well the time has come , ive got the trans am back home and need to replace the transmission . Any techniques i should know of b4 i do it . Like how high it should be or stuff i should do b4 it gets jacked up real high . btw were doing this at home so no lifts or anythying fun like that . thanks guys . hope you got some good tips for me , btw 1985 trans am ,. 305 tpi .

 

3' extension, flex impact socket, and a impact wrench will make life much easier for you

 

This should be fun for you, let me run over some basics, not sure where youre at. 6 bolts connecting tranny to engine, 2 accessed through the top (easiest for me) 4 very easy from below. I removed my distributor to get the 2 from top, but if you have patience knock yourself out trying to work around it. While your up there disconnect the kick down cable. 2 sensor plug ins underneath, just disconnect them and get them out of the way. Driveshaft is 4 7/16's bolts on the rear end yoke, push it into the tranny, drop it, and pull it out. Torque arm is tricky, but just a few 15mm bolts at the end of the tranny, push it up and out of the way...this took me a little while. Finally 1 bolt from tranny to crossmember, 4 bolts from crossmember to chassis. Put a jack under the tailshaft of the tranny if you dont have a tranny jack, and another jack up front. Lower it slowly till its at a good angle, and slowly wiggle it out. Hope thats more or less what your looking for, its pretty straight forward though. I did the 700r in my last camaro just taking a stab at it, just some patience there isnt much tricky about it. The converter and the flywheel will stay bolted to the motor, and the shifter cable is either 1 bolt to the bracket, or 2 bolts to the pan either way removing it is fine...did i cover everything?

 

when you think you. have it jacked up enough, go higher. are you doing it on pavement? i did mine on gravel.

i would change 10 of them rather than put front coil springs in once.

 

18inchboyds km7152 is pretty much right but i really would reconsider doing what he said about leaving the converter bolted up to the flexplate. When you install a converter it will go thru a series of clunks to make sure it is properly install all the way back, it has to finally ingage into the pump to turn it, if its not properly seated, it can tare something up. if you did leave it bolted up, when u try to put it back in, up need to be able to turn the converter to engage it, and u cant do that if its bolted up to the engine.
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thanks guys ,i ll be doing it on concrete , our garage floor to be exact, and i think i need a new tq converter too . so that will have to come down .

 

I found it easier to leave the converter on when putting the tranny on, you have a limited amount of roll in the tranny you can try to line it up, if not either spin the tranny by sliding the driveshaft in for a few seconds, or a 5/8's socket on the crank pull just a few hairs. Shouldnt have too much of a problem though.

And im gonna agree on doing 10 trannys before doing front coil springs... Thats something i just did for the first time a few weeks

 

i just swapped mine for a T-56. If you have some nice ramps about 6 inches high that will lift the back up enough just get the front the same height as the back and you should be fine. Removing the torque arm is easier from the back just take off the two big bolts and pry the front out of the boot will drop out and have it completely out of the way. Then the driveshaft bolts are much easier to get to as well dont have to turn it. i didnt remove the distributer i did knock the welds off the dipstick tho to get rid of it to get to that bolt. i didnt need it tho so go with what the other guy did. be sure to have lots of paper towels and oil dry. you drain the pan but thats not half of the fluid. unbolt that torque converter from the flywheel if you dont you can still get it out but its a pain trust me on that. ITs only 3 bolts holding it on just rotate the fly to get to them. of course have everything unhooked. crossmember is last. You might have a exhuast hanger bolted to it dont forget about it. Have a buddy to help you balance it on a jack. You control the front pry it a little to get it starter there are places little slots to do that. then pull and hold up with your hands its not that heavy. have your buddy control the jack making sure it rolls back and balances it when its free from the fly have him lower it and you slide it to the side off of you.

 

Ya unbolting the converter sounds like itd make things easier, i tried...but i couldnt turn the motor over to reach the top 2 bolts. I had two rods not connected to the crank making a wedge, along with the holes through the oil pan and crack in the block...so those bolts were the least of my worries. I was trying to do it vice versa, take the motor out leave the tranny in that time...worst idea ever, but i learned

 

im gonna start atempting this project this weekend. and i think it will be no prob , but when i get the trans rebuilt i need to have the car be able to shift wot 3-4 since i have 4.10 gears and the stock 25.7 inch rear tires. so like 90 or 95 is the top of 3rd. what do i need to ask the guy to do and i also want the part that makes it shift at 85% throttle from 4-3 . anyone have any pics of prices of what i need so i can show my trans guy .

 

bring a crowbar, incase its stuck to the engine ;0

when mine finally came loose, it left one dowel pin in the block, and one in the transmission

 

forn what it's worth, i get the top two bellhousing bolts from underneath with the other four. that way i don't have to mess with my distributor. i also agree on removing the torque convertor with the tranny and installing it the same way.

the 3/4 shift, just tell them you want the kit that allows wide open throttle 3-4 upshifts. as far as 4-3 at 85%, i wouldn't worry any about it as it would prolly make cruising at regular speed difficult. 70mph in third is a pain.

 

thanks guys, got the trannny out , had to do a little more but got it out , we took the cap off to let the engine back as far a possible and it worked, got the top two out with about 3.5 ft of extentsion and took the converter off with the tranny .