Removing 2G FWD tranny, what's the best way to get the axles out?

[truwarrior]

Hey guys,

I'm removing my 2G FWD turbo tranny, what's the best way to get the axles out? I thought there was a easier way then trying to get the axle out of the hubs...? Thanks!

 

[All_Boost16G]

What I usually do on my FWD is

-Undo the brack caliper and hose, and tie it up
-Undo the nut that hold the knukle at the very top
-Then pry the axle out

Im think the driver side i had to pull out of the hub to, to get clearence. They will be a pain to work around(I think they are) beacuse of the wishbone that goes around them. But take your time and use some elbow grease and youll get it out.

 

[truwarrior]

What I usually do on my FWD is

-Undo the brack caliper and hose, and tie it up
-Undo the nut that hold the knukle at the very top
-Then pry the axle out

Im think the driver side i had to pull out of the hub to, to get clearence. They will be a pain to work around(I think they are) beacuse of the wishbone that goes around them. But take your time and use some elbow grease and youll get it out.

Happen to know where the starter is? The VFAQ says to remove the starter bebore raising the car but I can't find the starter... Any help?! Thanks!

 

[RedWagon]

its on the back side of your engine under your intake manifold. I just changed mine

 

[truwarrior]

Is there just one bolt holding it in? Any cables connected to it? I'll check again but I couldn't even find a cable to trace.

Thank you!

 

[mattdev]

Sadly, the starter takes a minute to find, and quite a few more to get it off. It's in the worst spot, just keep looking around under your Intake Manifold, it's parallel with your engine (of course). It should be mounted on the bell housing for your transmission. and it does have a few connections on it (it needs electricity)...

 

[daren_p]

Is there just one bolt holding it in? Any cables connected to it? I'll check again but I couldn't even find a cable to trace.

Thank you!

I hope there's some cables attached to it, otherwise you have a magical starting car Just follow your battery cables, they'll lead you to the solinoid mounted to the top of the starter. You don't have to completely remove the starter to pull the tranny, just unbolt it. Its been awhile since I did mine but I think its just two of the tranny bellhousing bolts that you remove from the tranny side, like most of the other mounting bolts (don't forget about the one small bolt that goes in from the engine side, at the back, under the starter.

You don't have to completely remove the axles (or pull either from the knuckles) to remove the tranny. Just undo the passenger side suspension, to allow enough room to pull the axle out of the tranny (a good sized breaker bar with either constant pressure or a good jolt usually snaps the inner ring free). For the driver side you shouldn't have to touch the suspension, just remove the axle from the tranny.

When putting the tranny back in, snap the drivers side axle back in once it allows you to do so. If you leave it sitting in the tranny but not fully inserted it may make it almost imposible to slide the tranny back on (known from experience )

 

[truwarrior]

I hope there's some cables attached to it, otherwise you have a magical starting car Just follow your battery cables, they'll lead you to the solinoid mounted to the top of the starter. You don't have to completely remove the starter to pull the tranny, just unbolt it. Its been awhile since I did mine but I think its just two of the tranny bellhousing bolts that you remove from the tranny side, like most of the other mounting bolts (don't forget about the one small bolt that goes in from the engine side, at the back, under the starter.

You don't have to completely remove the axles (or pull either from the knuckles) to remove the tranny. Just undo the passenger side suspension, to allow enough room to pull the axle out of the tranny (a good sized breaker bar with either constant pressure or a good jolt usually snaps the inner ring free). For the driver side you shouldn't have to touch the suspension, just remove the axle from the tranny.

When putting the tranny back in, snap the drivers side axle back in once it allows you to do so. If you leave it sitting in the tranny but not fully inserted it may make it almost imposible to slide the tranny back on (known from experience )

Do you happen to have a pic of what to undo from the suspension? I'm really bad when it comes to all the different suspension parts. I was planning on following the parts in the chilton manual but not sure if it's the best path. I'll post what it states when I get back home. I'll post a pic of what it looks like now too (looks bad, salt all over! ).

Oh, I found out that i didn't have to completely remove the speed sensor just the metal clip holding the connector in...duh! Owell one less thing to get damaged pulling it out!

Thanks guys!

 

[truwarrior]

Found the starter, didn't know the motor was on the other side.

To remove the axels, after reviewing the factory manual they state to remove these items in order:

1. Tie rod end ball joint and kunckle
connection
2. Stabilizer_ link connection
3. Damper fork
4. Lateral lower arm ball joint and
kunckle connection
5. Compression lower arm ball joint
and kunckle connection

I'm assuming this is for the passenger and driver side?! Will this make it the easiest?

 

[DougR]

Just pulled a Friends. Unbolted- Both Lower arms at the Chassis mounts, Sway bar Top link, and the dampner fork. then silply rotated it towards the rar of the car. Did this on both sides..
No need to bust ball joints. Besides they can be a real pain in the arse and you ALWAYS tear a boot! well atleast I do with my crappy pickle forks.

Made it simple to pull axles and remove the tranny. We only had one axle give a problem coming out of the knuckle. But a couple good solid hits with a 5pounder and a chunk of brass for axle protection and it slid right out. Driver side just needed a good solid Yank to pull it from the tranny. Easy cheesy!

