transmission removal

[DupermanDave]

methinks I should have left the transmission bolts off and sprayed the crack with pb blaster and let it sit until sunday. Maybe gravity would have worked on it just letting it sit.

 

Would it be bad if I just hooked a tow strap around it and hooked it to the bumper of my truck and slowly let the truck creep down the driveway and have someone watch the transmission and see if it will pull apart?

[Fairtax4me]

I think you'd be asking for trouble doing that. No doubt it would work, but when it pops loose what's it gonna hit first? You also run the risk of just pulling the car off the jack stands.

Be absolutely sure you get all of the fasteners out and work your way around it with a pry bar. That's the best and safest way.

[idosubaru]

Yeah I wouldn't do that. Ratchet may also break and you'll need new glass somewhere. Brute force would require a lot of it. When you work it loose you do a little at a time and one small part at a time...applying all the force necessary to separate all at once sounds awfully risky.

 

It is totally normal for the engine/trans to be VERY tight. Hammer and chisel are standard fare for an operation like this.

[davebugs]

I start with the PB.

 

Long shafted thin screw drivers from Sears (several now have bent ends).

 

Work up the more regular screw drivers, then huge ones.

 

I always try and get the drivers side to be the "lead". Since it's the most congested area and often that roll pin is the most stubborn.

 

Anything involving a truck to seperate them isn't a good idea.

 

Make sure the motor mount bolts are free of the cross memebr and TC bo9lts are out(if an auto).

 

Cardboard infront of the rad/condensor.

[DupermanDave]

You also run the risk of just pulling the car off the jack stands.

Be absolutely sure you get all of the fasteners out and work your way around it with a pry bar. That's the best and safest way.

 

Yeah, I just now thought about that. If it's really stuck on there, it may start to drag the car back with it.

 

I'll just tie the strap to my dog and have him pull it. He's strong enough.

 

On my suzuki when we had this problem it turned out there was a dirt shield connecting the bell housing to the engine. Nowhere in the manuals did it mention this. We eventually just shreded the metal around the bolt holes and pulled it free. So for this project I made sure there was nothing else connected. No plates or hidden bolts. There was one support bracket at the very top of the transmission that holts it to the firewall. What is this for?

[guydakine]

Hi all,

Got a new '02 Forester with a bad automatic transmission, found a good used one for cheap and doing the swap as we speak. Couple quick questions and will add some more tomorrow night after working on it all day with newer issues I'm sure.

The old trans had code#TZ1A3ZC3AA-PM,,, the new trans, also an '02 has code#TZ1A3ZC2AA-P8,,, the only difference being the 3AA to 2AA and PM to P8, I was told it would be a perfect match, any issues anyone knows of please let me know..

Also, I did an engine swap on a '96 Outback with an auto trans as well, it was a bi at ch but had success without ever opening my new Haynes manual! Sold the Outback with the manual....

So first do the axles need to be freed from the ball joint in order to swing out free for removal??

Also most pics I'm seeing posted don't really show in detail the torque converter bolt up and alignment procedure. What should it line up with and how do I know where I'm at in relation to the engine/trans being inline??? So afraid of what I've read about the transfluid pump.. When I did the Outback it was a miracle I didn't ruin it, as I aligned the bolts to TC using a screwdriver to move the flywheel, it clunked loudly into place, meaning I was just about to destroy my pump for sure.. If any of this makes sense please reply to it, I'll check it in the morning and will pick up a manual as well. Thanks..

[thenak]

A few notes having just pulled the transmission on my 98 impreza outback:

 

1. remove the throttle body and the airflow regulator (I think that is what that thing is just to the left and under the throttle body).  Might want to drain a little coolant first.  This give much better access (once wiring is also out of the way) to the access port, enough to get a breaker bar on those darn drive-plat-to-tc bolts

2. you can rig up a system that acts like the special tool to replace the stopper and brace the top of the engine so that it does not fall forward:  i bought three non-caster roller wheels for their brackets;  removed the wheels and drilled a hole in the center of the plates.  There is a place for a bolt parallel to the stopper, and you can use one of the bolts from the stay for the air intake to bolt one of the brackets to the engine.  I then pinched slightly one of the other bracket's wings and fit a common bolt between the two brackets where the wheel would normally go;  this allows the other bracket to rotate.   The third bracket mounts to the existing stopper, and you can use a small piece of threaded bar and some nuts to connect the two free brackets together and even adjust to tile the engine backward a little if needed.   USE THIS SOLUTION AT YOUR OWN RISK, but it worked for me

3. The nuts on the bottom of the transmission should be easy once the axles are off.  BTW, unbolting the stabilizer allows enough flexibility for the axles to be pulled from the tranny without having to do much more than pop the spring (roll) pins.  The passenger side nut was tougher for me, but much easier to work with from up top than down below.

4. With the stopper in place connected to the engine, as soon as the lower nuts were off, the tranny actually separated up top about 1 mm.  Sweet!  with a tranny jack on wheels, it pushed off nicely, but did have to finegal a little to slightly lower the tranny, push back, slighly lower, push back.  The studs on the bottom are rather long!

 

For me the oil separator plate was easy to access top side with the tranny out of the way.  All but one screw came out with a screwdriver;  no impact driver needed.  The last one has the lock-tite on it so I cracked the old (plastic) plat off, cleared out the plastic pieces from under the screw and used locking pliers to get the last one out.  All-in-all that part was easy.  Recommended to use anaerobic sealant (had to order online), and remember to read the direction as the opposite mating surface requires an activator to be sprayed on it before assembly.  I cut up some long match sticks to act as dowels in two bolt holes in order to keep the plat aligned when mounting the new one back on.