How hard is it to drop the transmission?

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vtcruiser60

vtcruiser60

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I have never attempted something like this but am wondering how difficult it is to drop a transmission, what tools are involved and whether it is worth doing so to sell a used tranny and transfercase?

Oh...and how much time is involved.
 
I thought it was a pain. The bottom of the tranny is contoured so that a regular tranny jack has trouble steadying it.

Maybe someone has some hints for you.

Chris
 
Nothing to major. The biggest pain in the butt for me was removing the bolts from the shifter boot. I did not have a tranny jack so I used a floor jack, and ratchet strap....You understand when you pull it...itss on the heavy side and weighted weird with the t-case attached.
 
It's pretty easy. Much more so than a front wheel drive.

Pull your shifter boots. 10mm socket wrench. The trans shifter is a push down and turn to the left deal. Channel lock pliers. Pull the transfer shifter knob, but you'll get it from underneath.

Raise the truck.

Drop your driveshafts. You'll need two 14mm (or 9/16) box end wrenches.

Pull the wire connectors

Pull the transfer case shifter. side cutters to pull the cotter pins. 14mm (I think) to pull the shaft nut

Pull the slave cylinder. 12mm(?) Don't let it dangle as the push rod can fall out and get lost.

Pull the four trans to bell housing bolts. 17 or 19 mm.

Support the trans.

Pull the cross member.

Back the input shaft out of the bellhousing.

Drop the trans.

Pull the bell housing and stuff if you want.


I probably forgot something, but I'm in a training session right now. ;)

The trans and transfer is a heavy mofo. That's the hardest part.
 
Last edited:
This is really helpful.....and now making me think that maybe I can do it.

Upon elevating the truck (I have a jack and stands), does the tranny pull out the rear of the vehicle, under the rear axle or just come out the side. The reason I am asking is that the vehicle is dead and pulled straight into a garage. I have the passenger side bay open. I also have a clear shot out the garage door where I can winch the puppy on a sled or dolly.
 
I have heard that using a cherry picker through the passenger door makes it a whole lot easier to drop the tranny. You can get one of those moving carts pretty cheap, just lower it down and wheel it out. I would go out the side as you will have more room than under the rear axle.
 
I did a clutch job on my 85 in three hours. from start to finish. IT's not to bad just freakin heavy.
 
Not too hard Pics if you want them.

The engine hoist thing is tough because the front glass gets in the way and if you shorten up the chain too much, you can't lower it all the way down to the floor. Everybody had good ideas, just use a floor jack with a big plate, not those little ones. Then use 1 or 2 ratchet straps to steady it and have a buddy help. Raise the truck as high as possbile and just pull the trans out the side when it is down. Use a 2x4 on edge to hold the motor still after you pull the transmission. If you want, you can grind off part of the bracket (pics) and have 2wd low, which is nice for trailer loading and light trails when you do not want 4wd low. Email me at craiga@sunflower.com and I can send you pics from my H55 swap that might help. I tried to attach them, but I think that they were too large. Get some rail road ties or really good jack stands for your truck BE SAFE! Craig
 
I use two floor jacks, one for the trans, and one for the transfer. I feel this helps balance the heavy and unbalanced load. It's not too tough just heavy.

Dynosoar
 
It is RELATIVELY easy, but a hassle none the less. Getting it out is a cinch, getting it back in is a bit more difficult because, as mentioned, it doesn't balance well on the cheap tranny jack. My advise:

Have someone help you
Be very organized: label everything you remove/disconnect
Plan 8-10 hrs for a first timer
Don't rush it
Optional: you may want to rig up something that will cradle the tranny so that it balances better on the jack stand (next time I definitely will!)
 
vtcruiser60 said:
This is really helpful.....and now making me think that maybe I can do it.

Upon elevating the truck (I have a jack and stands), does the tranny pull out the rear of the vehicle, under the rear axle or just come out the side. The reason I am asking is that the vehicle is dead and pulled straight into a garage. I have the passenger side bay open. I also have a clear shot out the garage door where I can winch the puppy on a sled or dolly.
Click to expand...

ytou'll need to pull it out to the side. the combo is far too bulky to go under the rear axle (unless you are SOA on 38s).


j
 
A problem with pulling out of the side with a floor jack is that the wheels of the jack must point forward and rear to back the trans out of the bellhousing. You might have the room to steer the jack out of the side depending how you rig it up.

Pulling all the way out of the back is a PIA because the truck has to be very high to clear the assembly under the rear axle.

Not a big deal, but something to think about.
 
also, chuck the braket that doesnt allow you to go into 2lo.
 
If I can do it, anybody can. On our first ever attempt, Tcb & I pulled mine in about 4 hours,and that included a few breaks for step #6. The second time I pulled it ( don't ask why), it took less than two hours.

I used a bottle jack with a wood block under the oil pan to support the engine. It helped being able to raise it and lower while trying to clear the holes in the tranny hump.

I used this article ( http://tlc.off-road.com/tlc/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=264309 ) for direction.
 
Heck, put the rig up on the floor lift and roll the 6 foot tranny jack under there. You'll be done in 45 minutes tops.

;)



Mark...
 
Since you most likely don't have the luxury of a setup like Mark, I would recommend that you splurge and rent a tranny jack. It makes life so much easier, especially putting it back in.
 
First you'll need a skid steer loader with a set of forks. Then drink 23 beers, put the forks under the door on one side of the vehicle and lift until said vehicle is resting on it's side. This makes it so you can easily remove the bolts while drinking your 24th beer!! Oh, almost forgot.... You might need a bottle opener if you're drinking bottles. Once the trasmission is changed, just reverse these steps to put it back on it's wheels.

I did this on my old Samurai and it works very well.
 
Man Jerk said:
I have heard that using a cherry picker through the passenger door makes it a whole lot easier to drop the tranny. You can get one of those moving carts pretty cheap, just lower it down and wheel it out. I would go out the side as you will have more room than under the rear axle.
Click to expand...

cherry picker works great in a 40 series where they give you room for the chain, but the 60 series has too small of an inspection hole and the dash and windshield are in the way.

i hate doing 60's, but maybe because i've been pampered iwth 40s and 55s
 
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