Hard part was getting my hand out from under the tranny before it slid off my tranny jack and onto my hand!

 

[daren_p]

truwarrior, don't have any pics but Doug pretty much took care of it. If you don't feel like doing extra work, as I mentioned you only have to do this to the passenger side.

As for the speedo sensor, I believe they use the same type of retaining clip as some of the other sensors like the TPS, etc. If so these clips are a huge pain to remove especially on an area thats hard to get at like the speedo sensor. Just unbolt it & remove it, thats probably the easier route.

 

[truwarrior]

truwarrior, don't have any pics but Doug pretty much took care of it. If you don't feel like doing extra work, as I mentioned you only have to do this to the passenger side.

As for the speedo sensor, I believe they use the same type of retaining clip as some of the other sensors like the TPS, etc. If so these clips are a huge pain to remove especially on an area thats hard to get at like the speedo sensor. Just unbolt it & remove it, thats probably the easier route.

So if I only do this to the passenger side then the driver side axel will come out when I move the tranny to the passenger side fender well once all the bolts are removed which secures the tranny to the motor then correct?

Sorry for so many questions just want to make sure I know how it's going to happen once I get to that point which will probably be this weekend.

Also any on where to get a engine lift and where to connect it to the motor? I'd feel a bit safer with one of those holding the motor up. I picked up a tranny adapter plate at Autozone to lower the tranny. Came with a couple straps as well to make sure it stays on.

Thanks again! I own ya's beers

 

[DougR]

Bro, you dont need a engine hoist.
We used 3 Jack stands. and 2 jacks.

use your smalles jack to support the engine via the oil pan with a board between them. Just make shure the board is Flat against the oil pan, 2nd jack under your tranny, also with a board. Both boards cut to size to fit flush

Once here pop them axles out, Unbolt torque convertor or clutch.
Now unbolt the front and rear engine mounts,and the crosmember.
Now make shure tranny is supported completly. and remove the passenger side mount
Unbolt tranny completly, slide it back the lower it out... Just watch out and get ready for that torque converter! It will slide right off falling on you or the ground. If you have a Auto.

Tansmission jack will Make this SO easy as the lift plate can rotate to almost any angle.
If your smart you will go rent one.

Easy cheesy!

 

[truwarrior]

Bro, you dont need a engine hoist.
We used 3 Jack stands. and 2 jacks.

use your smalles jack to support the engine via the oil pan with a board between them. Just make shure the board is Flat against the oil pan, 2nd jack under your tranny, also with a board. Both boards cut to size to fit flush

Once here pop them axles out, Unbolt torque convertor or clutch.
Now unbolt the front and rear engine mounts,and the crosmember.
Now make shure tranny is supported completly. and remove the passenger side mount
Unbolt tranny completly, slide it back the lower it out... Just watch out and get ready for that torque converter! It will slide right off falling on you or the ground. If you have a Auto.

Tansmission jack will Make this SO easy as the lift plate can rotate to almost any angle.
If your smart you will go rent one.

Easy cheesy!

The car is a GST 5 speed. I have 4 stands, but can probably get access to a couple more if needed. Should I lift the rear of the car too or just the front? Not sure if lifting the rear to level the car off will help at all?

I bougtht this universal jack:
AutoZone.com | Shopping | Accessories | Product Detail - Duralast Universal Adapter Plate
Think it will work just as well? It's comes with straps. It should roatate 360 but I don't think it will tilt at all to the sides.

 

[daren_p]

So if I only do this to the passenger side then the driver side axel will come out when I move the tranny to the passenger side fender well once all the bolts are removed which secures the tranny to the motor then correct?

Yes, you will get the clearance you need when you start to side the tranny off but the axle just won't pop out by itself. You still need to pop the drivers side lose from the tranny. There is usuallu some play, so you should be able to pop it before you start to move the tranny.

There are two spots from factory for any engine hoist on the motor, one is back passenger side & other is front drivers. But like was said an engine hoist defently isn't required, most just do the jack under the oil pan. Just make sure you have a nise sized piece of wood between the jack & pan to spread out the weight load & prevent any damage to the pan.

For jacking the car, I did mine with just the front jacked but it may be better to jack all cormers. We did a buddies who just had the front jacked as well but think he had his jacked higher. The tranny was both a royal pain to both remove & install. I think with just jacking the front so high the motor shifter back abit which made clearance between the subframe a huge pain.

 

[DougR]

That Jack adapter "should" Work just fine. Im wondering tho if the pads are to large to fit between the chassis and the engine tho.
But if it fits It should work quite well.. Just beshure to use some wood as a spacer in between the pad and tranny. As the tranny is not flat. You want it fully supported so it does not rock in any direction. Those Straps will Help ATON in this area. Use them.
If it wants to rock or rotate any, This will cause alignment issues with bolts and dowl pins making removal and installation that mutch harder.. Just take your time and eyeball Everything 2 or 3 times.

