Converter change
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Joined: Oct 2006
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From: POULSBO WA.
Converter change So i wanna do a 3600 converter, and my shop we use at the car lot says 400 labor. I do all my own work, but a trans at my age is difficult. When i was in my 20's and 30's id do it in a few hours but....So anyone do a converter in a driveway? Well in my case grass? Is there room to slide it back and swap it out? Or does it have to come all the way to the ground? So any tips or tricks you guys may have would be great! Thanks
AFAIK, it has to come all the way out. Getting the converter to properly engage the pump is crucial, and it wouldn't be easy (or it might be impossible) with it still up in the car. FWIW, you would need a high set of stands, and at least one other pair of hands to do it right on the ground. I said "F that" this year and paid a shop to do it. With flushing the converter and lines, along with new ATF, it was a hair over 480. And it was done very quickly.
OH, and there would be no way in HELL I would try it on grass. Concrete, yes, Asphalt, if the jackstands have metal plates welded to the bottom, but NEVER a soft surface like grass or dirt.
OH, and there would be no way in HELL I would try it on grass. Concrete, yes, Asphalt, if the jackstands have metal plates welded to the bottom, but NEVER a soft surface like grass or dirt.
Did my converter swap in my parents dirt/grass driveway. I used 4 6 ton jack stands sitting on some square paver bricks I got from lowes. Dropped the trans all the way out. It wasn't too bad but me and my brother are both early 20s. Just pick a day with decent weather to do it, when I did mine it was 30 with a windchill of 19.
The trans does not have to come all the way out if you have another set of hands. You can drop it down about a foot and then push it back just enough to swap it. We had to do this on one once on a friends car because the cooler lines were frozen at the trans. Measure the depth of the converter before you pull it off so you can make sure your new one is seated all the way. If you don’t have a set, a swivel socket is worth its weight in gold for the middle driver side bolt.
I wouldn’t even consider it in grass.
I wouldn’t even consider it in grass.
Deffinetly need jackstands, the car needs to be high enough off the ground to slide the trans out from under it. I used ramps with some 4x4's stacked up on them.
I second getting a swivel socket...as well as a 3 foot extension, that makes life easy. After doing it my first time, I laugh when people want to sell their car because it needs a transmission. Some cases yea its a money thing, but you can find these transmissions all over the place! I wouldnt even try to do it with the transmission still under the car, get the transmission out to where you can get all the access you need, seating the converter onto it is crucial, and they weigh quite a bit.
Its not hard work persay, just time consuming. Deffinetly 2 sets of hands helps as well.
I second getting a swivel socket...as well as a 3 foot extension, that makes life easy. After doing it my first time, I laugh when people want to sell their car because it needs a transmission. Some cases yea its a money thing, but you can find these transmissions all over the place! I wouldnt even try to do it with the transmission still under the car, get the transmission out to where you can get all the access you need, seating the converter onto it is crucial, and they weigh quite a bit.
Its not hard work persay, just time consuming. Deffinetly 2 sets of hands helps as well.
