is removing auto trans possible with y-pipe in place?

[lyngaaskhan]

I've been searching and reading a lot and it's seems that some have managed this minor miracle. At the moment, I have the trans pulled back from the engine on a transmission jack, but I have tried pulling and tipping every which way and it doesn't look like there's enough room to get it out without removing the y pipe. I loathe the idea of trying to free the rusty exhaust bolts, especially with only hand tools. So dang close to having this thing out - just for a broken flex plate.

 

[FR-425]

If you disconnect the cats from the "y" pipe and let the exhaust down you can lower the rear of the engine enough to get the trans out.

You will need a jack to support the engine. You already have a jack supporting the engine? yes?

 

[vq5speed]

I was able to get my auto tranny down without removing the Y pipe. Maybe each truck is different I don't remember struggling with this at all. You do have the torque converter bolts off from the flywheel right. The torque converter needs to come off with the tranny.

 

[lyngaaskhan]

I was able to get my auto tranny down without removing the Y pipe. Maybe each truck is different I don't remember struggling with this at all. You do have the torque converter bolts off from the flywheel right. The torque converter needs to come off with the tranny.

Yes, bolts are off t/c. Transmission is completely free of the engine, just can't seem to find an angle/position that allows it past the exhaust.

 

[lyngaaskhan]

If you disconnect the cats from the "y" pipe and let the exhaust down you can lower the rear of the engine enough to get the trans out.

You will need a jack to support the engine. You already have a jack supporting the engine? yes?

No jack under engine. Transmission is completely separated from the engine. Just can't seem to get the bell-housing past the tunnel and exhaust. Not sure how I would lower the engine as it sits on top of the motor mounts. It's going to be a big chore to get the exhaust apart. Bolts are pretty rusty. Guess I should start soaking them.

 

[2stroke]

Sorry to say, there is no way to remove the transmission with the exhaust in. If you are good with a mig welder, what a lot of us, myself included have done is cut the exhaust under the tranny, and weld it back together when done.

 

[natenkiki2004]

It's not that bad to remove the Y pipe. It's easy to spray with penetrating oil and with several extensions a wobble and an impact gun, it's not the end of the world to remove the bolts. I've done it.

 

[lyngaaskhan]

Sorry to say, there is no way to remove the transmission with the exhaust in. If you are good with a mig welder, what a lot of us, myself included have done is cut the exhaust under the tranny, and weld it back together when done.

Thanks. I'll quit screwing around with it and get at those bolts. Probably easier to split the nuts and replace nuts and bolts. No welder nor welding skills.

When this is done, I have an engine to pull from a Honda Passport (Rodeo). I'm may have to take vacation from work so I can stay home and work.

 

[lyngaaskhan]

It's not that bad to remove the Y pipe. It's easy to spray with penetrating oil and with several extensions a wobble and an impact gun, it's not the end of the world to remove the bolts. I've done it.

No impact wrench. Maybe I should just spring for one...

 

[the_don]

YES it can be done!! i did it a few times when i was still messing around with the A4LD. what i did was, pull all but the top two bell housing bolts,pull the starter and t/c bolts,pull t-case, set the trans tail housing on a jack, pull the crossmember for the trans, slowly lower trans jack down(watch the fan clearance) unbolt the remaining two bell housing bolts, give the trans a tug or use a pry bar the separate the two, turn the trans about an 1/8 of a turn so the top two bell housing bolt holes are pointed at the steering wheel then lift the tail housing up to the bottom side of the floor board then lift the bottom corner of the bell housing and the starter housing over the y pipe, pull it a little further and set it down. to make the install a little easier i found a BFH to the body seam in the tunnel so it lays flat goes a long way.

 

[lyngaaskhan]

Not the flexplate after all??

