Who has pulled a tranny before?

[Vexy]

Soon I am going to have to swap in a new auto tranny(4r55e) in my '96 B4000. What would be the best way to do so?

-Pull the motor+tranny together?

-Or just drop the tranny?

 

[tonyjklh]

just drop the tranny. no need to pull the engine at all. the exhaust crossover pipe has to come out, but you can get around it if you just unbolt it from the manifolds and disconnect the pipes from the hangers and slid it back until it drops past the crosmember. ive pulled these transmisions many times and can have one pulled in 45 min to an hour. good luck with it

 

[Vexy]

Ok, I was leaning towards just dropping it, but I wanted to get some feedback from members who have been there done that. Thanks bud.

 

[pillen140]

You don't have to drop the exhaust pipe, its easier though. Its also easier to unbolt the transfer case. Its really not fun to drop it with the transfer case attached and the exhaust hooked up, but its doable! If I remember right the two top bellhousing bolts on the back of the motor are the biggest pain in the ass.

 

[Vexy]

Thank you so much for the information. You have most likely saved me from a lot of swearing and tool throwing.

 

[tonyjklh]

As for those two top bolts just take the upper intake manifold off and get them from the top. Much easier

 

[koa's93ranger]

I took off the top 2 bolts by going in through the floor after moving the shift boot

 

[kevinsranger]

unbolt the passenger side of the cab a little, jack it up a few inches, then take the shifter up, and get the top bolts with some extensions, and the side bolts from the fender wells if you have to.

if you jack the cab up a bit, you can clear the exhaust, i have a 3" body lift and mine clears without jacking up the cab no problem.

def unbolt the t-case first, its heavier then you may think!

remove the starter, so you can unbolt the torque converter if its auto

 

[Vexy]

unbolt the passenger side of the cab a little, jack it up a few inches, then take the shifter up, and get the top bolts with some extensions, and the side bolts from the fender wells if you have to.

if you jack the cab up a bit, you can clear the exhaust, i have a 3" body lift and mine clears without jacking up the cab no problem.

def unbolt the t-case first, its heavier then you may think!

remove the starter, so you can unbolt the torque converter if its auto

Oh thats great to hear. I got a body lift as well, so hopefully that makes things easier for me too. Thanks

 

[4.0B2]

dropping a trans is easy, last one i dropped (w/ air tools and a floor jack).. was a 87 ranger and it took me about an hour by myself.. i've been known to drop a transmission down on my chest and slide out, but that's really not recommended.. lol, it was a bad idea.. worked pretty good i was just sore the next few days.

 

[Vexy]

Wow, I'm surprised it didn't do more damage! It sure makes for a good story though haha.

 

[4.0B2]

Wow, I'm surprised it didn't do more damage! It sure makes for a good story though haha.

well, i didn't DROP it on me.. i held it w/ my legs and lowered it down on my chest. guess i should have been a little more clear... it worked great and was easier than using a floor jack IMO but... the floor jack is easier on the body.



now i did have a transmission fall on my left hand once, and it shattered most of my hand... i blanked out... don't remember it... but when i went back to the shop the next day my blood was all over the shop. they said i was running around freaking out (guess i had a right to huh?? lol) till i passed out before the ambulance showed up. we were putting the motor and trans in a c10 pickup as a complete unit and the cherry picker jacks seal broke, i had my hand between the crossmember and transmission. NEVER AGAIN will i put my hand between something supported by a jack and something hard... NEVER.. but that's a different story.

 

[jdanbarnes]

You got that right!