egertge

i got the exhaust off, crossmember off, jack under the engine, jack under the tranny, all the bolts out, all the lines disconnected and everything free of the tranny, but the thing will not come out. ive got it out to where i can see the splines on the input shaft or whatever, but it will not make it all the way out, ive tried every angle, the engine is tilted as far down as it will go, ive tried rotating it, ive done it all while getting dirtier than ive ever been in my life, but the thing just will not come all the way out. there just isnt enough room behind the tranny it seems, and im afraid if i start getting too physical with it, i will bend the shaft, and im guessing that wouldnt be such a good thing. does that shaft come out with it, or can i push the shaft back into the torque converter? it seems like i am having to back the tranny away from the engine a lot farther than others have done when they explain what they did. any advice on how to get it the few more inches i need? i put it back up against the motor and stuck a couple bolts in it for tonight, and tightened all the jacks up. ill try again tomorrow after work in the morning. thanks for any advice you have, i really wanna get this done myself.

egertge

um, was i supposed to just unbolt the torque converter from the flywheel? im gonna feel really dumb if that was all i had to do. i wasnt sure if the torqe converter had to be balanced or shimmed on the fly wheel. maybe i was just over thinking that whole thing. if i am just supposed to unbolt the converter, do i have to remember what bolt went where on the flywheel or does it matter? thanks

oh, and when i go to put this all back together, do i need to torque all of this down to spec, or just some of it? if so, what do i need to torque and what are the specs? i cant find any of this in my chilton manual, it explains how an automatic works, but not how to take it out of your car. wierd stuff.


[Modified by egertge, 11:17 PM 8/13/2003]

Chevyguy

egertge
Yes, you need to remove the convertor/flexplate bolts. The service manual doesn't mention marking it, but I put a drop of white paint on the convertor and weld nut anyway. Run a piece of wire from the bellhousing bolt holes across the convertor to prevent it from falling out when you pull the trans back.
The convertor bolts are supposed to be torqued to 35 ft lbs, but I don't remember there being enough room for a torque wrench in there. Could be wrong though.
Chiltons is ok, but the GM service manual gives a 12 step process on removing the trans, plus all the torque values and most anything else you need to know.
If you need anything else, shoot me an email, glad to help! :chevy

RJR99SS

you dont HAVE to unbolt the torque converter, but its about the only way to make the job easy.

For one thing the tc is HEAVY, around 30-40 lbs. It isnt much fun taking the tc off by itself. You got to worry about dropping it and potentially killing or maiming yourself.

Be sure to put the tc back in the trans before your reinstall it, unless you want to re-enact the old fitting the manual trans into the clutchplate game.

redwingvette

Try to get the trans back up in line with the engine and remove the torque convertor with the trans. It dose locate to the crankshaft so after you pull the bolts you will need to slide it back into the trans a little. then it will drop straight donw.

egertge

when i tried getting the tranny out without the converter, a lot of atf leaked out of the converter. do i need to fill the converter back up, or is the atf that is still in the bottom half of the converter enough. will it refill everything when i turn the car on? also, what seal is it that was leaking that i need to replace. it is probably all covered in atf and i probably cant tell which one was leaking now. is it the one where the torque converter meets the transmission? i think thats the one, but im not sure. do i have to clean everything up really well or does it matter that there is some atf on this stuff? thanks.

dath

I was told to not worry about how much fluid is in the torque converter. It will fill itself up from the fluid you add to the transmission. These things are fairly bullet-proof. Don't know what your leaking symptoms were, but if you have the transmission out, you should replace the front and back seals. The front seal is where the torque converter goes into the pump and is the one you can see. I'd put a new pan seal and filter in the pan as well.

BSeery

I always thought there should be some ATF in the converter, about 1/2 bottle.

And make sure to put some on the seals so they are not dry.

dath

It is the recommended proceedure to add ATF to the converter before installation. I should have mentioned that. In my case, I *ahem* forgot to do that with my new converter, so I didn't want to pull the engine back out to fix the problem since I have a welded in crossmember...

NHvette

Certainly wipe up the puddles and drips of fluid - but the fuid is good for the
seal. The metal parts don't care.

A half filled converter should be fine. If you can get more fluid back in, then great. If not - don't sweat it. The seal in question should be the one that
contacts the outer diameter of the converter. Here's a picture:



The biggest problem in the install is to get the seal to go in straight, while
the input shaft is in the way.

Yeah - don't forget a new pan gasket. :lolg: :lolg: :jester J/K - you got that covered.

egertge

so i take the tranny out with the converter on it, then take the converter off once the whole thing is out to change the seal? sounds simple enough. ya, i have the pan seal covered, a few itmes. thanks for all the advice, going out to work on it right now. if i run into any problems, ill be back here. thanks again.

egertge

well, im back already with a question. how do i take that cable off that goes from the transmission to the carb? i cant figure out how to do it.

NHvette

Oh you have a late year with a TH350. The picture I posted may not be exact - but close.
The kickdown cable should unclip from the carb at the throttle.

My book shows a black tear-drop shaped plastic clip. Grab it with some pliers
and give it a twist to pop it off of the throttle. The cable comes out of the
bracket by squeezing the two lock tabs together and sliding out - pliers again.

Hope that helped.

egertge

ill go try that, another question, is it those 3 bolts that hold the torque converter to the flywheel? if so, how do you get to the one way up top, and now do you loosen them anyway, i tried to get one off, its soo tight it wont budge. if the flywheel turns a little, will it mess up the timing or anything? thanks.

these bolts will not come loose. can i spray wd40 here or will that mess something up? if tried just about everything but a breaker bar and they will not budge.


[Modified by egertge, 2:21 PM 8/14/2003]

egertge

k, i got the cable off, now its down to those bolts, i got a breaker bar on them to loosen them, all but the top one, i am going to have to rotate the flexplate to get to it, but i dont know if that messes everything up. i already turned it a little to get to the other two bolts, which i probably shouldnt have before i new this for sure, but im assuming that the flexplate turns the crankshaft, which turns the timing chain, which turns something, im not a real engine guy. but does turning the flexplate through off the valve timing with the cylinder movement and mess the timing up or anything, or does turning the flexplate rotate everything and everything stays lined up right?

Stewart's74

Turn it...it wont hurt anything.

dath

:iagree: Yep, just turn it. Easiest way is to bump the starter a few times, otherwise you can put a wrench on the crankshaft pulley bolt at the front of the engine and turn the engine. It helps to take the plugs out if you do it that way... Oh yeah, make absolutely sure that you've disconnected your coil before you try turning the engine, especially if you're using the starter method...

egertge

k, i got it off, just turned it by hand, but just now read the disconnect your coil thing :leaving: , didnt think about that. but ill do it before it goes back on, probably when i go back out to the garage. now how do i get that seal out? does it just pry out? thanks

egertge

just thought of something, this car doesnt have a coil wire like my truck i dont think. the battery is disconnected though, i took off the ground wire to the battery when i got the car up because it isnt looking too good. so with no power, i shouldnt have a problem with the car starting should i?

egertge

anybody have some suggestions on how to get the front seal out without dissasembling the transmission?