Is there a stepbystep Auto Tranny Removal Guide?

[Sbeing1]

Im looking to replace my auto with a whole new tranny. I was wondering if anyone wrote a write up on how to go about doing this. Ive done it on my old car (dodge avenger) but im not sure on how the AWD trannys go. If anyone can help thatd be great, thanks!

 

[jasteel13]

I havent seen a write up but i guess i can recite most the steps without pics tho.. sorry..

Dont hate on my order of steps, this is how i do it.

Drain Transmission.

Suspension:

First remove the wheels, then unbolt the upper ball joint, if this get stuck try to put some pressure on it by jacking it up. On the driver side i have found out that you can usually get away with unbolting the half shaft on the block and then taking off the caliper will give you enough room to slide the driver side axle out. On the passenger side remove the big axle nut on the hub and i usually like to take the lower ball joint and the bolt thru the strut off. After that go ahead and use a pry bar or a big flat head to pop the axle out of the tranny. That is the suspension.

Exhaust:

Unbolt the two 19mm nuts that hold the front of the downpipe, and remove the two holding the downpipe up, this all depends on what exhaust you have.

Crossmember:

Under the car you will see the big black crossmember with the front tranny mount on it, Remove the two 17mm bolts on the front and the two 14mm near the back, now remove the 14mm bolt going thru the front mount. Remove crossmember.


Transfer case:

Now removing the transfer case, there is six 17mm bolts holding up the T-case, there is three on the top part and three on the bottom you will need a small extension on the top ones. Remove those bolts and then use a pry bar to pull the t-case toward the passenger side (becareful this is kinda heavy and it will fall right down). After dropping the t-case slide it out of the driveshaft keeping it somewhat upright to keep the gear lube in it.


Rear Mount:

Now with the t-case out of the way you can reach the rear tranny mount. Reach up using two 14mm wrenches or rachets and remove the bolt going thru the mount.


Upper Accessory removal:

Now from the top of the car in the engine bay go ahead remove the intake box and tubo going to the turbo, also remove the upper s intercooler pipe going to the t-body. Remove the battery and tray. Now you will find about 5 wire harnesses plugged in to the tranny. Remove the one in the rear mount it is the speed sensor, then the two on the front and i believe a few in the middle just make sure nothing is plugged in that goes to the car. Now under the fuse box you will find the shift linkage it is a 10mm nut on a cable line, remove that, you might need to use two wrenches one to hold the stud in place. Follow that back toward the firewall and you see a bracket holding the linkage down, remove the two 12mm bolts. Now locate the two tranny cooler lines going to the top of the tranny, remove the clamps and disconnect those lines. With the extra room open you should see the rear tranny mount, remove the three i believe 17mm bolts holding it down, after that remove mount from bay.


Tourque Converter:

Now back under the car you will need to remove the inspection plate if not all ready removed. You will see four sided plate, actually you will only see one at a time. There are four 17mm bolts, you will need to turn the crank to see each one. Remove all these bolts and make a mark on one side of the flywheel so you can line it back up later.


Tranny bolts:

There are six 14mm bolts holding the tranny to the block, two of which are on the back and hold the starter in, remove the starter bolts and the two by the front tranny mount, keep the two on the top of the tranny because that will hold it together.

Driver side mount:

This is where the order of what you do can change, I usually like to put a jack under the tranny with a block of wood so you dont dent the pan. With the jack holding the motor, remove the passenger mount, the 17mm bolt going thru the mount.

Now with the jack holding up the tranny remove the two left over 14mm bolts in the tranny housing...

Now if all goes well when you lower the jack the tranny should lower down, you might have to play around with it to get it to drop.


Anyways sorry for no pics, i just rattled this off the top of my head so if i missed anything feel free to add on.

 

[jasteel13]

wow.. no flamming yet.. i was expecting to miss some steps..

 

[boosted5speed]

Looks like a fairly complete response to me

Its ok though, I didnt start running into problems until I was putting it back together Its a pain to get the tranny bolted back up

 

[jasteel13]

yah they are quite heavy and robust... i just used a hoist and a jack and got it up high enough to put in the top bolt then it went together nicely

 

[Sbeing1]

WOW~! thank you VERY much! awesome write up!!! THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!

 

[MILITISINVICTUS]

I havent seen a write up but i guess i can recite most the steps without pics tho.. sorry..

Dont hate on my order of steps, this is how i do it.

Drain Transmission.

Suspension:

First remove the wheels, then unbolt the upper ball joint, if this get stuck try to put some pressure on it by jacking it up. On the driver side i have found out that you can usually get away with unbolting the half shaft on the block and then taking off the caliper will give you enough room to slide the driver side axle out. On the passenger side remove the big axle nut on the hub and i usually like to take the lower ball joint and the bolt thru the strut off. After that go ahead and use a pry bar or a big flat head to pop the axle out of the tranny. That is the suspension.

Exhaust:

Unbolt the two 19mm nuts that hold the front of the downpipe, and remove the two holding the downpipe up, this all depends on what exhaust you have.

