Jacking up car to remove trans

[xrunner123]

Trying to get the trans out. It's on the transjack and I want to roll it out. Can I just jack up the front and use jackstands or do I also need to put jackstands on the back to keep the car level?
Thanks

 

[blackgn1]

It's easier level. I took mine out one time and never jacked it up. I did jack up the front to slide it out though. I sat it on a square peice of plywood and pushed it out from under the car. I'm sure you are wanting to keep it on the stand to make it easier. Anyways having the car level is easier.

 

[turbo nasty]

LEVEL

 

[GNONYX]

Here are couple of pictures of when I replaced my 87' GN tranny. This the maximum height I used to removed the tranny when using car ramp and floor jack. I place a hydraulic car jack underneath the tranny with a wooded block between the tranny and jack, Then lower the tranny to it's lowest point and slide the tranny off the jack and continue to slide the tranny away from the car.

 

[earcher1]

It's easier level. I took mine out one time and never jacked it up. I did jack up the front to slide it out though. I sat it on a square peice of plywood and pushed it out from under the car. I'm sure you are wanting to keep it on the stand to make it easier. Anyways having the car level is easier.

never jacked it up? wow...you are either super small guy or very patient. taking out a trans without ever jacking up the car would near impossible i think. and ive done more trans r+r's than most people i even known.on all kinds of cars and trucks. ( mostly chevrolets) trans tech over 11 yrs.

 

[xrunner123]

Well it's on the trans jack which is about 8" off the ground. I think it may be hard to get it high enough to take the trans out on top of the jack. Are you saying that I need to get it off of there then slide it out? That's probably doable but how do I slide it back in and get it onto the trans jack?
This looks like the hard part.
Thanks

 

[earcher1]

Well it's on the trans jack which is about 8" off the ground. I think it may be hard to get it high enough to take the trans out on top of the jack. Are you saying that I need to get it off of there then slide it out? That's probably doable but how do I slide it back in and get it onto the trans jack?
This looks like the hard part.
Thanks

not these days as i have a 3 bay auto repair shop,but...ive done many on my back for sure in my days. usually you will need to slip the trans off of whatever you used to lower it down and then slipe it out.then slide it back under the car and muscle it back up on the jack. yes its challenging. get pissed,unleash all you have and get it back up on the jack,calm down,and then reinstall. or you could have an assistant help too.much easier.and just when you have it slid almost all the way out from under the car....usually youll find out the car is about a half inch too low. AWSOME STUFF(not)

 

[blackgn1]

I used a floor jack! I've had the tranny out numerous times. Believe it or not it is possible. I really couldn't believe it myself. I could have reinstalled it without jack stands but I wanted more room to work.

 

[TR Custom Parts]

If you have a lowered car it is even more challenging! I jack mine up as far as I can get it. Drive up on ramps, jack up rear, I have some race ramp wheel stands that are 10" tall for the back.

 

[pmoore4321]

My converter change was a nightmare. I unbolted the transmission and had it balancing on the floor jack. Big mistake. The trans started wobbling and fell forward dropping the old converter on the floor. It looked like the Exxon Valdez ran aground in my garage.

 

[aminga]

I made my own trans jack adapter for my floor jack, made it lower than a standard trans jack. Even then on the jackstands I had I had to take the DS front wheel off and get the bellhousing out through the wheel well.

 

[mgmshar]

Trying to get the trans out. It's on the transjack and I want to roll it out. Can I just jack up the front and use jackstands or do I also need to put jackstands on the back to keep the car level?
Thanks

I've done this a few times on a garage floor with no lift. Here's what I have to do to get the trans out. The key is to get the car high enough into the air that the bellhousing can fit between the frame rail and the floor while the trans is on the jack, which is a b_tch... This requires two floor jacks to do...

1. Jack up the front end with my SUV floor jack and set it down on jack stands.
2. Jack up the rear end with my SUV floor jack and set it down either on jack stands or a pair of ramps (if your jack can go high enough, you can just shove a pair of ramps under the rear wheels).
3. Place about 4 or 5 1X12's stacked on top of each other under the SUV floor jack and continue to lift the front end until it's really high. If you can put some tall jack stands under the frame somewhere for safety, that would be a good idea.
4. I then attach a short piece of 1X12 (about a foot long or so) to the top of my other floor jack. Basically, it's a piece of wood where I've made a through-hole and large counterbore. I put a bolt through the hole, and the couterbore is deep enough that the bolt head is below the surface of the wood. The bolt also goes through the hole in the jack, so I can put a nut on the end of the bolt to hold it and the board to the jack. I then adjust the jack so that the board goes under the trans pan and supports its weight.
5. I remove all of the bolts that are holding the trans in (bellhousing, cross-member, etc.) and lower the trans using the jack-and-board.
6. I then roll the trans out from under the car, very carefully.

