A4LD Removal

[Pollarican]

Ok guys,

I have my T-Case, rear driveshaft, front driveshaft, fill tube, vaccum lines, electrical connections, trans crossmember, bellhousing bolts, tourque converter bolts, and shift linkage all removed from my A4LD trans. I can't get it to slide back away from the engine - How do you guys usually go about separating the trans from the engine block? I have a couple people working on it and would love to finish within the next few hours. The seal broke a bit, but I haven't got it to move substantially enough yet.

P.S. - The only thing that I haven't removed is the cooler lines, and I haven't dropped the Y-pipe. It isn't hitting the Y-pipe- it is not yet the limiting factor of getting the damn thing out.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Did you use a pry bar?

 

[Tbars4]

...2x4's are handy for prying too...It will pop off...Hint, when putting it back on it needs to pop 3 times...I hope this helps..

 

[Willard]

Wiggle up and down, side to side as much as you can. It's really tight getting it out without removing the y-pipe, but it's possible. That's how I did it.

Get those cooler lines off as soon as you can, so you don't bend them. That may also be what is keeping it from sliding back.

How are you supporting it? Jack? It also helps a bit to lower the transmission until the y-pipe hits the RA crossmember, that frees up a bit of room up top.

 

[BrooklynBay]

(dead links)

 

[Tbars4]

...Not to interupt or anything but I'm curious...I see in your signature you have a rebuilt A4ld...How come your pulling it this time???

P.S. I just went thru this myself..

 

[Pollarican]

I rebuilt the driveshaft with new U-Joints a month back, I didn't like the way one of the clips was sitting but I needed my truck and It was holding in there. Drove about 500 miles no problem, then doing about 70 mph on the highway my U-Joint spit a cap out and the sheer torque of the driveshaft carried through my T-Case and cracked my trans housing, causing it to leak everywhere. Its a shame, my trans had a shift kit in it and it ran beautifully - maybe 30k miles on it.

I bought a 5 speed 1993 sport for $400 and I'm swapping that trans in as soon as I get this damn thing out!

The seal barely broke, as far as I see it really hasn't separated yet from the block itself.

What can I actually pry on without harming my engine block? I really can't salvage the trans unless I get a new casing, the case is cast and any weld really wouldn't penetrate too well.

 

[Tbars4]

...devilboy222 spelled it out pretty much like it is...I just use a 2x4 to assist in this and I use anything to pry against as long as it's nothing that will leak..

...Thanks for taking the time to inform us of your tranny's mis-fortune...

 

[Pollarican]

Finally got the thing out! For some dumb reason I thought that there were only 6 bolts holding the thing, my friend that I was working with swore there were no more and at a quick glance I agreed. Anyway, after checking it over the trans case is definitely a goner. The sad part is the torque converter was so new it still had the sharpie model number written on it from when it was rebuilt.

Next step, pull the flexplate!

Thanks a lot for the quick responses guys. Tbars, too bad I didn't pull this two months ago when it initially cracked, I could have hooked you up with that torque converter considering I have no use for it now.

 

[Tbars4]

...Lol...just my luck...

....Do me a favor if you would and when you can...Check that front seal and see if it still feels fresh or if it is a little harder than new...Just curious for a couple of reasons and, since I put a tranny temp guage in my truck, I will probably be upgrading tranny cooler in the near future...

 

[Pollarican]

TBars - Is that front seal you are talking about the one on the shaft inside the bellhousing. If so I'll take a look at it later today.

P.S.- Tranny Cooler is probably the BEST investment you can make. When I first blew my trans, the trans guy told me it was becuase my radiator was flowing about 1/4 of what it was supposed to be flowing through to cool the fluid. After that I put in an external cooler, and that trans ran beautifully even when I was giving it a bit of a beating (this is on and off the road).

 

[Tbars4]

...That is the seal I am asking about..:bigthump

...The pliability may show it is beginning to become hard already...

...I do have a cooler installed already but after adding the trannny guage, I can see in the summertime the temps do get into the extreme range...Not very often though, but enough to make me want to search out an alternative cooler like what is on Dannyboy's X...I think his is 3"s deep..

...and thank you for taking the time to look for me...

 

[Pollarican]

TBars, from looking at it, it doesn't seem like I have a rubber seal on the inside of the bellhousing sitting there. I'm pretty confused myself, lol.

 

[Tbars4]

...Do you have a pic???...The pinch in this pic actually holds the seal (Red) in unless your came off during removal for some reason.....It should look something like this...

(dead links)

 

[Pollarican]

Ok, looking at the picture you posted I went out and checked it, thanks Tbars. The rubber part of the seal itself is still pretty fresh/pliable, although I guess I initially expected to be looking for a seal that actually pressed against the shaft and sealed that off. I guess that seal seals against the torque converter when it is in place

 

[Tbars4]

...Cool, thats the one...:biggthump


..My seal seemed and looked good until I pulled it out...It looked good, but playing with it in my hands let me know it was harder than it should be...

...If you need some really good info on that A4ld tranny let me know...There was a bunch of good info posted in my tranny thread...