Do It Yourself?

[Taphophile]

Greetings, all. I'm a newbie here, so I hope someone can give me some advice. My trusty mechanic says there's a problem with the manual transmission in my 1999 Ranger. It looks like I can get a new (rebuilt) one myself for a heck of a lot cheaper than he can replace it. My question is: How big a job is it to do it myself? Any special tools required? Any gotchas waiting to bite me on the butt? Thanks in advance!!

 

[BlackBII]

No Special tools, Just a set of wrenches and sockets, and maybe a Clutch Line Removal tool, but screwdrivers will work.

You'll need to remove the Driveshaft
Starter
Shifter/Boot
Tranny Cross Member
All 6 or so bolts holding the Tranny to the Motor
Clutch Slave Line
He-man the Tranny out, Put the New one, put all bolts back in and vuala!

I haven't ever done a 3.0, but getting the Tranny to fit between the Exhaust and the Tranny tunnel is sometimes...interesting

I say go for it man, get a Chilton manual and follow the directions, it's not really difficult at all

 

[MAKG]

You'll want a jack or a pair of ratchet straps to get that transmission in place.

It's not all that heavy (some 80 lbs or so), but it's VERY awkward on your back under the vehicle.

Don't hang the old transmission on the clutch disk or you'll need to replace the clutch as well. Might be a good idea anyway unless the clutch is very new.

 

[metalmacguyver]

Clutch AND slave cylinder would be a very good idea.

Typically the most frustrating part is getting the tranny past the exhaust.