get tranny past the Y-pipe?

[1badexplorer]

Can I just get some new bolts from lowe's (galvanized) or do I need something special?

If you buy new bolts get stainless. And when I did my 3.0 I took the torchand heated to hell outta the y-pipe to manifold bolts and pounded a smaller standard socket on then they came out. Then after that when the trans was out. There was room to slip a bolt through the manifold from the front then i put a thin nut on to hold it and basically make a stud but mike are all stainless now and I used nuts instead of bolts to hold the y-pipe on. It comes back off everytime already had to pull motor once and it was no problem

 

[bigredscowboy]

pounded a smaller standard socket on then they came out

I was pretty shocked that the 9/16 standard fit on all of these bolts better than the metric.

 

[rboyer]

I only ever took out y-pipes if the bolts were in extremely good condition. Otherwise I just leave it in there. After doing so many of them with the y-pipe still in the vehicle I can now take one out with barely any problems. The trick is to do it on the ground with the truck on jackstands with just enough clearance to slide the transmission out. That allows you to use your knees as a pivot point and maneuver the thing around with your hands.

 

[bigredscowboy]

I only ever took out y-pipes if the bolts were in extremely good condition.

LOL. so this is what trying to get my y-pipe to manifold bolts out did:

That is my 6" extension for 3/8" drive. A 5 foot cheater bar with my girlfriend pulling on it = A lot of force! I used JB, heat and a hell of a lot of force. I don't think those bolts are coming out. Luckily Craftsman has a lifetime warranty.

 

[BeaterMan]

i neva took the y-pipe out when i did my 85' longbed did require some figiting after i pulled the exhaust after the cat. was a lil trickier to put the tranny back in. my buddy has done this to his 88' 5 times now and he does it the same way every time. they can be a PITA them trannys tho.

 

[kodiak024]

one last reply for you, if you must remove the y pipe get a air hammer bust off the manifold nuts a total of 4 nuts get a good drill bit drill thru the center of the remaining bolt once out use the air hammer to remove the rest of the bolt then replace with the replacement you can't get any more simple then that

 

[cocoasranger]

The way they do it at the muffler shops is to heat up the manifold ear red hot around where the stud screws in and run off the rusted nut/stud combination together using an impact gun.

We did hundreds of these and it always resulted in a nice threaded hole in the manifold ready for the new stud.

 

[bigredscowboy]

heat up the manifold ear red hot around where the stud screws in

will a propane torch ever get that thing hot enough?

 

[racsan]

propane just wont get it hot enough, when i changed my trans, i broke mine off, drilled and re-tapped the manifolds and put it back together. ive thought about headers but the possibility of busting manifold bolts off in the head keeps me from being serious about it. us in the salt-belt have pretty ugly trucks underneath. i used the acetelyne torch to remove the converter bolts with, mine looked worse than yours. and i did it on a dirt floor in a barn, in ohio in late feb. cold,cold, cold.

 

[rboyer]

will a propane torch ever get that thing hot enough?

If you have a propane torch with a tip that also accepts MAPP gas cans (turbotorch, etc) then just pay the $7-10 for a can of it and that will get hot enough.

 

[1983dieselranger]

I have replaced the tranny in my 94 4.0 5 speed Ext Cab ranger once and done a clutch once. I have always had problems with the y pipe but never had to remove it. I do have to seperate the tranny from the transfer case When removing/installing the tranny. But i remeber last time i put it back in i got the rear of the tranny as high as it would go and it pretty much went right in. I do remeber doing a little bit of prying on that y pipe when taking out. So good luck!

 

[bigredscowboy]

so I rented an electric impact wrench to work on the bolts. didn't do a damn thing. got to thinking it would be great for putting everything back together so as to get my money's worth. it snapped a transmission bolt (13mm). I am going to shoot something if ford doesn't have a replacement in stock.

 

[bigredscowboy]

they stopped making the tranny bolts in 2003 but the guy felt so bad for me he gave me a bolt that fit for free

 

[BlackBII]

Score!

Not to make you feel bad or anything, but I just swapped my tranny out last nite for a good one, took 2.5 hours, no power tools.

On my BII, I hammered the body seam flat enough that the tranny fits between the body and y pipe, with out a lot of trouble. Makes it a ton easier.

 

[bigredscowboy]

Score!

Not to make you feel bad or anything, but I just swapped my tranny out last nite for a good one, took 2.5 hours, no power tools.

On my BII, I hammered the body seam flat enough that the tranny fits between the body and y pipe, with out a lot of trouble. Makes it a ton easier.

I fart in your general direction.

But really, I hammered my body seam too -- AFTER I got the tranny out. It went in so much easier (10 minutes) than it came out (2 1/2 days). I also removed the heat shield on top of the muffler because it was loose. This gave me 1/4 inch or so. Now I just have to have it welded back on. Putting this thing back together is so much easier even though the high is only 20F. I started this morning when it was 6F. I've been taking lots of brakes in front of the heater while checking the forum.