BurninBridges

I have read a few threads where people have talked about replacing the flexplate without dropping the tranny. They said something about just sliding the tranny back, using some longer grade 8 mounting bolts. Is this possible? If so, can somone please tell me what to do, or link me to a write-up that details how to do this. I really dont want to drop the transmission if I don't have to, as I have never done it before and I have no idea what to do.

I recently tightened the flexplate to torque converter bolts (a link to the write-up is in my signature), but sure enough the knocking is back, and getting worse. I inspected the plate for cracks when I tightened the bolts and found none, But I suspect that one of my bolts was so loose for so long that the hole had elongated. There may also be cracks that I could not see as they may have been too small for me to notice, and it was getting late when I was looking.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Cherockee

There is no "sliding" the transmission back to get to the flexplate. To get it back far enough to do the flexplate you dropping the transmission- no way around that.

Remove driveshafts, remove shifter linkage, unplug wiring harnesses, secure tranny jack to tranny, remove bolt from engine to transmission, and remove trans cross member.

Its a lot of work but still easier than removing the engine.

LongArmXJ

Buy some ear plugs

BurninBridges

Thanks Cherockee. You confirmed my suspicions that the people talking about doing that were very wrong. That is why I could not find any details on how to do this. I guess I am going to try to do this job myself. I am not sure how to do it, but I am just gonna start unbolting stuff and see where it takes me.

Cherockee

It's really just time consuming. Like you mentioned, it's just unbolting everything. In my opinion the trickiest thing is dealing with the shifter linkage for the transfercase.

I would block up the vehicle as high as i could. either borrow or buy a transmission jack. Harbor frieght has them pretty reasonable (and they can be used for other things too). You may have to deal with the exhaust too. You may want to consider getting replacing the seal for the TC.

BurninBridges

Or maybe I should just leave this job for the professionals. I had my local mechanic replace my t-case recently with a junk-yard one and he did a great job. Maybe I will see what he will charge. I know I am looking at around $300-$400 from what I have read. Ouch. I would much rather be spending the money on something fun for the jeep. I just don't know if I have the confidence to do it myself.

BillyBoy

Confidence is kinda important when taking on a major job like dropping the tranny. If you decide to do it though, there's also a nice write-up floating around about taking apart and cleaning the shifter linkage. Fyi.

Also, don't forget, the mechanic has a lift. Jobs like this aren't as bad on him as on a regular guy.

Also, make sure you have another car to ride in for a few days. Getting tired and in a hurry is a good way to break something major, put it back together wrong, and get hurt.

If you decide to do it though, when you start, take picts of Everything! Then use a note pad to document the order of dissassembly. this reduces stress when putting it back together and makes sure you don't miss anything after 9 or so beers...

Good-luck.

BurninBridges

I really want to tackle this job, but I just dont know If I am willing to spend the money on a tranny jack if all I am gonna do is change the flexplate and maybe cleaning the shifting linkage. Can I use a regular jack somehow? Maybe with straps or some sort of adapter? I am also concerned I may damage something else even more expensive to fix, i.e. the tranny itself or the transfer case.

Seeing as that I don't have a tranny jack, nor any experience with transmission work, I will probably just outsource this one. A new flexplate should last for a long while (I would hope to get 100k miles out of one). So it may be the best idea (for me at least) to just bite the bullet and have it done professionally.

I can handle changing an altenator, feul injectors, suspension, u-joints, wheel bearings, and those sorts of basic maintenance, but dropping a tranny is not for everyone, including myself.

Cherockee

I know where you're coming from. I too have always had a small budget, but this has forced me to take the route of doing things myself simply because I couldn't afford to take it to someone else.

Could you do it with a regular jack? Sure, I've done that. I would create a 'platform' out of some MDF or thick plywood and bolt it to the jack to give the trany something flat to lie on. No matter what I would say doing it like this though is at least a two man job. If you don't have a second set of hands to help don't even bother trying it.

I would say a shop would charge in the neighborhood of $300-$500 plus about $90 for a new flexplate. So don't just tell a shop to replace your flexplate, ask them if they're sure that's what the problem is. Hate to see you spend that kind of money and not be any futher ahead.

413maxwedge

Unfortunately you will find alot of that throughout all the forums today some more than others, yet alot of the moderator's let it stay posted thus start's the chain of misinformation like you got. Hopefully the Mod's here don't get their feeling's hurt, cause not meant to, Pick up a HAYNES MANUAL that will aleast have some pic's and info for you.

Lyon

You want the smart and only way to do it properly? Remove the transmission. Don't pay attention to the idiotic "get ear plugs" comments. That's moronic. Why would you not fix something that's obviously broken and could cause more damage than what's in there?

As far as a "regular" jack, I hope to assume that you mean an actual floor jack (pump style) not the stock jack that comes with the jeep. 2 Floors jacks makes the job ALOT easier along with an extra set of hands. It is easier but not necessary to remove the transfer case first to reduce the weight and mass of the overall transmission assembly. Now is also a good time to replace your rear main seal and front pump seal on the transmission, and try to flush out the torque converter while it's all out. This way you know everything is done and won't have to pull the trans again in the future to replace a few seals that only cost a few bucks. Good luck.

BurninBridges

Thanks. I will definitely get a Hayne's.

Thanks for the list of what else I should do. Even if I have my mechanic do the job, now I know what else to have him do while its in the shop and the tranny is dropped. I will also have some room to negotiate those other jobs, seeing as that the price they charge for any one of those includes the price/time to drop the tranny, so they should give me a better deal than just charging me their "book rate" for each job.

BurninBridges

I will definitely have my mechanic confirm that is the problem before having them do the job. Thanks.

Buddy Conover

You most certainly can slide the trans back. I did it yesterday. I replaced both bottom bell housing bolts with 8 inch pieces of 7/16 x14 all thread. I put the crossmember on a floor jack and slid the whole works back about 7 inches, which gave me just enough room to change the flex plate and then use nuts on the all thread to push the bell housing right back up against the back of the engine.

freegdr

x2