figured you'd recognize that one

[Newcat016]

Originally Posted by IdealProductz

Alright im going to be pulling my tranny in a few days Manual. How hard is the job and how long should it take. should i drop it out the bottom or top. Also my tranny is stuck in third gear so will that complicate things any? If anyone knows how to do this with instructions that would be sweet. Any help would be great. Thanks guys!

Ask aircougar1... He did mine in under 4 hours by pulling it out the side and just dropping the front part of the subframe. Just gonna need some extra hands to help you out when you pull it.

P.S. Check the shift linkage cables to make sure one didn't pop off...just a thought.No implications just be carefull taking off the old ones=don't crack em.

[aircougar1]

VEry Nice wade!!

I actually don't bother with the Power steering anymore... I usually just let the subframe hang down at an angle towards the driver's side. I have a jack that lifts the car 2 feet in the air, so there is plenty of room for me to lower the tranny and pull it out from the side with the subframe still there.

I like that you tie up the steering rack, but I am able to skip that part because of how high the car is in the air...

[aircougar1]

Jared just beat me to it...LOL!

[wadespencer99]

I'll have to try just dropping the subframe down next time and see if I can get it out. We were able to do that a friend's Cavalier (just loosen it), but that is just a crossmember and not a full cradle.

[aircougar1]

Yeah, I was looking at that way you do it last week when I swapped out Nighteagle's tranny, and I saw that I had the room to slide it out... PLUS his Passenger side wheel was stuck due to a stripped lug nut that Town FAir tire F'd up, so I had to go with leaving that whole side assembled, and popping the half shaft out the tranny while it was still attached to the knuckle and the car!!!

[wadespencer99]

Originally Posted by aircougar1

so I had to go with leaving that whole side assembled, and popping the half shaft out the tranny while it was still attached to the knuckle and the car!!!

Gahh...

When I pulled the trans with the blown diff on my silver Cougar the jackshaft had welded itself to the gear, so I had to pull the axle out with the trans!