Well, I'm looking in the gap with the trans pulled back and the flex plate does not look broken after all. My son looked at it through the starter hole with a flashlight and thought it looked broken it in the middle. I'm not seeing any damage. This is my son's truck. Here's the back story. His starter was acting flaky, not turning aver at times, other times working fine. It finally quick working, so we pulled it and picked up a rebuild. The rebuild worked, but it made a bad metal scraping sound, so we pulled it. I noticed that the original had a very strange milled off shelf across the gear opening, but could find nothing that would have made that happen while in the truck. The ring gear looks great with no broken teeth and no gouges to be found. The starter gear on the rebuild looked like it didn't retract quite as far as the original, so I returned it and picked up another at a different store, comparing the rebuild to the old starter. The second rebuild did the exact same thing. That was when he looked in the whole and thought the flex plate was broken. Now I'm stumped. A lot of work trying to pull the trans and now it seems it might have been for no reason.

The car started no problem with the rebuild starter, just made a terrible noise. Any ideas or should I start a new thread?

 

[lyngaaskhan]

Removing it anyway

Can't really tell if it's broken or not until I take it out, so I may as well finish what I started. Can't think of any other reason for the grinding sound I was getting.

 

[the_don]

It almost sounds like your getting a starter for a manual trans.

 

[natenkiki2004]

No impact wrench. Maybe I should just spring for one...

If you're going to work on cars, do it. I didn't have one when I yanked my engine out but I borrowed a friends. Right after that job, I bought a new one. For an occasional DIYer, the Ingersoll Rand 231C is a pretty damn good value. Tried & true design, quality made but not insanely expensive. Yes, it's Made in China but it'll be better than anything Craftsman puts their name on.

I know about not wanting to front the expense for a 'luxury' tool but you'll learn to love it, even with a small air compressor.

 

[Rhett]

I worked on a Corvette starter once, and it was making a metal scraping noise also.

The problem turned out to be the flywheel on the vette.

 

[lyngaaskhan]

YES it can be done!! i did it a few times when i was still messing around with the A4LD. what i did was, pull all but the top two bell housing bolts,pull the starter and t/c bolts,pull t-case, set the trans tail housing on a jack, pull the crossmember for the trans, slowly lower trans jack down(watch the fan clearance) unbolt the remaining two bell housing bolts, give the trans a tug or use a pry bar the separate the two, turn the trans about an 1/8 of a turn so the top two bell housing bolt holes are pointed at the steering wheel then lift the tail housing up to the bottom side of the floor board then lift the bottom corner of the bell housing and the starter housing over the y pipe, pull it a little further and set it down. to make the install a little easier i found a BFH to the body seam in the tunnel so it lays flat goes a long way.

You are correct sir, and I salute you. Got it out with the y pipe in place. That's the good news. Bad news? Flex plate is good. It's clearly a replacement single piece center. Looks good, but I can see where the starter gear was grinding against the edge off the gear, so the original though that it isn't retracting far enough was correct. Neither of the rebuilt units I tried measured the same as the dead unit, but this one was really close. Not sure what to do about it now. Shims would fix it but that's not proper for this set up. Am I faced with shelling out for an own unit?

 

[lyngaaskhan]

If you're going to work on cars, do it. I didn't have one when I yanked my engine out but I borrowed a friends. Right after that job, I bought a new one. For an occasional DIYer, the Ingersoll Rand 231C is a pretty damn good value. Tried & true design, quality made but not insanely expensive. Yes, it's Made in China but it'll be better than anything Craftsman puts their name on.

I know about not wanting to front the expense for a 'luxury' tool but you'll learn to love it, even with a small air compressor.

Bought one and have no idea how I got by without it all these years. Likely I was stronger and dumber 25 years ago. Fortunately for me my neighbor has a very large vertical tank compressor mounted in a shed between our garages. I can grab a hose and go to town whenever I need to. Best neighbor I've ever had, compressor or not. He loaned me the trans jack as well.

 

[the_don]

do you have a part number for the reman starter you bought? oh and btw you should replace the rear main seal while you have the trans off.

 

[lyngaaskhan]

It almost sounds like your getting a starter for a manual trans.

Well, took the first one back and got a second one from a different store. Double checked on both that they were for auto trans. But it's clear that the gear is hitting the flexplate just enough to make a lot of clatter and shine up the edge of the ring gear.

 

[lyngaaskhan]

do you have a part number for the reman starter you bought? oh and btw you should replace the rear main seal while you have the trans off.

I'll check the part number after dinner and good idea about the seal. Anything else I should take care of while the transmission is out? I have to drill out one of the pan bolts my son snapped off.