Transmission Removal?

[wlivesey]

I have found what appeared to be pieces of my 2nd gear in my transmission oil (it's been a bangin and a clankin in 2nd gear). So I thought I would save some money and pull the transmission myself. The closet experience I have to pulling a transmission is replacing the clutch on my Sunbeam Tiger and my Datsun 510. I have the car up pretty high on jack stands but it has taken me just about all day to remove the tranny cover and take out all the bolts. The biggest pain was removing the clutch slave cylinder - for the life of me I couldn't get a wrench on one of the bolts.
Now that I am ready to slide it out, I thought I better ask for some advice. I'm wondering if I bit off more than I can chew! This transmission looks awfully big! I have a hydrallic jack, sissor jack but is that going to be good enough. Should I even attempt removing this transmission without a transmission jack (I am assuming I can rent one). Any advice would be appreciated. Or Does anyone know of anyplace on the web where I can get some detailed instructions?
At the point of no return
Bill
1960 BT7

 

[MotorHead67]

Bill,
I can't help you re: the removal. But I have the tranny and O.D. from my bj8 (I think they're similar) on a dolly in the garage and that bugger is pretty heavy.

 

[Keoke]

Well can you lift 150#? Have the seats out? Then set a Jack with a board for support under the back edge of the oil pan,raise the transmission off it's rear support about 1/2". Cover the car floor with thick layers of news paper slide the tranny back and align the starter hump on the bell housing with the pushed out spot on the scuttle. Place a small fanbelt around the drive shaft flange at the reat of the tranny. Grab the bellhousing with your right hand and the fan belt in your left. Take a deep breath and lift the bugger out on to the car floor. You should now be able to wiggle, drag,coax the thing out through the right hand door. fwiw---Keoke /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif

 

[jtb55]

I have done this a number of times with my 100 non overdrive transmission. It has always been a two person job for me. Getting it back in is an even more daunting task because of input shaft alignment. I take out the seat, steering wheel and drain the fluid. I set the car on jack stands and put blocks under each tire for safety concerns. I then sort of bench press it up and back while the second person takes it out thru thu the driverside door. The points made re the use of a jack on the aft end of the oil pan and the need to work around the starter are onpoint to my experience. However,be careful withe the jack, as I have broken one of aft brackets for the transmission and had to have it welded in my garage. As my car is a vintage racer I did not have to deal with any of the trim issues. I mentioned earlier that the getting in is more of a challenge in terms of the reps on the "bench press". jtb

 

[Keoke]

Nah its a nasty job but it must be done every time you have to replace a clutch or throwout bearing right?.Replacing the tranny can be somewhat simplified if you use two fan belts for handles. One small one around the drive shaft flange and a larger one around the pilot shaft. Be sure and put the tranny in one of the gears so it doesn't spin on the shafts. I do it this way all the time and im not 29 yrs old.---Keoke /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Keoke]

TO All: The removal of the slave cylinder can be simplified as follows: Once you have it out take the top bolt and cut the head off of it.Treat its threads to a liberal coat of thread locker and reinstall it so it is just flush with the top of the slave clyinder's mounting flange. Now you have only one readily accessible bolt to deal with.--FWIW---Keoke /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif

 

[DerekJ]

I did this a couple of years ago with just a hydraulic Jack and scissor jack. I also used some blocks under the transmission just as additional security to take the weight when it was pulled clear. After that its just a question of manhandling it. I think I forced my teenage son into helping me on that. (probably the most expensive part of the job)

My car was on axle stands, not very high, I put my saftey blocks under the frame not the wheels.

BTW dont forget to undo the blots that come up through the frame from underneath.

good luck

 

[BlackHealey]

Nice jab at the 29 year old, Keoke! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/lol.gif
You explain things very well. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

 

[bighly]

Bill,
I have mastered the art of pulling and reinstalling the 1960BT7 tranny alone. This take about a half day. You need to go rent a tranny jack that has the tilt adjustments. The smallest one you can get is best. I pull the car up on to ramps in front then jack stands in back. (use common sense, although your wife may clean up on insurance when she finds you squashed after hours of silence, she will be disappointed in your judgement and will say I told you so about dumping money into that old wreck, once again, this time over your grave). Ok so lets go.
1>remove seats and tranny tunnel
2>disconnect battery
3>disconnect slave cylinder (tie out of the way)
4>disconnect OD electrical feed and speedo cable (tie out of the way)
5>remove starter (keep track of connections) (caution, sparks smoke heartache, you did disconnect the battery right?)
6>place scissor or floor jack under oil pan (block of wood)
7>remove driveshaft (mark it so it goes back on the same way)
8>place tranny jack under tranny (strap with chains)
9>remove the bell housing bolts and rear mounting including the thrust buffer adjuster what-ya-ma-call-it
10> careful not to stress the output shaft and clutch / pressure plate gizmos ($$$)
11> slowly jack up the tranny a tiny bit(probably should just remove all the rear tranny mounts
12>pull the tranny rearward (if it binds stop and find out why, oh ya one more bolt etc)
13>using the twisty adjustment dinks-boomps dealie on the tranny jack rotate the entire tranny to allow clearance of the bellhousing (it don't come straight back, it must be twisted, ergo adjustable tranny jack)
14> by now the tranny rear is going deeper into the driveshaft tunnel (again go slow be aware of binding, and go gentle on her)
15> once free of the clutch/ pressure plate assembly you should be able to take the fan belts you pulled off of Keoke's car last night (hehhehe) and use them to walk the tranny perpendicular to the car. (cardboard on the floor of the car will save you getting grease spots all over and will protect those worthless aluninium door trim pieces thus retaining your shine and show points)
lost count>Oh ya un strap the chains from tranny
lost count+1>now place the tranny jack near the passenger door and lift the tranny on to it. Strap it back down
lost count+2>go have a cold beer or 3 because you just commited to buying some very expensive parts, and oh ya return Keoke's fan belts after dark

