hey guys

i've finally become a driveway mechanic as i am doing my first full tranny swap

i am swapping from a bad 700R4 to a T5

heres the help i need: how do i get the bolts that attach the engine to the tranny...........i cant seem to even see where the heck they are..........

i am doing this in my own driveway on jackstands


thanx in advance guys

 

Are you trying to remove the bolts? or put them in?

Either way you just need to reach up there and feel your way around, but if you're pulling the tranny, you can lower the tranny jack just a little which will tilt the engine/tranny so you'll have more room... just don't go too far cause you can hit the firewall with the distributor.

 

Quoting Janis Joplin...
"Try.... Just a little bit harder......"
Seriously, your answer is why I had a tranny shop swap in-n-out my Firebird 700R4
NOW What ya can use.
Snap on makes this killer tool.
You'll need it in 15mm size.
Short wrench with a socket boxed end/ratchet.
MAYBE Sears has some.
BUT, that's what I used.
I gotta go find one. Well, my S-10 Blazer has much more "Room" back there.
BUT, not much.
TIP!!
When reinstalling tranny, have some one on top, feeding bolts into tranny, as sliping into place. When I did my 3.4 swap, I had taped the top middle bolt, into tranny, as engine was reinstalled.


Again, 15mm. machined thread, many turns.
Best thoughts for ya.
You can do this, but, no it's not exactly easy, tho.

 

Its called a 'GEAR WRENCH' - I got one at O'Riley's but A.Z. has 'em. I cut mine off and made a handle for it out of 1/2 water pipe. (see photo) Crude but I was in a hurry, you may not have to do that, but that GEAR WRENCH is the tool to have. My bolts were 18mm. but that doesn't mean anything - take one of the lower bolts with you when you go to the store.

 

i'm removing the tranny bolts

i removed the distibutor cap so it wouldnt hit the firewall


this is actually on my Z28, but i figured Tom and Karl always give good advice


as for the Snap On tools, thats all i use
i currently owe $500 to the Snap On guy that comes to my shop

i found that a $300 torque wrench makes a great breaker bar to remove the crossmember bolts without having to be underneath the car :rockon:

actually i used some of my dads craftsman stuff today, cuz alot of my tools i left in my box at work

right now the car is off the jackstands and the engine and tranny are leaning backwards

i'm going to give the tranny bolts another shot next sunday, cuz i wont have any time until then

thanx guys

 

doing a tranny swap in the driveay is bad enough, I did a tranny job on my friends camaro with a lift and a tranny jack all the right tools in 6 hours by myself and I had never done one before, I know the bolts you are talking about, I had a hard enough time standing so I can imagine what you are going through. let me know how it works out.

P.S. have fun with the torque arm dont try taking it out if your rear wheels are on the ground you cant get the bolts out through the top.

 

yeah man, torque arms are a PITA

i just left it attached to rear end and unbolted it from the tranny

alot easier

 

A $300 torque wrench to BREAK FREE BOLTS? Damn. I'd use a $20 torque wrench, not a $300. Ouch.

If you do a search for trans bolts, I listed the exact tools I used to remove the trans-to-engine bellhousing bolts. ... Aw, hell, I'm too nice, here's the link to the message, and the "quoted" information from it:

For reading the rest of this message, look at: https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...threadid=61114 And see the swap at: http://www.geocities.com/tomp_3rdgen

Note: Do NOT use 3/8" socket set tools; the 3/8" stuff is too thin. A long 3/8" extension will "twist up" and absorb your torque. You need the 1/2" stuff, because that won't twist. When I did -my- trans swap, I could spin the breaker bar past 90 degrees (I was getting pissed), and the long 3/8" extension would twist up- and the socket WOULDN'T move!! It took me 3 or 4 hours to get two bolts off.

The next morning, my dad drove me to Sears, and we got the 1/2" extensions (the 2 footer and the 7" one). I came back- and I got the other 4 bolts off in less than 20 minutes. So don't even bother screwing with the f'ing 3/8" thick tools.

And for the love of cars, man, buy a breaker bar!! Or, I'll trade you my $40 torque wrench for your $300- or, actually, my $40 one might be in better shape by now

 

I'm with Tomp... a torque wrench is a precision instrument not a breaker bar... Breaker bars are for breaking loose stuck bolts... Torque wrenches are for tightening bolts to an exact tension.

If you use a torque wrench incorrectly you can screw up the calibration and it'll be completely worthless for its intended use.


BTW on a V8 I'd say that its an extreme longshot that you'd be able to get the top tranny/bellhousing bolts from the top of the car. There's just too much emissions crap and wiring at the back of the block to get your hands in there, much less tools.

FWIW dad and I pulled the old 4L60 and installed the new 4L60 on the gray bird, using a rented tranny jack and a semi complete set of craftsman tools, in the driveway. Took us two days taking our time with plenty of breaks for Corona and to scrub off the grime... That was dealing with the underside of the car completely covered in tranny fluid since the old tranny basically blew the seals and dumped fluid like a bitch.

 

Sorry it took me awhile to find it, here is a Pix of the back of the engine, so you'll know where the bolts are. (we're all being too nice - somethings wrong!)

 

thats what lifetime free replacement warranties are for


HAHA

 

oh yeah, and Drew, i have no emissions crap on the Z28 its a non-CC car

so theres not too much wiring back there

in fact i just looked at the car and saw that it will be VERY possible to get the bolts from the top

 

What! You're changing the tranny.......RICE!!!! How dare you put a T5 into an auto car. Just kidding, after reading this topic, I realized as GhostRider84 did that everyone is being way too nice, c'mon guys, tell him it is a wasted cause. Nah, I feel for you. I pulled a tranny out of a Maro and just pulling it out was pain enough. Good luck with it, I wish I knew this forum when I was doing mine! Again, the sarcasm meter was off the scale and this post is a big joke, not flaming anyone. Again, good luck with it and let us know what you find, might help the next 3rd gener on their project.

 

just proved you wrong Drew

i just pulled out one bolt and was able to feel 3 more

it started to downpour though so i packed it up for today