transmission removal idea

[Bukowski]

Would a thick plank and some (say four) bottle jacks work OK to raise and lower a transmission on the cheap?

Is it going to be too tedious to work each one in turn to get the system up and down again?

Not sure how to roll it out yet...

Any other comments appreciated.

BTW I don't feel like using a plank and a single floor jack to do this.

[nightheart]

Sounds dangerous and tedious. You're only going to be able to pump each jack up a little at a time, unless you risk the transmission falling, rolling off. Not to mention the jack points on bottle jacks aren't very big, and probably don't go high enough. I never dropped one before, so maybe someone else will chime in. I'm planning on getting a tranny jack, because sooner or later, I'm going to have too.

[kfray]

How about this?
Transmission Jack - 450 Lb. Capacity

[les rybak]

Some ideas how i'm doing my clutch with trans. removal.Is a f...up job you need planty of time and good nerves...good tools and read everything about it before you start...

[nightheart]

Originally Posted by kfray

How about this?
Transmission Jack - 450 Lb. Capacity

Thats the one I'm planning on getting, unless a find a cheaper and better one on craigslist.

[Jrboulder]

I've done close to a dozen 944 box drops with a regular 2 ton floor jack. I'm not saying it's the easiest or the safest or the cheapest but it's worked for me.

Disclaimer: ain't my fault if you hurt yourself.

[speedracing944]

I have tried to use a jack but usually resort to using my knee and 1 arm to lower it onto my chest then I roll to the side and lower it to the concrete. Installation is reverse of removal. I have done it this way 4 times so far.

Last spring, due to a snowboarding shoulder injury, I had to enlist help from my wonderful wife to "lend a hand" and between the both of us we were able to bench press and knee press the transmission into position.

No joke.

Speedy

[Gawernator]

Rent one?

[nightheart]

Originally Posted by Gawernator

Rent one?

Doubtful. Probably be cheaper to buy a used one, after all you're probably not going to get the trans in and out in a days time. Make friends with your local wrenches, they might let you borrow one. Had a guy offer to loan me his when i need it, but I hate borrowing tools and want to get my own.

[nightheart]

Guess that would be out and in

[mikepellegrini]

Buy a floor jack. It doesn't have to be anything special. Just so it has enough reach. I usually set the trans on a piece of wood (like a piece of 1"X6" or plywood).

The transaxle's aren't that heavy and they're actually pretty easy to balance on a standard floor jack.

It's easiest with two people - one to operate the jack and the other person to steady the trans and guide it into place.

A big tip: throw away the black plastic tube "protecting" the linkage. It's a real flamin' PITA to get lined up and doesn't really serve any good purpose - except to make it hard to get the trans in. Without the tube, getting everything lined up and into place can be a short, maybe 20-30 minute job. But if you have to screw with that, it can add hours (or at least it seems like it).

[Jrboulder]

Originally Posted by les rybak

Some ideas how i'm doing my clutch with trans. removal.Is a f...up job you need planty of time and good nerves...good tools and read everything about it before you start...

Dude, how old are those tires??

[v2rocket_aka944]

Originally Posted by les rybak

Some ideas how i'm doing my clutch with trans. removal.Is a f...up job you need planty of time and good nerves...good tools and read everything about it before you start...

please tell me youre not putting jackstands under the control arms.

[thekidd]

Me and my neighbor took my trans out with 2 bottle jacks and a plank of wood the same way your are thinking about doing it. and got the trans out from underneath the car by one of us holding the plank and getting rid of a jack, and did the same to get the other jack out from underneath the plank. Then we just pulled the trans out from under the ca on the plank. We essentially did the same to put the trans back in.

[les rybak]

I rise a car 24" on jacks i build from 4x4 jacks under control arms doing nothing a ? about those tires they are orginal 27 years old i just get a car and working on it- clutch ,timming belt , cosmetics. car is getting new tires when i finish a job.12300 orginal miles on orginal tires.

[Bukowski]

hey all, thanks for the great discussion!

exactly how heavy is an average transmission anyways?

where is the center of mass?

[mikepellegrini]

I'm gonna guess maybe 100 lbs. sitting on the floor, they're not hard for one person to pick up. They balance pretty well on a regular floor jack.

[txhokie4life]

Originally Posted by Bukowski

Would a thick plank and some (say four) bottle jacks work OK to raise and lower a transmission on the cheap?

Is it going to be too tedious to work each one in turn to get the system up and down again?

Not sure how to roll it out yet...

Any other comments appreciated.

BTW I don't feel like using a plank and a single floor jack to do this.

We dropped a tranny mid race last September and installed it in less than 2 hours.
That included a good some time waiting for the transmission to be delivered from
a buddy's house.

All we had is a jack and two jack stands.

We might have had a piece of wood on the jack stand.

We rolled it out via said jack with two folks sort of cradling it from tipping.

Installation was the reverse of removal.

We finished the race in the top 1/2 of the field.

Mike

[Catamax944]

Originally Posted by speedracing944

I have tried to use a jack but usually resort to using my knee and 1 arm to lower it onto my chest then I roll to the side and lower it to the concrete. Installation is reverse of removal. I have done it this way 4 times so far.

No joke.

Speedy

That's how i did it also , it's not an easy way to do it but it's fast and you don't need any extra tools.

[Bukowski]

OK I am warming up to the floor jack or the cheap HF thing.

But how about those ratcheting straps, sling them around the installed tranny over some beam up there, loosening the straps to lower or tightening to hoist?

EDIT:

how precisely does the tranny have to be angled? how is that done with just a plank?

can anyone comment on the "transmission jack adapter" things I have seen out there - I have heard they are too bulky to fit, among other things... e.g. this one:

http://www.amazon.com/American-Tool-84153-Transmission-Adapter/dp/B00080QGYG/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

les rybak, that plank looks like it is specialized - can you elaborate?

are there any bolts on the tranny that can be removed to attach some sort of stabilizer to it - like this one:

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=all&item_ID=646628&group_ID=675728&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog