Tranny gurus - Can You Diagnose My Problem?

[Jason_25]

Gerald I checked with the tranny shop that does work for my family and he said it's only a 4 hour job for him (probably less, but that's what he charges).

Maybe you should look for a 3rd opinion?

 

[Alec]

If you want to try to just do the TC, I'd try to do it yourself. You shouldn't have to remove the tranny pan or anything. You just just need to drop the tranny, remove the old TC, and put in the new one. I've seen it done on tv It's a messy job, and the tranny is very heavy, but I think you can do it; maybe with some help.

My new TC after the core trade in was around $150.

BTW, be very careful as I had a friend who dropped a tranny on his hand and lost a finger. But I don't think you're nearly as dumb as he was and you'll use plenty of jacks and jackstands.

 

[yob_yeknom]

Parking lot at your apartment, heh? Do not try to do it yourself. To drop your tranny you'll have to remove the exhaust and everything. (damn convertor in the way) I'd say it'd be worth the cost not to have to try and go through all that trouble without the proper work area.

 

[JDraper]

Shame you don't live a little farther north. I've got everything needed to do that job in my garage. Ramps, jackstands, tranny dolly, the works. If you are considering doing it yourself, rent a tranny dolly. Makes the job a lot easier than trying to use a floor jack to get the transmission out.

Well, if ya feel like taking a road trip to PA, you're welcome to bring it here

 

[Randall]

It's not all that bad. Especially if you have some help. We pulled mine down with a pile of bricks and a bottle jack, in the rain. It's probably not the osha approved method, but you gotta do what ya gotta do, eh? Me and Michael will be glad to come help you out if you want You do have to remove half of the exhaust tranny cooler lines, and of course the shift linkages and both driveshafts.

 

[Robert]

Mudd***** - Yours is an 4.0L OHV. Gerald's is a SOHC. His exhaust will need to be removed to get the tranny off. One of the converters runs about 4" directly underneith the tranny. If Gerald's exhaust bolts are anything like my '97s were, they are next to impossible to get out.

 

[offroader_69_me]

Originally posted by yob_yeknom
Parking lot at your apartment, heh? Do not try to do it yourself. To drop your tranny you'll have to remove the exhaust and everything. (damn convertor in the way) I'd say it'd be worth the cost not to have to try and go through all that trouble without the proper work area.

yeah it is work if it wasnt then there would be no stories of bumps bruises and burns. It is not that hard!!! I pulled the tranny out of a 91 on my garage floor no jacks or lifts or stands just a small floor jack under the tranny itself, and the X was bone stock! On Geralds with the bodylift the upper bolts should be easier to get at! the exhaust isnt that big of a deal! not saying that you do yob_yeknom, but Gearld has stated that he doesnt not have the $$$ to just fork over for whatever, and sometimes lack of fundage means a little more work!

 

[GJarrett]

Yeah, like Robert said, mine will be a mess to get out. The body lift will help some but a bolt or three will still be a mutherbear to get to and also remember I am still alone so I don't want to try this by myself. However you guys have certainly gotten me to thinking about shopping around to find a better deal on labor from another shop

 

[Robert]

My 3" body lift didn't make my exhaust bolts any easier to get out. The one by the cat, on the top is the hardest one to get to. There isn't enough room to get any extensions on it without going through a series of universals. With the universals on you can't get enough leverage to turn the bolt. Putting a wrench on it doesn't allow more than an inch of travel and that is only if you could get your hand on the wrench to turn it. The two top ones were easy enough to get off with about 24" of extensions and an impact wrench. It was just the one on top of the cat I couldn't get off.

 

[addkev]

Sounds like time for a saw-zall. And besides back pressure is way over rated.

 

[elguapodh]

hey gjarret,
i posted a similar question a while back, i also got a DTC 0741 when my od light flashed. since then i found a TSB numbered 97-22-4. on the TSB, it says "Some vehicles may experience excessive torque converter slippage, torque converter not engaging, or Diagnostic trouble Code 628 or P0741 stored in memory. This may be caused by damage to the fluid pump support seal and/or to the groove on the pump where the seal is located." the follow up action is to inspect the pump seal for wear. i know this more pertains to me since my pump was recently replaced. hope this helps.

dave

 

[Yng_pnk]

Im not very car savy but i took mine out in 2 hours with hand tools the first time. And got it in in about 1 1/2 hours. Its not extremely hard, jusy wait for a weekend and make some time.

 

[mountaineerman]

what fixed this problem?

GJarrett
I know this is an old post, but did you ever find a solution to this problem - I'm having identical symptoms and dealer wants to open up tranny to diagnose. ouch$$

 

[SplashMan]

Good timing, mine just started doing this too. It does it randomly, but usually around 40 MPH or so. I don't have any tranny shifting problems before or after the OD light starts flashing though.

 

[GJarrett]

They wanted something like $1,700 to rebuild the whole tranny but I took a gamble and had them replace only the torque converter install of doing the full job. Knock on wood, it fixed it and it is still working, though my midgears don't lock in as firmly as I wish they would. I now have 139,000 miles on mine so I guess you could say that the fix has worked long-term for me.