dropping the trans
dropping the trans Tomorrow im going to be taking out the trans to make room for my new performabuilt Lv2 trans in my lt1 car. Is there anything particular that i should watch out for? There was a thread that i looked at awhile ago that was pretty detailed and had good pictures to look at but i cant seem to find it now. Also since my converter is not the 9.5 inch one how much oil should i put in it before i stick it on the transmission? One more thing does the transmission really take 12 quarts of oil? Thanks
It's pretty straight forward if you know what you're doing. I R&R'd mine for a converter swap in about four hours working by myself. Make sure you have good safe jack stands and a nice transmission jack really helps also. I used a 2' extension and pulled all of the bolts from the bottom. Make sure it's a 1/2" drive. The 3/8" drive will flex and twist too much with an extension that long. It's probably a good idea to remove the oil pressure sending unit. I broke mine when I tilted the engine and trans back to get at the top bolts. I allways just fill up the converter. Good luck!
Some will and didnt we send you some instruction on this ?
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Yes i got instructions with it. I probably missed it but just wanted to check to see how much oil to put in the converter before install. Was going to do part of it today but but checked to make sure that i have enough clearance from ground to car to get it out, but no. So now its put off to the side until i figure something out.
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I recently dropped the transmission on my 93, it was not the first transmission we have done...Make sure you get all of the air pockets out of the converter, you usually can fill it at a 45 degree angle. When you fill it, it will go all the way to the top and then fall back down..We usually like to put about a quart of fluid into it. You will need a very long extension to remove the top bolts, some line wrenches for the transmission cooler, and you will need to watch the dipstick tube when it comes out, you usually can just pop it out of the hole. The transmission does take around 12 quarts of fluid. Doing a transmission under a car really stinks, we have done one that way, and make sure you have at least 2 to 3 people just to make sure when you are bringing it down nothing gets snagged or the transmission doesn't fall off the jack.
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Two things that have helped me:
I took an old cup from a broken jack and welded an old fly wheel to it. I use that to jack the transmission.
The first time I ever removed my trans I made some trans lines that had compression fittings down where the trans lines straightened out. That has saved me a lot of time not having to deal with those tiny clips.
I took an old cup from a broken jack and welded an old fly wheel to it. I use that to jack the transmission.
The first time I ever removed my trans I made some trans lines that had compression fittings down where the trans lines straightened out. That has saved me a lot of time not having to deal with those tiny clips.
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One of the most important things is FLUSH the cooler and lines out so the new lvl 2 will work good from the start. Hot trans fluid works the best. Some shops have a Hot Flush machine. This machine preheats the atf so the cleaning agents start working. Kooler Flush will work OK. If you have a stall converter, you may need less than 12 quarts of atf. Remove the O2 sensors if they are close so you don't break them removing and installing the trans. Put a quart of atf in the torque converter and let it sit for about 3-5 minutes so the atf gets into the turbine and stator fins and you should be able to install the converter into the trans without spilling the atf. Getting the lines off is a pain. Un bolt them from the case without bending the lines. Remove the trans from the car then remove the clips and then bolt the fittings back in. The new trans should have new fittings installed. Put a little Vaseline on the o-rings and the lines will snap right in, if they are not bent. Then push the plastic dust covers back on. Double check all connections, nuts and bolts, etc. Use dialectric grease on ALL electrical connections. Put 4-5 quarts of your favorite atf in start the car and put it in reverse, (on jack stands, of course). This will circulate the fluid quickly. Fill to full, start checking stick at 9-10 quarts. When full, run through the gears making sure evrything is working. Put on the ground and check for leaks. Road test easy making sure everything feels good. After some heat cycles, you should be able to play a little. I usually have my customers watch for a couple of weeks for leaks and function before all out racing. Hope this helps.
i finally got the trans out about 2 hours ago and it went better then i thought it would be. You guys say that there are clips on the trans lines but when i unbolted the lines from the trans it was just a flared line, did i miss something? Trans came out nice and easy, was expecting to have to tug to get out of the dowels but it basically fell right out. Performabuilt sent me some Kooler Kleen, will that be good enough to flush the lines out? Also about fluid, i was checking kragens today and would B&M trick shift synthetic work just fine? And last is anyone got pictures or a link to a thread that shows a good way to hook up the trans cooler? thanks
Tomorrow im putting in the new trans. should i run the cooler in series with the stock or would the supplied cooler be enough to keep the trans cool by itself? Also what line is the feed and return line? How would i go about hooking up the cooler?