Slave Cylinder Replacement

[willmasse]

Hey all, new to the forums. I've got a 1996 Mazda B4000 4.0l v6, 4x4(electronic shift), manual trans. Im about to try to tackle my first big automotive job in a few days as I need to replace the Slave Cylinder on my clutch hydraulics(or at least I think thats what's wrong), having to drop the transmission to do it. I was hoping to get some tips here. I've looked through the steps and have a pretty fair idea of what I'm doing, but I'm sure murphys law will come into play some time through the process. I did have a few questions. One was, how difficult is it to remove the drive shafts? I haven't found a clear walkthrough on that, but it doesn't look to be that hard. Also on the autozone repair walkthrough it says to remove the transfer case, but on this website (therangerstation) http://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/May06/40_clutch_swap.htm it says "Remove transmission/transfer case assembly from vehicle" does this still mean remove the transfer case first, or can I leave it attached to the trans and remove them as one piece?(As if the trans will be heavy enough) Im hoping Autozone will have all the tools I need for the job, the jackstands, transmission jack, and regular floor jack, for tool loan, but if they don't is there any other good place to look for 'em for loaning them out for a day? Thanks for any advice possible!

 

[skinner]

You can leave the transfer case connected to the tranny and remove them together, i'm always afraid it'll leak to death if i take them apart, plus it's not necessary. However, it does make getting it in and lined up fun but with 2 people it's no problem. You'll have to remove the exhaust, too. I've read that you don't have to, and tried it that way but trust me, remove the exhaust. It's not overly hard, but it's not exactly fun and does take a while. Don't forget to remove the shifter before you go moving the tranny. Oh, and don't just replace the slave cylinder, get the whole clutch kit from Autozone. You don't want to have to do this job again anytime soon.

 

[adsm08]

This is a job that is not difficult so much as big. The absolute worst part of it is getting the transmission back in when you are done because you have to line up the input shaft with the hole in the clutch and often you can't see it.

Drive shafts are not hard to get out, a 12 point 12 mm wrench will be required for the flange bolts, I think the carrier bearing bolts are 15 mm (not 100% sure of that one). Be sure to mark the shaft flange and the axle companion flange at the back by one of the bolts with paint or crayon and a punch so you can get it lined up right and not cause a vibration. Also take care not to drop the drive shaft, it is hollow and it is a balanced assembly, dropping it can damage it or throw it out of balance, both not good.

The transmission and transfer case are physically capable of coming out as one piece, I've seen it done a 100+ times in the shop. For you at home, probably working on your back in the garage, I recommend separating them just because this stuff is already heavy, so if you can take the weight out in smaller pieces, that is easier and safer.

Autozone won't have the transmission jack, but thats something that you don't need unless you own a lift. I just use a 3 1/2 ton floor jack with a 6" dish under the middle of the tranny for height and stability, and a little 1 ton with a 2 "dish at the back for angle control.

As for jack stands, unless you are a bigger guy (+200 lbs) you shouldn't need them. I weigh 165 and I just did a complete tranny swap out last month with the truck sitting on its own 4 wheels. The only time height was an issue was when I was moving transmissions in and out from under the truck and the bell was taller than the frame.

Also, if you plan to do any significant amount of work on your truck, either now, or in the future, save yourself some trouble and run down to Sears, spend the $100 and get a set of Cross-force ratchet wrenches. They took about 3 hours off my trans swap, and they are great for people with bad wrists/preventing bad wrists because they let you push against the broad side of the wrench.

Hope this helps, feel free to PM or IM me if you have other questions. I'm sure other guys will chime in soon with stuff I missed too.

 

[Shran]

The last clutch I did (in a B2) I didn't even use a jack. To lift the tranny back in, I had a piece of rebar through both side windows and a ratchet strap hooked onto that and around the tranny. I got it far enough up that I could get under it and set the tranny and transfer case on my chest, and just kind of heaved it up in there. Jacks IMO are a waste of time because you have to work around them and you don't have infinite maneuverability.

 

[trail B2]

Some where between all my transmission problems i've had my tranny out an embarrassing amount.First of all I separate them I can handle either one by hand which makes lining them up much easier than when there together on a jack.The connection between the tranny and transfer case is supposed to be dry sealed at both ends so leaking isn't a problem.Mine has a small drain in the m50d end.Raise it up enough to work roll over really helps getting tools and such.Take out the tranny cross brace take off all wires linkages and cables.Take the transfer case off get all your extensions and a wobbly together and unbolt the tranny from under the car.Once the cross brace is out the tranny hangs down enough to get in over the top I use an air gun if you got one.Try to center the clutch disk as good as you can with the dummy shaft very important to how the tranny slips back in.

