I need to pull my tranny this weekend and looking for any guidance.. Do I need to drop the entire carriage to do this? Or, can I do it without. I'm hoping I can just pull the axles and then remove the tranny, but I've never done one of these and need some help.. Please respond if you have done this before.
Thanks in advance!
Jason

4 or 6? Auto or manual?

For a manual 6 I do this.

On the 6 I remove the crossover, coil and stuff above the bell housing just to make it easiter but is not necessary.
Unplug the VSS
I then pull the left strut and hub assy. an axle off the lower arm. (Drain the trans or you will have a mess)
Pull the dog bone.
Disconnect the shift cables.
I then raise the rear of the car about 2 feet or a little more. I now remove t
Support the rear of the cradle with a trolly jack and remove the two rear bolts. (hopefully they are not froze of the nut spins)
slowly lower the cradle while watching the hoses etc. I lower until the exhaust is hitting the heat sheild above the muffle.
Then support the motor under the pan and remove the transmission mounts from the trans. It's said you can also wedge a block under the starter to support the motor after removing the dust shield on the flywheel.
***It really helps if you can get two bolts that fit the bell housing hole that are about 5" long without heads.
As you remove the bell housing bolts you replace the two top bolts with the studs to support the transmission as you remove or replace it. Makes it a LOT easier.
You can work the transmission to the left and as you do so you can pop the right side axle out of the transmission and hang it.

If you have the rear of the car high enough and the cradle low enough you can work the transmission out the left side. Helps to have two people but I do it by myself. There is a post that alao says you can pull the autos or manual out the rear after tipping but have not tried that.

When re-installing be sure to start the right side axle into the trans as you put the transmission back in or you end up making more work of it. (been there done that)

Probably missed a couple items but that is the basics for a manual 6.
I don't now if a 4 will tip far enough back before hitting for it to work since I have never had a 4.

[This message has been edited by Dodgerunner (edited 09-22-2009).]

^

yup, how I did it as well.

and the removeing 2 bellhousing bolts, and replacing with studs is a HUGE help. both in removal and install.

It sounds easier to just drop the cradle.

The 4 will not swing down on the front blts, the manifold hits the trunk firewall.

quote Originally posted by olejoedad: It sounds easier to just drop the cradle. The 4 will not swing down on the front blts, the manifold hits the trunk firewall.

nope. I drop my cradle almost yearly. thru tipping you dont need to remove the interior to pull thru the wiring harness, you dont need to dump the coolant system, you dont need to undo the hand brakes. it actually saves much work, and the tranny itself is not hard - just heavy

anyways: make sure you got the axle nuts off/loose first thing. easy to forget, and tough to do, with the wheels in the air.

^^^^^^^^^

I agree. Once you have done it tipping it save a lot of time. I can pull a manual out and put it back in in two hours.
If your rear bolts are stuck it can add a lot of time though. But you would have to deal with that even dropping the cradle.
Not having to disconnect all the fluid lines and wiring saves a lot. (he missed listing the fuel lines)
Good catch on the axle nuts. You want to do them with the wheels on and center cap out so you can break them loose.

Thanks for the quick responces.. It's a 6 with manual trans. I plan on pulling it this weekend.

ive been told its possible to replace the tranny without completely removing the cradle is this true?

http://thefierofactory.com/qaeasyremoval.php