Tranny Bolt

[BUCHVILLEMAN]

Okay my 3rd A4ld just went to crap. im replacing it and shopping for a tow rig/DD (f150 or ram.) anyway i got to taking off my tranny last night and got to the last bolt and spent an hour trying to get it. its the one that has the bracket holding the dip stick tube. the last time i did this swap i had a body lift on and i just put the impact up there zipped it out. now i have no frigging idea how to get this bolt out. anyone have any solutions? if i cant figure it out im going to pull all the body bolts and jack up the body to get to this last damn bolt. of course if i do that it will make installation easier too. uhhhh!

fyi - an a4ld will fail when the water/atf ratio is 1:1

 

[410Fortune]

No need to jack up the body! Yikes!
You have two choices to get at the top two bolts on the tranny.
Method 1 is to climb up on top of the engine.

I sit with my knees on the radiator support and one arm on the intake manifold or whatever you can figure out. You can even get both hands around the back of the upper intake if you need to (this is how I plug in the 02 sensors)
the bolt SHOULD come out with a 1/4" drive or just a 13mm wrench.
They should not be torqued down more then that,
Plan to get many scratches on your arms from wires, dipsticks, etc.
It helps to reach over the coil pack if you take off the 2 rearmost spark plug wires

Method 2: similar to the above but with a helper.
You will need a 3' extension for the 1/2" or 3/8" drive. You have one guy under the truck who knows where to point the extension (from the side of the tranny, towards the back) and you climb up on the engine and guide the extension/wobby/socket combo onto your bolt with your hand. Then he can turn them in and or /out. This is the quickest and best method, makes the top 4 bolts a breeze.

Go to sears and buy the extension if you need to and if you have access to a helper.
Its worth it.
I bought 2- 3' 1/2"drive put them together and you can get to the bolt from behind the t case
Depending on how much crap you have routed around the tranny under the truck you can also do the extension method yourself, takes practice and lots of light.

 

[BUCHVILLEMAN]

i can get my 1/4" drive on it but cant get enough pull to break it. same thing with 13m just cant break it. used this method for drivers side bolt.

method 2 sounds most promising.

I bought 2- 3' 1/2"drive put them together and you can get to the bolt from behind the t case

HOLY CRAP MAN! thats some extensions!

im sure ill get it tonight using method 2. that one bolt put me a whole day behind. ive got to have tranny in, new cooling fan, and regear front by saturday for a run.

 

[410Fortune]

Yes it is some extensions but they save you that day behind if you have them.

You think that is bad I am dragging the boat 1200 miles this weekend.
In the last week I have had to:
rebuild pass side front axle assembly, I lost an axle bearing in the diff in Moab, bearing rollers fell into diff, so the whole poumkin had to come out.
Then on Sunday while repacking the wheel bearings I find the drivers side are on there way out, no bearings avail, so I re-assemble.
Last night I replaced both side wheel bearings.
Last weekend I installed a new transmission pan (redesign, my 1st one was a prototype, they had to redesign their pan for 4x4) so fluid and filter change there, new pan.
Installed a new B&M tranny cooler to replace my inadaquate Hayden unit, hydraulic fittings did not come with the cooler, so I had to drive 80 miles to get some, come back to find the hose is too thick, spent 1.5 hours with a razor trimming down the lines to fit the fittings.
Took 9 quarts of fluid! Man usually with a pan drop I get about 4.5, 5 if I flush the cooler. THis new pan is to hold 1 additional quart over the last pan I had...
I also had to wire a switch to my fan relay for the cooler, it was coming on all the time (Hayden fan controller is a POS)
I replaced the Superlift bushing in the Superrunner steering.
I also had a issue with the starter wiring, the relay for my alarm was installed in the steering column and they did a pretty good job it lasted 5 years, so I had to troubleshoot the bad connection and I soldered all 5 splices in the column to replace their butt connectors.

hahaha And I have plenty more to do before the big trip....
Typical when you have 265K miles on your daily driver/tow rig/wheeler

She requires ALOT of love.

 

[BUCHVILLEMAN]

if you are trying ot make me feel better you are!

im at 200k so the little bugs are hitting me pretty regular now.

tranny mods sound intriguing. you have a thread on all that?

 

[410Fortune]

Tranny mods:

Custom A4LD built by Brian at transwerks
Autofab transmission mount (factory mount is not up to the task)
PML sand cast aluminum 4x4 transmission pan, 3 quart capacity over stock
Pan has drain plug and sender port for temp gauge
3/8" high temp rubber cooler lines
B&M racing 11" transmission super cooler
Hayden 10" electric fan and temp controller mounted on tranny cooler
Autometer Phantom 2-5/8" mechanical trans temp gauge.

It runs are about 140 degrees now driving around town WITHOUT the electric fan on.
I am VERY happy with this setup so far...

