i got an 87 Pontiac Firebird with the 2.8 v6 and the automatic transmission that started to slip yesterday and today i saw a bunch of smoke coming from the hood earlier so popped the hood thinking the car was on fire a third time. but luckily it was just the transmission spraying fluid all over the engine.
alright now i was wonder if you can get pre bent line or do i have to bend my one. also when i checked the fluid there was a bunch of black gunk in it. so what could cause that. one more question my dad said to replace the screen in the transmission where do i get a new one of them and are they hard to replace. any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

that black gunk, I would probably have to say is your burned up clutch material.... you most likely will need a rebuild... the cheapest route if you are looking for one and know how to install a tranny, would be to drop it and take it to a shop... typically they will charge you about 400 dollars labor, you must supply the rebuilt kit though... if you don't take the parts then you will be charged about 500 dollars more on labor ....

 

i hope not i haven't driven it much at all since the leak started less then a mile. this transmission just has to last the summer i got a 350 v8 and t5 5 speed i am gonna install this winter. would replacing the fluid, lines and screen allow it to survive that long. it does not slip bad just pops going into gear.

 

i was also wondering if theres a way to use rubber hose so that way i dont have to worry about having to bend hard lines.

 

i talked to my shop teacher he said to use pressure hose.
but i still can't figure out how im gonna unhook the old transmission lines where they connect to the transmission. theres a round thing on the side of the transmission rite there also the dipstick tube and the floor pans i have no clue how i am gonna hook a wrench on them. any one got any suggestions

 

i can't get the line ends off the tranny help please
i thought i had the wrench on the lower one but it started stripping it.
i need to fix this ASAP anyone got any suggestions.

 

yeah, go buy better tools... from experience I was using a cheap combination set that I bought at Home Depot... I was trying to remove a bolt when the wrench just lost grip and started spinning, I was like oh crap... used a craftsman multiple point combination wrench and on the first attempt it came out .... so if you don't have a quality wrench, it's probably as good as time to invest in one... or borrow one from a buddy...

 

i got a good set of snap on wrenches that usually work good but even the greatest wrenches in the world won't do shiit if you cant get them on the bolt

the 1/2 inch bolts on the lines bolt into an 11/16 bolt and that bolts to the transmission so even the i stripped the one i may still be able to remove it if i can get the 11/16 bolt out. i just can't figure out how to get a wrench on any of them

 

the guy at advance gave me pressure fuel hose not transmission would that cause any problems?
also the hard line ends he gave me are brake line there the same size and have the same flare will they work?

 

can some one please tell me how to remove the transmission dipstick if i can get that out of my way i mite be able to remove the old hardline ends from my transmission that's the only thing i got left to do other than pour in the new atf.

 

i dont know about a 3rd gen, but in my chevy van with a 350 and 700r4, there's a tab on the dipstick tube that bolts to the bellhousing, and a tab that bolts to the front or middle of the motor somewhere. After it's unbolted, just pull it out of the case. It's just in a rubber seal. Nothing else should be holding it in. 5 minutes of looking, at most, should tell you what you need to know.

 

i looked earlier it looked like there was only the one on the bell housing. it touches the bracket for the coil and vacuum thing but i don't think its connected to that. do you know what size the bolt on the bellhousing is. i think if i slip the socket under the dipstick tube i can get it on there. then a 2 inch extension on the ratchet going over the dipstick tube. i mite be able to turn the ratchet a little bit. i'm not sure tho it was getting dark and i couldn't see much i tried several sockets but i couldn't get any to fit on it i'll try again tomorrow after school.

also does it matter which hose goes where? i cant remember which one went were did the upper on the trans go to the upper on radiator and lower to lower or is upper on trans to lower on radiator and lower on trans to upper on radiator

 

hopefully you havent destroyed your cooler lines yet, talk to your shop teacher about using a flare and making a splice to repair the broken pice. or use hyd. pressure hose fuel hose might get you by but not long term. make sure to flare the ends of the metal tube and mabe dubble up on hose clamps.
the bellhousing bolts shuld be 14mm(or 9/16) make sure you get it tight when youre done (it holdsthe trans to the engine) a wiggler socket and long 1/2" extion usuly works good.