Daren_P is right tho. You dont need to unbolt anything on the drivers side. But I will say this. Unbolting the lower suspension as I described above. Will greatly Aid in installation. Since you will beable to use a deadblow hammer to pop that axle back into its Cup or whatever its called.
If you dont unbolt it. You will be under the car guiding that axle back in, and trying to get it to snap back into place as the tranny is being slid into place.
Me? Theres no way I would be under the car as someone is man-handling that 100 pound tranny back into place. With the chance of the car sliping off those Jack stands. Or that Tanny falling on you. You WILL be crushed or injured!

I dont get under a supported vehical Unless I absolutly must. Call me Pu$$y, Dont care. Known to many ppl that have had accidents under cars.

 

[daren_p]

I really didn't find it difficult to do without touching the drivers side. But should mention, if you do this method, once you start to slide the tranny back into place, snap the drivers side axle back in as soon as you can. You may think its fine just sitting in its location not fully snapped in to the tranny but my experience tells me otherwise. I don't like the idea of lying under a jack supported tranny either but you can just crawl under the car from the drivers side, to give the axle a quick snap to lock it in place. I've always just done this by hand on any vehicle & never had any issues. Just insert it enough so that all the splines are properly aligned & then give it a quick snap & the snap-ring should lock back in place.

 

[truwarrior]

Guys I'm stuck. I unbolted the arms from the subframe. Unbolted the sway bar link. Unbolted the fork but can't remove it do to clearance (I don't think it's a big issue if it's just left shifting around there since both bolts have been removed from it?).

Did I remove something I'm not suppose too?

I'm a suppose to be remove the nut from the steering?

It seems that I can still only move the the suspension up or down or won't go in and out like I thought it would need to inorder to remove the axel? Is this because the axel needs to be popped out now or am I missing something?

 

[ZenkaiRacerDsM]

Theres only two bolts you need to remove to get the back and forth movement you need. One you already removed (the one where you said you removed it, but arent getting any movement. The other bolt is the bolt that holds the fork to that same arm. It looks like you might have already removed it. Once both of those are out. You should be able to pull everything towards you.

You should be getting the movement you need by just removing those two bolts. I just swapped the tranny in my 97 GST a few hours ago and thats all I did.

The urethane bushing may be holding it in its home even with the bolt removed and you just need to give it a yank.

 

[DougR]

In that second pic. That bolt you have labled "unbolted but not mutch movement" needs to come out.
You dont need to unbolt the steering.
The fork. will come out once that bolt is removed. Its alilbit tight but it will.

The whole hub assembly will pivot around on the ballt joints. just push it back.

I hope you checked to see if that axle will slide out of the hub at that point you took that second pic.
Thats the axle I had some trouble with, Ended up useing a deadblow hammer and brass to knock it through the hub..
Tip for ya. Once those axles are out of those Hubs,, Use a Small tooth brush sized wire brush and clean the Splines out REALLY well. Upon assembly use a Lithium based waterproof greese on them. Alot of it, Coat them Really well. It will keep them from rusting and make removal really easy in the future If you ever need too.

 

[truwarrior]

Should I try hiring it with a hammer? If so should I smack it down or to the fender?

 

[DougR]

? Hitting what with a hammer? Not the axle tip thats for shure. Unless you use a some peice of brass inbetween the hammer and axle.

The hammer alone will deform the axle and make it nearly impossible to slide out.
And dont hit the lower arm, Its made from really soft steel and will dent easily, Causeing a weak point and possibly breaking under driving conditions.
Your almost there bro, Take your time and just keep at it...

 

[truwarrior]

? Hitting what with a hammer? Not the axle tip thats for shure. Unless you use a some peice of brass inbetween the hammer and axle.

The hammer alone will deform the axle and make it nearly impossible to slide out.
And dont hit the lower arm, Its made from really soft steel and will dent easily, Causeing a weak point and possibly breaking under driving conditions.
Your almost there bro, Take your time and just keep at it...

Headed back out... I'm not removing he axels from the hubs. I figured they are probably stuck in there. Maybe later if I'll go back and remove the axels from the hubs for a cleaning, but righ now I'm going to see if I can get that lower arm with the bushing out so I can remove the axel from the tranny.

 

[truwarrior]

Sweet, I was able to get that lower arm out by rocking left and right and pulling outward! Tme to pop the axel out! Thanks guys!

 

[truwarrior]

I really didn't find it difficult to do without touching the drivers side. But should mention, if you do this method, once you start to slide the tranny back into place, snap the drivers side axle back in as soon as you can. You may think its fine just sitting in its location not fully snapped in to the tranny but my experience tells me otherwise. I don't like the idea of lying under a jack supported tranny either but you can just crawl under the car from the drivers side, to give the axle a quick snap to lock it in place. I've always just done this by hand on any vehicle & never had any issues. Just insert it enough so that all the splines are properly aligned & then give it a quick snap & the snap-ring should lock back in place.

I think I'm just going to under the driver side suspension too otherwise I'll have a tough time removing the last tranny to engine bolt and would be very tough to get the axel out with he jack holding up he motor while the other jack is holding up the tranny. Also this way I'll also beable to work from the top while removing the tranny instead of the risk of being underneath and having something fall on top of me. Back to the garage...