Hope this helps, I have done this more than once and it works fine (the tranny pull not the fan belt swipe)

 

[Keoke]

IM gonna get BH I swear IM gonna get him!---Keoke /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[bighly]

Keoke,
Perhaps this summer. I hope to find enough time to get to a few gatherings. I have never been farther south than Hearst Castle. When we meet I'll buy the first round. Do you plan on making some of the biguns this year. I am scheming to drive to NC for Conclave.
Tracy

 

[John Loftus]

[ QUOTE ]
go rent a tranny jack ....

[/ QUOTE ]

If you do this more than a few times, maybe it's worth getting a small trans jack from Harbor Freight?

https://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=39178

Cheers,
John

 

[Keoke]

Im not sure at the moment Tracy. But I doubt if I will make conclave. I was looking the car over today and it says it wants to go some where. My last real long trip was to the Quebec Meet. Might go see those longhorn fellas at the round up.---Keoke

 

[bob hughes]

For what its worth and on top of all that has been said, I'm facing the same problem, the advice that I have been given is that it is a two man job to extract the tranny, once all the fiddly bits have been done, and it is a good idea to remove the prop shaft completely to give that extra bit of room in the tunnel. Obviously those people who eat 3 wheetabix a day for breakfast can shift it on their own, but talking to one chap who managed it, he agreed that two is better than one. The unit with overdrive weighs in at around 118 pounds and it should take a whole day out and in. It is said that when Pat Moss needed here clutch changed on a rally, it was completed in 1 Hour, I would like to borrow that particular works team of mechanics !

Bob /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/england.gif

 

[DerekJ]

Bob,

It really is a two man job to manhandle it and avoid doing damage (to you, the gearbox or the car!). With two its pretty simple. Its not necessary to remove the prop shaft. Again with two people its easier to work around these things.

Putting it back is fun as well!

cheers /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

 

[bighly]

Some were asking why did I pull my tranny multiple times. The first time it was a buggered 3rd/4th syncro and detent balls and springs that were liberated into the gearbox due to missing shaft buffers in the OD adapter/bellhousing. Yes a 50 cent part omitted by the PO. The reason I did it alone was because my buddys all stopped answering their phones after the first few times they helped. I frankly am now confident enough to do this in the field if need be (read San Francisco to Conclave and back). honestly I never want to do this again though.
Old photos of when I rebuilt the tranny

The second time it was when my overdrive locked up at 50MPH some odd miles per hour

OD Planetary gears exploded embedded into annulus

Dont try this at home kids, rear end lock up at speed will wake you up and make you consider adding a set of pull-ups to your driving kit
Ouch, planetary gears, Super Nova

I have to say thanks to Bill Bolton who did the OD work and held my hand over the phone as I cried and cursed.

Hope these photos help someone. By the way I reused all the gears and forks. I now have well over 5000 miles on the rebuild tranny and OD.

 

[bighly]

Link Correction
View of trashed 32% planetary gears (loads of force)

 

[RF Thom]

A helper I've used is to utilize a piece of 3/4" plywood [10" x 18" ]with a support built up to make the wood level when placed under the oil pan and resting on the transition plate. When you pull out the transmission once the imput shaft clears the clutch it is supported soas to get a grip on it. When re-installing it works as a guide to slide it back in. I've had an overdrive problem of late and have removed only the overdrive unit for inspection. The last time I also removed the trans also utilizing my adapter - took about an hour each way.

Regards, Bob

 

[Keoke]

Yes Bob, that sounds like a good idea. Besides where you gonna get a matey at 3.00 oclock in the morning huh.? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gifKeoke

 

[wlivesey]

Well thanks everybody you gave me a lot of good advice. And I think these postings were more help than either of the 2 manuals I have. So for those of you who are interested: I was able to get the transmission out by myself, and yes I can feel it in my back...and I was looking a little grubby at work - I never could get all that grease out from under my nails...but it was all worth it. I used dog leashes instead of fan belts to handle the tranny. And I had to take off the cowl that goes around the bell housing in order to clear the bell housing. Never used the tranny jack that Bighly suggested but I definately think it would be worth it and I plan on using one for the installation (especially since it is expected to be more difficult). Again thanks alot espesially for those guys who took the time to provide so many details. Now let me go find that heating pad for my back...