There is a thread abot the transmission pan and Autfab mount here somewhere, but last weekend I installed the re-designed pan and new cooler, no pics yet

You cant use my truck as an example, the only things left stock now are the power window motors (both getting weak), the under side of the dash, carpet kit and um...I think that it, maybe some trim, glass and wires

 

[Glacier991]

In my thread "My A4LD Rebuild Diary" I have researched and think I have included or discussed just about every conceivable currently available A4LD mod. May help you get a jump start - and if you find others I have missed, please post them there! Thanks.

 

[410Fortune]

Glacier, even the PML pans?

 

[glfredrick]

If you are pulling the tranny anyway, just pull the T-case first and then you can sit up in the hole where it was and see right up to the bolts from the back. It will take at least 3 feet of extension, but it isn't all that hard. One trick I like is to wrap a swivel with several wraps of black tape. That still allows it to move some, but stiffens it up so it doesn't flop when you have to use it on the end of a long extension like this. On the newer versions you will NEVER see the bolts from the top side - they are burried.

 

[410Fortune]

hahaha sounds like you need a new wobbly Glfredrick, when they get that loose its time for a new one, new ones should be stiff, but the tape does help.

 

[glfredrick]

My wobbly has been used hard for a lot of years - and it needs a bit of help to stay stiff... (can't believe that I wrote that)

 

[cjbarron5]

If you are pulling the tranny anyway, just pull the T-case first and then you can sit up in the hole where it was and see right up to the bolts from the back. It will take at least 3 feet of extension, but it isn't all that hard. One trick I like is to wrap a swivel with several wraps of black tape. That still allows it to move some, but stiffens it up so it doesn't flop when you have to use it on the end of a long extension like this. On the newer versions you will NEVER see the bolts from the top side - they are burried.

how true that is it will also be less bulk to deal with i use 2 3ft extensions and a ratchet or air gun

 

[5.0 explorer]

can you get any heat on it??
maybe you ''happened'' to spill a little lock tight on it haha...

 

[glfredrick]

Ford tended to locktite the 2nd Gens and up (by my observation), so gentle persuasion is needed. A light torch, heated to about 300 degrees also works wondrers for making locktite release, but there will be no way to get a torch in there to heat anything without cooking wires etc.

Use the torch on the u-joint screws first though - makes them pop right out without blowing up a T-27 torx.

 

[BUCHVILLEMAN]

i used loctite on it when i installed it last time. since i had the BL it was no issue of access i just put the impact right up to it.

i got the bolt off in about 20 mins last night. i played like a snake and limped my arms around laying on the motor until i got it. i put my 3/8 breaker bar on there after i moved the big AC line that was in the way and then bent a piece off 3/4" pipe to curve around the intake between the fire wall. after i got it broke i just turned it 1/10 of a turn at a time with my 1/4" drive. at first i was only getting one click on the ratchet.

the yellow flies were so bad that i had to wait till after dark so i didnt get started until 10 and i finished up at 3am. came into work at 6.30. i am the walking dead.

may its the delerium or the fact i can still smell beer on me but im thinking that the $ i was going to spend on tranny will go great toward a new truck and i can just let the ex sit in the barn until i can afford to do a manual swap. i dont want to do another a4ld. ive gone through 3 in 200k miles!

what do you guys think? oh yeah ive given up making this weekend's run with the explorer since the tranny wouldnt be ready to pick up until this afternoon and i have to gear the front as well. so ex would be down for nearly 2 weeks. im thinking NEW (to me) TRUCK!!!

 

[glfredrick]

You will just have to start over on the new one... I haven't seen anything that is remarkably better than what you already have. Unless you are willing to go the Super Duty Allison combo (and then, who is gonna wheel that $45K thing?) you aren't gonna be happy anyway.

 

[BUCHVILLEMAN]

i should be more clear - new truck would be 2wd DD tow rig. looking at 2000 f150 with 5speed and 4.6. explorer would gain trail rig offroad staus only - its earned it. that would allow me to go ahead and swap in a v8 drive train. more than likely a 302 and c4. i have d60 and rc hd d44 axles to go in as well so i can accelerate that project. the difference is that ive spent too much time and money on teh ex this summer and the downtime has been outlandish. it would feel patched together if i through in anothercrap a4ld. i want it to feel built. i also have the drivetrain from a 3/4 dodge ditting here. 318, tf720 an 203 - that would be an interesting swap.

 

[410Fortune]

hmmm....

Throw a C4 in there, the 4.0L and C4 make an excellent power plant for a trail rig...

 

[glfredrick]

Talking about weird swaps...

I have a Ranger with a bad tranny - and a K5 Blazer with a 350 HP 350/700R4 and an NP 208 (which I don't like). Wonder what that would be like in a Ranger? It would certainly have a little bit of snot when the go pedal was pushed... (The Blazer snapped a rear 10 bolt axle shaft just getting on it a bit coming out of a parking lot! I built the motor for a Malibu project that I wanted to drag race a bit... it has a boat motor cam with some serious low end torque.)

 

[410Fortune]

a 350 has been put into everything....boring

Of course its not so boring to drive, just boring for us Ford guys to talk about

There is a prerunner Ranger on Ebay right now with a wicked ass 350 in it..