Crossmember:

Under the car you will see the big black crossmember with the front tranny mount on it, Remove the two 17mm bolts on the front and the two 14mm near the back, now remove the 14mm bolt going thru the front mount. Remove crossmember.


Transfer case:

Now removing the transfer case, there is six 17mm bolts holding up the T-case, there is three on the top part and three on the bottom you will need a small extension on the top ones. Remove those bolts and then use a pry bar to pull the t-case toward the passenger side (becareful this is kinda heavy and it will fall right down). After dropping the t-case slide it out of the driveshaft keeping it somewhat upright to keep the gear lube in it.


Rear Mount:

Now with the t-case out of the way you can reach the rear tranny mount. Reach up using two 14mm wrenches or rachets and remove the bolt going thru the mount.


Upper Accessory removal:

Now from the top of the car in the engine bay go ahead remove the intake box and tubo going to the turbo, also remove the upper s intercooler pipe going to the t-body. Remove the battery and tray. Now you will find about 5 wire harnesses plugged in to the tranny. Remove the one in the rear mount it is the speed sensor, then the two on the front and i believe a few in the middle just make sure nothing is plugged in that goes to the car. Now under the fuse box you will find the shift linkage it is a 10mm nut on a cable line, remove that, you might need to use two wrenches one to hold the stud in place. Follow that back toward the firewall and you see a bracket holding the linkage down, remove the two 12mm bolts. Now locate the two tranny cooler lines going to the top of the tranny, remove the clamps and disconnect those lines. With the extra room open you should see the rear tranny mount, remove the three i believe 17mm bolts holding it down, after that remove mount from bay.


Tourque Converter:

Now back under the car you will need to remove the inspection plate if not all ready removed. You will see four sided plate, actually you will only see one at a time. There are four 17mm bolts, you will need to turn the crank to see each one. Remove all these bolts and make a mark on one side of the flywheel so you can line it back up later.


Tranny bolts:

There are six 14mm bolts holding the tranny to the block, two of which are on the back and hold the starter in, remove the starter bolts and the two by the front tranny mount, keep the two on the top of the tranny because that will hold it together.

Driver side mount:

This is where the order of what you do can change, I usually like to put a jack under the tranny with a block of wood so you dont dent the pan. With the jack holding the motor, remove the passenger mount, the 17mm bolt going thru the mount.

Now with the jack holding up the tranny remove the two left over 14mm bolts in the tranny housing...

Now if all goes well when you lower the jack the tranny should lower down, you might have to play around with it to get it to drop.


Anyways sorry for no pics, i just rattled this off the top of my head so if i missed anything feel free to add on.

I keep thinking I want to pull my engine out for a full rebuild, but I'm not sure about which steps to take to disconnect the transmission. Can someone who's pulled the engine out of their A/T go through the above and sort out any of the steps from above that they didn't need to follow in order to just disconnect and remove their engine? Any additional tips would be rewarded.. thanks.

 

[steve]

I havent seen a write up but i guess i can recite most the steps without pics tho.. sorry..

Dont hate on my order of steps, this is how i do it.

Anyways sorry for no pics, i just rattled this off the top of my head so if i missed anything feel free to add on.

Nice start on a VFAQ, Sbeing1 or anyone else doing this please take pictures and add them to this thread.

Steve

 

[w1kk3d]

The driver side axle also needs the 2 bolts removed that holds the carrier bearing, in order to take the axle out. They are by the A/C compressor mount, very tight fit in there, and a PITA.

Also, I only needed to take off the axle nut on each side (besides carrier bearing bolts on driver side), then pry the hub/rotor over enough to slide the axles out (use your feet to push the hub, and stick a breaker bar between it and the fender well). No need to mess with the ball joints/halfshaft/calipers.

It helps SO much more to have 2 people when lining/bolting the trans back up. I wanted to kill all forms of life after not being able to do it myself, even with a hoist.

Also, while the trans is out, change the filter, the pan bolts are so much easier to get to

Misc:
- Remove A/C fans for more room to work.
- Make sure torque convertor is FULLY inside the bellhousing. It may look like it's in, then it should shift in another half inch or so by wiggling/pushing. I thought mine was in, until I was tightening bolts and, well... I cracked the housing $94 to have it welded.
- Transfer case is heavy, don't let it fall on your mouth... trust me.

 

[TSIMonsteR]

Nice start on a VFAQ, Sbeing1 or anyone else doing this please take pictures and add them to this thread.

Steve

I agree. This is going to make for an awesome thread once we get some pictures!!

 

[steve]

It helps SO much more to have 2 people when lining/bolting the trans back up. I wanted to kill all forms of life after not being able to do it myself, even with a hoist.

Three helps even more based on how well installing the F4A33-1 in my sons Stealth went last night.

Steve

 

[Sbeing1]

Im sorry guys. I did it about a month ago and didnt take pictures. If anything happens again Ill definatley make a whole pic by pic writeup of the process.

And BTW: JaSteel13's Write up is exactly what you need to do. There is not a step missing in his writeup. (just some written errors but you figure them out when you actually doing it)