What is the best way of dropping the tranny. My rear seal is leaking and we are going to check the clutch. The manual says suttin about the springs and taking them out.

 

Come on I really need to know this right now.

 

The best way is on a lift with a transmission jack. You can do it in the driveway, but the car's gotta be pretty high off the ground. High enough to have room to balance a transmission on a floorjack.

Here's how I do it.
- Draining is optional, but a very good idea. First, it makes the damn thing much lighter. Second, it keeps a mess from going all over the place when you pull the yoke out the back and the converter off the front. And third, it's easier to remove and install the tranny because you can disconnect the TV cable from inside and leave it in the car.
- Remove the driveshaft: the four 11mm bolts at the rear yoke and the front slides out of the tranny. We use an yoke cut off of an old driveshaft and slide it into the tranny to keep it from spilling fluid all over the place. You could also stuff a rag around there.
- Disconnect the front of the torque arm: three bolts in the clamshell, and pull DOWN on the torque arm before opening the clamshell. You can let it rest against the roof of the tranny tunnel, no need to remove it.
- Remove the flywheel/inspection cover. 4 10mm screws.
- Remove the starter. 2 9/16th bolts.
- Seperate TC from flywheel. 3 18mm bolts.
- Remove cooler lines. 1/2 line wrenches. I usually just cut the metal line near the bottom and use compression fittings to put them back together. It's much easier than trying to fit a wrench up into that tight space, and it lets you zip the tranny in and out easily.
- Remove bellhousing bolts. 9/16th bolts, one of which also holds the dipstick tube. I use like 4 long extensions, a deep socket, and an impact wrench. Leave one in there hand-tight until everything's completely ready to come out.
- Remove dipstick tube. It slides up and out of the tranny.
- Remove transmission mount. Don't remember the stock size because mine is aftermarket. Think it was 11mm for the mount-to-tranny bolts, and 15mm for the mount-to-crossmember nut.
- Jack up the tailshaft and remove the four crossmember bolts. 4 13mm(?) bolts.
- Disconnect the TV cable from the throttle-body (a clip). You can also drop the pan and disconnect the TV cable from the valve body underneath, and remove the 10mm bolt that holds it down. One or the other. The first way is easier, but you have to feed the cable through when you remove or install the tranny.
- Remove that last bellhousing bolt, and slide the tranny back (back to get it off the guide pins) and down. This is where two or three burly people can come in handy if you're doing it on the ground.
- Installation is reverse of removal (I like saying that).

Have fun, man.

 

hey jza nice reply i too have been down that road manny of nites on the ground in 35 degre weather trying to get the bolt pattens to line up so i could get a stude in there and crank on them till it pulls the trans closer and closer to the block,..,i still have the occasional nite mare's ..lolhaveing a buddy definitly helps...,.,

by the way did ya see what he said about checking the clutch.,i hope that if he does remove the pump and opens it up there is gonna be more then just one clutch in there! lol