how much to pull a tranny

[makaveli911]

i gotta pull my tranny out then my friend at a dealership can fix it but how much would it cost to pull it out and put it back in??? also, do you think its possible for me and some friends who have installed trannys in their cars be able to do this?? I would like to save as much money as possible. thanks

 

[BradE.]

It's possible to do it yourself, if you have the proper tools. Do you have a tranny jack? They are pretty helpful. The biggest PITA is getting the X high enough on jackstands so you can side the tranny in and out. It's much easier with a lift.

 

[makaveli911]

ya my friend got one of those air compressors with all the bits but i dont think he has a tranny jack... how much would it cost to pick up??

 

[410Fortune]

a tranny jack is helpful but not required.

You will need to:
disconnect - battery cable
jack up the explorer and support it on jack stands
remove both frint and rear driveshafts
remove the exhaust Y pipe & unplug 02 sensors
remove the starter
remove the vacuum line, dipstick tube, wiring harness (auto)
remove the clutch hydr line & wiring harness (5 speed)
unbolt the torque converter from the flywheel, through the starter hole, using a socket on the crankshaft pully on the front of thenegine to turn it over (auto)
unbolt the tranny mount and crossmemeber
unbolt the 8 transmission bellhousing to engine bolts (hardest part)

You will have other little things to deal with like shift linkage or shifter, kick down cable, and of course both the t case and tranny are full of ATF.
It is possible to leave the T case in teh truck, but usually easier to pull them both at the same time.......

It took me 1.75 days to do my clutch the first time with a friends help. 5 transmissions later, a conversion to automatic, and probably having the tranny out 8 times I can now drop that sucker in about 3 hours bymyself with hand tools, keep in mind my truck sits on a 6" lift and I do not need any jack stands to drop the tranny....

Good luck!
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Most shops around here charge $400-500 labor to remove and then install a tranny........not including fluid, filters, etc........

Having the proper tools is a must on a job like this, without the right T bit for the front driveshaft, the right pressure fitting tool for the hydraulic line, the right extensions and sockets, wobbly, etc, this job would be near impossible.
Some of the bellhousing to engine bolts are difficult to get at, but can be quite simple with the proper tools, like a 48" extension for a 1/2" drive. You see you can sit with your knees on the upper intake manifold with a 13mm wrench for 45 painful minutes and loosen the top two bolts, or you can have a friend feed you the 13mm socket on the 48" extension from under the truck and guide it on to each bolt and have them out in 10 minutes........lots of trial and error and there is a big learning curve.......on a 4x4 the job is 5x's harder and it REALLY pays to have help from somebody who has done this before.........

 

[BradE.]

They are pretty expensive to buy. I think you can rent one from your local tool rental place. Probably cheaper that way.

 

[TheRookie]

Do an ebay search for tranny jack or transmission jack. There is this guy on there that sells these adaptor plates for floor jacks. basicaly to make a floor jack into a tranny jack. I got one for mine (was like 50 bucks shipped) and it was a life saver. Only works on floor jacks with removeable saddles. The better craftsman jacks are like this. Also start looking for the thinnest deep 14mm socket you can find. You will NEED it to remove the torque converter to flywheel nuts. NO way around this. I used a 12 point 3/8 drive snap on socket. Hammering the socket onto the nut helps. As does spraying them with something like WD 40 a day in advance. Any questions on this PM me or E mail. As said a mega long extension for the top bolts is a must. However if you lower the back of the trans you can get them by yourself.