 

yep, 14mm or 9/16 for my van. The location for the cooler lines on the trans shouldnt matter.

 

yeah the old hard lines are long gone i got some 5/16 brake line that i bolted to the radiator and will bolt to the transmission if i can ever remove the rest of the old line.then the fuel hose is double clamped on. this transmission only has to survive the summer. after i put the truck on the road this fall this car will get completely rebuilt.

by wiggler socket do you mean one with a universal joint? ill try borrowing one from the shop tomorrow.

 

if you need to get the lines off with ease drop the driveshaft then the crossmember. lower the tranny low enough to get to the lines just watch out 4 your engine mounts cause the pressure will twist them and then theyr shot, theyr probly bad anyways just dont want to make things worse. You can do this without removing the driveshaft but I dont reccomend it. I cant remember if I had to loosen the torque arm 2. This helped me wen I had to replace my lines. As for bending the lines it takes a couple of bends to get it, I actually made mine 2 piece to ease so I can just pop the lines apart and get the tranny out. Hope this helps

 

alright i finally got back to working on this today and today was a good day until i started working on this thing. i tried universal joint socket and it was an18 mm to remove the dipstick there was no way in hell that was gonna happen. so i tried removing my cross member bolts i soaked both sides with pb blaster and took a 15mm and 1/2 drive ratchet and a foot long pipe and got the passenger side broke free. i walked away from it for about an hour to let the pb soak in the driver side hoping it would be easier then the passenger side was. when i went back to it i took the same ratchet socket and pipe to the drivers side and went to start to break the bolts loose after pulling a few seconds it starts to spin. i readjust the ratchet so i could keep turning it and it snapped off.alright now im getting mad i start to try other other one it doesn't even start to spin it just snapped. so now both bolts on the driver side have snapped off on me. i figure i come back to that later ill finish fixing my fluid lines lower the trans as far as it would with drive shat and torque arm still bolted to it. about 3 inches i still cant get a wrench on the lower on i already stripped but the top one i was able to get the wrench on and what does it do. it stripped. and the bigger bolts they bolt into wont budge i can get a wrench on the lower one but it wont turn. are they reverse threaded? i would remove the torque rm and drive shaft to lower it more but given the way this cars going i am afraid i something else is gonna break. any one got any ideas or suggestions.

 

if there is any hard line ot the trans you might be able to atach the lines you are installing by using hose to make the connection, if the lines are gone, or broken close to the trans try using a socket....18 mm, has someone been butchering this poor car, or what? as far as the other bolt on the cross member, heat(torch) can sometimes help, also soaking w/pb blaster and hitting with a B.F.H.(big f***ing hammer) can help, also working back and forth when you get some motion has worked for me before. Otherwise you might get alot of practice drilling and tapping the holes.
Are you using flare nut wrenches or open end? if you don't have the right style of wrenches, the nut on the lines will round over easily. you said the car will be getting a complete overhaul soon, sounds like it might need it sooner than you thought.

 

the hard lines are cut close to the nuts cuz i tried the to use a 13mm socket but wouldn't fit ill try that again tomorrow on the 11/16 bolts.the car has sat for 15 years prior to me owning it and somewhere in it's life someone has really hacked up this poor car the wiring alone gives me nightmares.i have had several short circuits and 2 fires already with this car. as i started pealing back the miles of electrical tape i found countless splices where two bare wires were just twisted together and taped up.but that's a different conversation . 14 mm on the cross member sounded rite to me but i kept slowly increasing the size till i found one that would go on and it was the 18 but there was still no room to really turn the ratchet. so i gave up on that. i got the cross member unhooked. the 2 on the passenger side came out and the 2 on the driver side snapped on me.i can't remember what a flare nut is but i was using an open end wrench.

i was thinking the same thing about starting the rebuild early. but i don't have the money rite now. i have the new engine and trans for it but that's about all i got. also i don't have a second vehicle to drive while i work on this pos. the last few days i have been bumming rides every where or stealing my dads truck neither of which can continue much longer.

