smilingteri

Hi, I'm smilingteri and this is my first post. I have a 95 jeep grand cherokee that the transmission went out on. I've got a replacement one and want to install it myself. Well, I'm under it and got all the bolts out but having a tough time removing the transmission itself. Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong? The bell housing bolts have been removed but it's still not letting go. I don't want to give up yet, and since I'm doing most of the work myself, I'd really like some input from ANYONE right now. Thanks!

dave1123

Question; did you take out the torque convertor drive bolts? How about the rear crossmember? The transmission is mounted on 2 dowel pins for alignment. You can try jacking it up underneath the front of the trans pan at the flange to crack it loose. If you jack it up, you will see a small split at the top between the engine and the trans. Stick a large screwdriver in the crack, then release the jack. It should come apart then.

Take the CPS off first. You can destroy it very easily. Leave the torque convertor on the transmission so you don't bend the input shaft. Don't forget about the weight of the transfer case. It whole thing can get away from you if you don't. The best way is to take the transfer case off first.

Welcome to CF! The CPS is the Crankshaft Position Sensor and is located near the top of the bellhousing on the passenger's side. It is used by the computer for spark timing.

smilingteri

Thanks dave 1123 for your help! I have a replacement CPS so if the one on there gets destroyed, it's okay. All the bolts are off of it, I just don't know what else to do. I'll try and remove the transfer case and see what happpens. The rear crossmember is off. Hopefully this will work.

dave1123

I know where your head is at. I once was trying to put a 350 back into my Chevy truck and after getting the dowels started, it just wouldn't go back together. It seemed to not go back far enough for the motor mounts to drop over the frame brackets and after dealing with it for about an hour and a half outside with a thunderstorm coming, I just lost my temper. An attack scream came out of my mouth and I shook the chainfall like I wanted to kill it! I heard a "clunk" and it dropped right in! I couldn't believe it! I checked the torque convertor and it spun freely, the mounts were fully engaged, and the bellhousing was fully closed up! I put two bolts into the bellhousing, took the chainfall off, and threw a tarp over the engine just before the skies let loose.

This episode will be remembered forever. I actually got primal and was ready to kill. I don't very often lose my temper like that. If anyone else was around, I would have been embarrassed. I went back inside, washed up, had a couple of beers, and got some sleep. Tomorrow's another day.

smilingteri

That's about where I'm at right now. I'm just going to have to get mad enough to start treating it like a beast instead of gentle...LOL!!! Hopefully tonight I'll get it out. I'm doing this by myself since the other 2 helpers decided that they're worthless...LOL!! I'm getting back at it and see what happens.

smilingteri

okay, how do I get the top bolt out?? I have a feeling that they were left in (the top 2), is there an easier way to get to them besides tearing up the inside of my car??!!! **sigh** thanks!

dave1123

Drain the cooling system, take off the two radiator hoses, the air intake duct, and lower the transmission down some. You should be able to access to top two bolts then. Put two others in to hold everything together until you get the top two out and jack the trans back up. You may have to support the engine's back end after the trans comes out.

dnuccio

when i did mine, i removed the transfer case, then slowly let the trans droop down. i was able to get to all the bell housing bolts with around 2 feet of extensions. at that point i just rocked the trans back and off the engine. sounds like you are doing it on your back with floor jacks though, i did mine in auto shop on the lift made it alot easier

dave1123

In my years working on Chevies, one of the first things I bought was a 24" extension. My dad bought me a set of universal sockets. They work a lot better than the snap-in universal that comes with the regular socket sets.

On the re-install, make sure the bellhousing bolt are tight. If they loosen up, it can break out the center of the flexplate.

smilingteri

Cool, I'll try that...dnuccio. I need to buy one of those cuz "building" an extension sucks!

jeffl

I just did this in my 96. There are 6 bolts that hold the tranny on the motor, the starter has to come off also. I left the converter on the old tranny. Then removed it after the tranny was out.Removed the transfer case first. then tranny. Get a long extension from Harbor junk. A 9/16" wobble socket is real handy. I installed tranny and transfer case as one use a ratchet strap to hold the tranny on the jack.

dave1123

Okay, when I pulled the trans in my Chevy truck, I left the transfer case on and built a cradle for my floor jack, using wood and a ratchet strap. When it came loose, the whole thing, jack and all flipped over on it's side. It was a New Process case, IDK, maybe a 205? Luckily the only damage was the dipstick tube. I should have pulled it first anyhow. Transfer cases are PITAs to handle anyhow, being their center of gravity is nowhere near an easy jack point. Nothing is flat enough to take the weight. When I put it back in, I built a nest with a steel plate and 4 pieces of threaded rod bolted to my jack, plus the ratchet strap.

BTW, when you put the dipstick tube back in, put the gasket into the case first, then slip the tube into it, lubing it with tranny fluid. The case is a bored hole with no chamfer and it'll cut the gasket up. The tube end is slightly rounded so it will slide in. At least that's how GM did it.

As I've said before, leaving the torque convertor on the trans is the bast way to protect the input shaft from damage.

smilingteri

Thanks for ALL YOUR HELP!!! I finally dropped the old transmission and about to install the "semi-new" one. Now all I have to do is get it on the jacks and I'm half way there... I was at first because some people that were coming to help never showed, but this is way better! I just had to go do it myself. I'm learning a lot here and now I want to do so much to it AFTER I get this project done!

thanks again!

dave1123

I don't know how old you are but I'm 68 and I've found over the years that you can tell who your true friends are by who shows up at a "gang" project. I once had announced to my friends I needed help stripping my roof shingles and I was supplying the beer. I had 5 people show up and work hard all day and oddly enough, nobody touched the beer until the roof was done. It turned into a long party on the ground and several wives showed up later. I had 2 guys ask me if I needed help putting the shingles on. Those were my good friends.

In another case, I had a wooden "Fanta-Sea" above ground pool and said I would throw a barbeque for whoever wanted to help paint it. Only my 2 brothers and their wives showed up. Others plead previous commitments. Okay, I can dig that, but several years later my wife passed away and I discovered most of "my" friends were husbands of her friends. So now I'm stuck with 2 true friends that are as lazy as I am!

I've always been the type of guy who will give you the shirt off my back to help, UNTIL I feel I'm being used. Them you can go **** yourself.

smilingteri

Dave1123-thanks!

'I've always been the type of guy who will give you the shirt off my back to help, UNTIL I feel I'm being used. Then you can go **** yourself.'

I'm the same way, just don't cross me in the process...I have no sympathy after that.