With this set-up, I've been able to R&R a trans completely by myself. It takes a long time to jack-up the car using this method, but it does allow me to roll the trans out without too much trouble.

Of course, if you know anybody with a lift, for Pete's sake use it. Much easier.

 

[xrunner123]

I've done this a few times on a garage floor with no lift. Here's what I have to do to get the trans out. The key is to get the car high enough into the air that the bellhousing can fit between the frame rail and the floor while the trans is on the jack, which is a b_tch... This requires two floor jacks to do...

1. Jack up the front end with my SUV floor jack and set it down on jack stands.
2. Jack up the rear end with my SUV floor jack and set it down either on jack stands or a pair of ramps (if your jack can go high enough, you can just shove a pair of ramps under the rear wheels).
3. Place about 4 or 5 1X12's stacked on top of each other under the SUV floor jack and continue to lift the front end until it's really high. If you can put some tall jack stands under the frame somewhere for safety, that would be a good idea.
4. I then attach a short piece of 1X12 (about a foot long or so) to the top of my other floor jack. Basically, it's a piece of wood where I've made a through-hole and large counterbore. I put a bolt through the hole, and the couterbore is deep enough that the bolt head is below the surface of the wood. The bolt also goes through the hole in the jack, so I can put a nut on the end of the bolt to hold it and the board to the jack. I then adjust the jack so that the board goes under the trans pan and supports its weight.
5. I remove all of the bolts that are holding the trans in (bellhousing, cross-member, etc.) and lower the trans using the jack-and-board.
6. I then roll the trans out from under the car, very carefully.

With this set-up, I've been able to R&R a trans completely by myself. It takes a long time to jack-up the car using this method, but it does allow me to roll the trans out without too much trouble.

Of course, if you know anybody with a lift, for Pete's sake use it. Much easier.

Thanks. I started to jack up the front with 4 1x12s but I'm nervous about storing all of this kinetic energy. Don't know anyone with a left but if I did I would be there!!!!

 

[mgmshar]

The key when lifting a 3500 lb object is just to be safe. Take your time on the lifts. I use ramps under the rear wheels because they are a lot more stable than jack stands, especially when you're going to lift the front end so high. And invest in a quality set of tall jack stands for the final front lift. If they prevent even one slip-up, they pay for themselves.

All obvious, but bear repeating...

Mike
Sent from my HTC Droid Incredible using Turbo Buick

 

[xrunner123]

The jack stands I have for the front are 6 ton which are pretty sturdy and wide. I like the idea of the ramps for the back.
Thanks!

 

[TRICKSIXPA]

Interesting stuff I was going to run the car up on ramps for the front of the car and jack up the rear on Jack stands. After reading this I might need to consider if I would need to take a wheel off to get the bellhousing to slide from underneath the car. I was going to use a dollie to roll it out with after I got it off the trans jack. Or maybe just leaving the trans on the trans jack might be the way to do this.
Im going to be installing a Converter and Servo on my tranny maybe I'll have enough room to do this under the car???

 

[mgmshar]

Interesting stuff I was going to run the car up on ramps for the front of the car and jack up the rear on Jack stands. After reading this I might need to consider if I would need to take a wheel off to get the bellhousing to slide from underneath the car. I was going to use a dollie to roll it out with after I got it off the trans jack. Or maybe just leaving the trans on the trans jack might be the way to do this.
Im going to be installing a Converter and Servo on my tranny maybe I'll have enough room to do this under the car???

I never took any wheels off to get the trans out. I just lifted the car high enough to get the bellhousing to go under the floor pan and frame.

You can do a converter swap without taking the transmission out from under the car. It will be tight working under the car, but it can be done. You can lift the car up moderately high (with ramps and jacking up the rear, like you describe above), unbolt the tranny, slide it rearward and down, and the converter will come off the front of the trans. You will spend a lot of time laying on the garage floor if you do it this way, though. Also, moving the heavy converter around while laying under the car can be a pain. Not to mention you'll be rolling around in tranny fluid.

Good Luck...

 

[xrunner123]

I dropped the trans without spilling more than a few drops of fluid. what I did was siphon the fluid using a fishtank airhose. Slipped in the dipstick tube and ran it down to a bucket overnight.

 

[mgmshar]

I dropped the trans without spilling more than a few drops of fluid. what I did was siphon the fluid using a fishtank airhose. Slipped in the dipstick tube and ran it down to a bucket overnight.

But that won't get the fluid out of the torque converter, unless I'm missing something. When you pull the torque converter out of the front of the trans, there will still be fluid in it. Some will spill on the floor. Especially if you're stupid like me and let it fall with the hole facing down...

 

[charlief1]

Yuo can never get all the fluid out of the tranny or converter, but if the tranny needs servicing or rebuilding it's a good time to take the pan off to empty it. One other thing you can do is add a strap or a bunch of zip ties across the converter to hold it in place while you drop it down. It will be nose heavy so be careful while dropping it.