 

welcome to the world of the 20+ year old New England car. I delt with it for a while when i lived in CT. Now i'm in CA and my 20 year old van looks cleaner underneath than my 5 year old car did back east. **** road salt.

 

the nuts for the hard lines are 1/2", not 13mm.

 

Man talk about bad luck!!! The only thing I can tell you right now is get a pair of vicegrips and go crazy!! only if the nuts are too far gone though. I thought mine were tough to get off, yours sounds like the king of *** pains. As for removing the broken bolts try drillin them out. I work at a machine shop and thats the method we use, although we'r not under a car.

 

vanimal 13mm is the same thing as half inch
stealthroc89 this car has been the biggest pain in the *** i have ever worked on.and yeah drilling and re-tapping is about the only thing i can do. and something i really don't want to do. but i know i have to. and the car is sitting roughly a foot off the ground just enough room to squeeze under it. mite just drill one of them for now so i can get the car to the shop and on a lift then do the other. if i knew ahead of time this was gonna turn out to be such a pita. i would have towed it to the shop. i thought replacing two transmission lines would be easy. well i was wrong about that. cant wait to get the stick in there i hate automatics.

 

There is a difference beetween 1/2 and 13mm, the 13s bigger. If I remember correctly its a 1/2 for the line retaining nuts. Alot of info way to late, sorry dont have time when im workin. I feel for you man, we've all went through these things, keep your head up. Ive had to pull my tranny 2 times in 3 cause the dude "rebuilt" it. Dropped my fuel tank 3 times cause of crappy fuel pumps and lots of other things off topic, but give the 12mm a try if the nuts still have shape. If you think thier hard to get off try putting them back on!!! I suggest (since your pulling it all out soon anyway) using 3/8 barbed-end transmission line adapters. Screw them in (use thread tape!!) and shove some 3/8 transmission hose on it, clamp it down and be done with it. Use just enough hose to attatch the hard line easily. So now your covered on the re-installation........... still gotta get the darn things off though and get the tranny to mount back up

 

alright 12mm wouldn't fit on and 13 mm slid on tightly. but both lines are completely rounded off so if i can get the bigger 11/16 bolts out i will put it in the vise and use some vise grips on them, otherwise i am out of ideas.

what are 3/8 barbed-end transmission line adapters.

 

They are 1/2", not 13mm. I just rebuilt my transmission last weekend, so i know.
13mm is larger, not smaller, which is why it fits on there. The only reason it fits snug on there now is because you mangled them up. I'd hammer on a 1/2" 6 point box wrench or socket and try that.
Using 13mm on a 1/2" bolt is a bad idea. There's .012" slop with a 13mm, on top of the usual clearance, which is more than enough to round off a bolt.

 

i don't know why but my 13 mm was tight on them before they striped the 1/2 was loose. but whatever that's not important now there already stripped. i was busing today and didn't even bother messing with it. the only thing i did today that was related to this car was argue with someone named irish at pontiac over the seat belt recall. but that's a topics for a different thread. i'll start playing with this problem again tomorrow hope fully nothing else will break.

 

the adapters just screw into the transmission and allow you to use hose instead of connecting hard lines again. Autozone personel should know what your asking for.

 

Some replacement bolts are 13mm depending on the grade. My husbands sister works at a factory that makes parts for GM. So maybe somewhere along the line, someone replaced them at one point. Just a thought. I wouldnt get to caught up in what size they are. Just go with what fits on there tight. Good luck. Just did 3 trans swaps last week. My husband said I didnt have a problem reaching any bolts because my hands are smaller but it was still a pain in the ****!!

 

that's very weird because 1/2" is smaller, so it shouldnt be looser. Might want to invest in some better wrenches lol

 

Something like this will work wonders!
http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/pr...45524443250116

...better variety http://www.sears.com/shc/s/search_10...xtractor&vName=

 

you know what actually works pretty good, and you're going to laugh... the Metrinch.
http://www.metrinch.tv/
i have a couple sets that someone gave me, and i actually use them more than my SnapOn stuff. It seems to prevent stripping bolts, somehow.

probably the only infomercial thing that's worth a damn, besides the ShamWow!