Ok, this is going to sound like a stupid question... How do you remove an automatic transmission? I've R&R many standards, but now need to remove an auto to do a T5 swap.

The car is (high) on jackstands, driveshaft out, tq arm out, electircal stuff disconnected, inspection cover off. Obvious next step is to disconnect the converter from the flexplate. Question is, after I remove the transmount and support the trans w/ a jack, when I remove the bolts connecting the trans to the block, is the trans completely free to drop? In a standard, you can remove the 4 bolts from the trans to bellhousing and it is relativly stable (due to the input shaft) until you pull it out.

 

After you take out the bellhousing bolts, the dowel pins are still holding it somewhat in place.

 

yes and the trans case fits snugly on these two pins, tey are there to properly and positively align the engine and trans together,

remove:

six bellhousing bolts
three torque converter bolts, sometimes they are nut and bolt, and sometimes bolt only

disconnect vacuum hose to modulator valve if so equipped

pull the hair pin clip at the tranny end of the trans shift linkage and pull the linlage out of the shift shaft bracket


unbolt and pull the driveshaft


you wont really need a floor jack, cept maybe if you want to pull the tranny out from under the car with the trans on the jack

good luck

 

Unless you're built like Hercules, I'd highly recommend using a floorjack and a flat piece of plywood under the fluid pan. Autos weigh a ton compared to standards. Plus they're awkward and bulky, and I sure wouldn't trust the two dowel pins to hold one in place for long, if at all. Also, don't forget to undo the two cooling lines that run from the radiator to the trans before lowering it down. It takes a bit to undo them since it's pretty tight clearance with a wrench. A short, flare-nut wrench works best. Oh yeah, almost forgot, you'll need to undo the dipstick tube as well. It has a retaining tab on it that's bolted to a stud on the backside of the passenger side cylinder head. That's a fun one to get to as well. P.S. If you don't have a flare-nut wrench for the cooling lines, the right size crow's foot works really well too.

 

Thanks for the advise guys. As it is, I can barely bench a T5 to get it installed. The auto looks more in the weight area of a T56, so I'll definetly be using a jack.

I just have the cooling lines and dipstick left attached, figured they'ld be easier to get to once the transmount is off and the engine/trans can rotate a bit (radiator is already out). I did NOT know that the dipstick was attached to the head. That woulda sucked to get hung up on. Thanks again.

Can't wait til Thurdsday night.