Removing an Automatic Transmission

[jtehfreaks]

Hey everyone, it's been quite a while. So my transmission is making all kinds of loud, grindy, weed whacker sounds. Regardless, I'm taking it off and will either get it sent off for a rebuild, or find a "new" one and get that sent off for a rebuild. So far, I've gotten a good chunk of the job done, and figured I would post my progress here for those who may do the same in the future, since there really isn't a write-up with pictures out there for this procedure outside of the factory manual... which could use better pics. So here we go: Step 1: Raise the rear of the car and remove the rear wheels Step 2: Remove the muffler and the heat shield above it Step 3: Unhook the axles from the transmission and hang them out of the way Step 4: Remove the rear crash plate from the transmission, it's held on by two 8mm hex head bolts. You'll have to rotate the plate towards the left side of the car when the bolts are off in order to remove it and set it aside. Step 5: Undo the transmission cooling lines on the right side of the car. The banjo bolt can be removed with a 17mm socket, while the other line needs a 19mm flared crow's foot wrench (yay Harbor Freight!) to be removed, considering the small amount of space in there. I needed to use a u-joint and an extension to turn the thing, but once the torque is broken, you can hand-spin it off. I had to drop the fuel tank cover to get enough room for my hands; getting the fuel filter out of the way would also be helpful, but I was able to remove these lines with it in place. Step 6: Unhook the shift cables. The left cable has a metal tab over the ball joint holding it on, just slide it off the cable and you can pop it off the transmission. The right cable just popped off with some wiggling. I removed the right cable's mount from the transmission; it's held on by two 13mm bolts, and undid the left cable from the mount at the circled area. You'll need a 15mm wrench (I used a flared crow's foot) on the bottom half to move it downward so you can push the cable out of the mount and set it aside. Step 7: Remove the inspection hold plug from the bellhousing and remove the three bolts holding in the torque converter. When you try to undo the bolts, the drive-train will move too, but you can leverage your socket against the inspection hole's edge to stop things from moving and break the torque on the bolts. To get to each bolt, you'll have to spin the crank using a 23mm socket. One was easy, two were slightly rusted, so I brought out the trusty breaker bar and made short work of them. ...aaaaand that's where I'm at right now. I figure that I can undo the bellhousing bolts right now and position the transmission jack. What I'm not sure about now, is what else needs to be removed? The transmission is mounted to that crossmember up top somehow, and the factory manual says that I need to: - "Unscrew transmission suspension/transmission member mounting bolts" - "Remove right flange shaft and right transmission suspension" Based on this, do I undo the two crossmember bolts and whatever the "right flange shaft and right tranmission suspension" is? Here's what I'm seeing on the right side of my tranny: I assume I need to undo the two marked bolts, but rather than assume, I thought I'd ask the collective knowledge base that is the Pelican forums. Before I go further, I'll get that fuel filter out of the way.

[kevrobert]

Looks correct 2 bolts going through perpendicular to transmission. As your going to this trouble replace the mount with an uprated no rubber mount.
Be nice to have a 968 4spd autobox and torque tube I’m sure there will be a few modifications with mounting and positioning though, something I’m thinking about for the future.

[jtehfreaks]

I initially thought about tossing in a tiptronic, and after running the idea by a few people, the gear ratios would make the 944 slower than it already is. Then there's the electronics to worry about too, so I'm keeping it with a 3-speed. What's the benefit of swapping to a solid mount? Won't that just transmit more noise and vibration into the cabin?

[Cappt]

I have a 87 auto I'll sell you cheep if interested, it's still in the engineless car if you want that also. I had a manual clutch disk in it that replaced the flex damper. The engine block had a crack so I parked it and been using it for a parts car.
I'm in northern NV, probably not worth shipping it though.

[jtehfreaks]

More progress on the removal!

Step 8: Remove the two 8mm hex headed bolts on the right side of the transmission; it helps a lot to get the fuel filter mount off of the crossmember and moved aside, while also undoing the crossmember bolts at this point. With the crossmember loose, you can lower the transmission a bit and rotate the crossmember around to get better access to these bolts.

The bolt on the right didn't require any extensions, just the bit and a breaker bar, but I had to daisy chain a couple extensions to get to the bolts on the left so I could break the torque on it. You can also see how lucky I got removing the right bolt; it was rounded out really badly. I had to take a punch and drive the bit in; luckily, it had plenty enough bite and took care of this bad boy.



Step 9: Remove the four bell housing bolts. Three of them are 10mm hex head bolts, while the fourth requires a 17mm socket. One of the hex bolts has a 19mm nut behind it as well, so you can counter one to break the torque on the other. To be honest, none of these bolts put up much of a fight, and I feel like they may have been under torqued.



Step 10: Separate the torque tube and the transmission. There's a half-circle on the left side of the tranny that you can get a pry-bar in to leverage against the two pieces; it'll work the tranny partly out, then just use a big screw driver and wedge the rest of the transmission away from the torque tube. As you lower the transmission, keep an eye on the torque converter so it doesn't fall out, mine stayed in place, but it feels like it can easily slip off if you aren't careful. Don't forget to unplug the electrical connector at the top of the transmission before you lower it too much and start rolling it away!

[jtehfreaks]

Originally Posted by Cappt

I have a 87 auto I'll sell you cheep if interested, it's still in the engineless car if you want that also. I had a manual clutch disk in it that replaced the flex damper. The engine block had a crack so I parked it and been using it for a parts car.
I'm in northern NV, probably not worth shipping it though.

I may take you up on that, there doesn't seem to be anyone near me that has an auto transaxle for sale; whatever tranny I end up getting will be shipped off to a rebuilder I was recommended by Dumont's down in Oklahoma City. I want to make sure the internals are good to go so I don't have to deal with it ever again, outside of looking for leaks and changing the fluid.