 

[willmasse]

Thanks for all the useful advice! Called autozone and they don't lend out jacks of any sort, I will need to pick up a jack then, I don't have one where i'll be working. The autozone guide says i'll need two, one for the transmission and another under the engine. Will a 2 ton jack be enough? Autozone has this set, I could buy two and have a jack for the engine and trans and have the jack stands to raise the truck up a bit. And just so I have an idea ahead of time, how much does the tranny weigh? I've heard trying to balance it on a jack while lowering it can be kinda tricky.
Lastly, removing the shifter, I know I need to remove the shifter, but do I have to remove the inner shifter like in this guide http://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/winter2007/shifterbushings.htm

Thanks for the help again! Will be visiting these forums much more frequently!

 

[skinner]

It's nice to have a floor jack for the tranny, but not necessary. If the truck moves and you can't fit under it, put it on ramps. If not, you can always use a scissor jack and put something under the wheels. Mines lifted about 2 inches and has 31's on it so I just slid right under(and i'm 6'5 260). I'm not sure exactly how heavy the tranny/ xfer case is, it's pretty heavy but not unmanageable. Luckily, you have the crossmember to 'balance' it on as you're working with it, so you don't have to benchpress it in.

 

[Shran]

Those autozone jacks are crap. My buddy bought one thinking it was going to be awesome and he was thoroughly disappointed. I would buy from somewhere else... the 2 ton jack is plenty...you just want one with a large support thing instead of the tiny one. It is a lot easier to balance things that way. You should only need one jack.

If you decide to go with the ratchet strap method like I used I should mention that you run the strap down through the hole in the floor where the shifter usually is, not around the vehicle.

I would guess that the transfer case and tranny weigh somewhere around 120 pounds. They're pretty light.

 

[country0001]

A 3 1/2 ton is better just because its bigger and slides better. Havin a buddy to help that has already done this is a real help. It takes longer to get it apart than to put it back together. U can bench bleed the slave cylinder b4 u put it in to save some time and headache. A guy from Autozone told me how to do it and it worked great. I second what everyone else said.

 

[willmasse]

Once again thanks for all the tips! Do I need to have a jack under the engine during this process. I was under the impression that I did. @country0001 how do you go about bench bleeding the slave? I only know the procedure for bench bleeding the master. I know these systems are a pain to bleed, so any help is appreciated.

 

[adsm08]

You don't need a jack under the engine, it is supported by its own mounts. The only time I have ever need a jack on the engine during a tranny job was on a 4-banger s-10. when the trans is out it rocks forward b/c the mounts sit too far forward and so to get the trans back in you have to jack on the front. The 2.9/4.0 doesn't have this problem.

These things aren't that hard to bleed though. I just had my gf pump the pedal like a brake bleed and until i got fluid at the screw, then I opened the screw up wide and gravity bled it until clear fluid started running out. Mine is working just fine.

If you have some money to throw at it, and you really want to be lazy about it though, you can go to advanced auto and shuck out $200 for a pre-bled master/slave combo. I did buy this set because my line fitting are buggered up and that was the only place I could find a new line. I haven't put it in just yet since my clutch is working, and its averaged a high of 30 F here this week.

 

[BlackBII]

I have never used a jack when pulling Tranny's and Tcases....

They aren't that heavy guys....

 

[trail B2]

Harbor freight sold me a jack ive been real happy with for personal use.Theres some coupons in four wheeler on a good little jack for $59 this month if you have a harbor freight near you. The only time I use a jack is to raise the tranny and transfer case back up into the mount and to help catch the trans while i'm unbolting it.It eats up a lot of time and trouble dragging the jack around under the car and its always in the way.

 

[adsm08]

I have never used a jack when pulling Tranny's and Tcases....

They aren't that heavy guys....

They aren't, but my bench press is not strong enough to get one off my chest, and putting that much pressure directly on my wrists sends sharp shooting pain through my hands and arms, so I prefer to get them up and down with a jack.

We can't all be lucky enough to actually be able to go hit the weights.

Yes, I've seen a doctor about it, his options were 1) have surgery to correct the carpal tunnel issues, which will put me out of work for weeks while I heal, and probably not be a permanent solution or 2) take the working pressure off my wrists anyway I can.

 

[skinner]

The slave cylinder I've never bench bled, it's not bad. The master cylinder, however, is a huge PITA to bleed installed. In fact, I haven't been able to successfully bleed either of the two master cylinders i've put on rangers. I've ALWAYS had to take them off the firewall, change the angle, and pump with a rod or screwdriver.