Tranny work SUCKS!!!!!

[GreenReaper93]

Hey there guys and gals.... GreenReaper here! Well, yesterday I started my first huge project for my Jeep with the help of my mothers fiance. I was changing my clutch stuff because my internal slave was shot. I thought about swapping for the external, but lack of parts forced me to do otherwise.

When reading the book (Haynes) on what to do I quickly grabbed my tool kit and headed off. I had the basics - Metric set, Standard set, wrenches, and some DOT-3. Thankfully the place where I was working on my Jeep had additional tools, or nothing would have been accomplished.

After using an impact wrench to get the bolts off the skid plate we started to unbolt the U-joints off the driveshafts. Rudy (the fiance) worked on that, but later dropped the needle bearing out of one side.... time to play needle bearing pickup! Next, we had to take the shifter lever out. The book says it can be done from underneath. I don't care what that (insert vulgar word here) book says... you can't. We had to tear apart my carpet, the shifter boot, the inspection plate, and the tar that was holding it together just to get it out. So finally, after dealing with this crap (and snapping a couple converter sockets and some tool sockets) we start unbolting the tranny.

I removed five of the seven bolts with some ease.... the upper two are impossible.

Now my poor Jeep is an hour and a half away in a dark shop, collecting dust, and leaking like a siv. My question to everyone is - what size are those STUPID UPPER BOLTS?! I can't tell if they're TORX or not. Anyone with this knowledge would be most helpful :-D Well, thank you for listening to the story of a frustrated, tired jeep mechanic. Take Care Everyone! :-D [addsig]

[Bounty__Hunter]

I think they're external torx, not sure on size. My '95 doesn't have them.

The shifter is easy to remove from underneath, if you know the trick to it. There is a locking collar recessed into the shift tower, it's around the base of the shifter inside the shift tower. Reaching up on each side of the tranny, you remove the small rubber boot from the shift tower and push down on the spring-loaded locking collar inside the shift tower. It rotates slightly and pops right up, freeing the shifter. You'll see when you start messing with it. Check it out when you get the tranny out, and you'll know for next time ;-) [addsig]

[geronimo_e]

Hi, I have an 88 Yj and have dropped the tranny 3 times i less than 3 months, first it was the pilot bearing, then the hydrolic bearing gave out, then the preasure plate was off, sow I finally got a complete clutch set from checker's and was done with the hole thing, the fierst time it took me 4 days, to do the job, the second time y spent 2 days and believe it or not the 3 time I did it on a sigle sunday, with the trusty help of my girlfriend (TJSA), but it still sucks not to have a special transmition jack, i did with a regular tire changing jack, this new parts have worked out great and I hope the will four a long time. :-D .

You could say I kinda masterd changing the clutch on a 88 YJ, (That AX5 transmition sure is heavy, especialy with the darn tranfer case... :-x i kinda dropted on my foot the first time, It wasnt fun at all I can tell you that.... :-( )

And on the two bolts on top let me tell you that the sure are the tigthes ones, thew are torx I believe no. 10 or 12 and just use a 6" extention with an agled small extention and turn as hard as you can. Good Luck... and carefull with the tranny couse its kindy unbalanced once you get it off the engine.

You think your ****ed now wait till you have to get it back up again.... (Viva Mexico)[addsig]

[Snitty]

yup... it can be taken apart from underneath... i did mine without even undoing the stift collar... had to lower it about 3 or 4 inches first... but i'll tell you, ratcheting box wrenches are a LIFE SAVER...

the two top tranny bolts are inverse torx E-12... i'm sure of that... and.... try getting at those through the engine bay.. sit right up in there and get at them

like previously said... get used to the trouble... because it gets worse[addsig]

[MudderChuck]

Let´s all sing GreenReaper a chorus of the "Bloody knuckle blues". Good luck and good wrenching. The last clutch I changed, I had a real muscle head, helping me out. Guy was built like King Kong, he picked that old tranny up like it wasn´t even there, aimed for the bell housing, kinda threw it at the opening and missed by a foot, denting my exhaust pipe.
As long as you avoid the old oil bath, or the left over handful of nuts and bolts, things will be just fine. :-D [addsig]

[JEG]

Green Reaper, Did you say you were using DOT3. I was told DOT 5 will work 100% better.Check it out.[addsig]

[GreenReaper93]

Thanks a lot for the feedback guys! Chuck, I'm sure if you hum a few bars I can fake a tune Anyway... I'm going back up in a couple of days to finish it all. Wish me luck ;-)

Oh, and thanks for the tip with the DOT 5... I'll use that from now on!

'Till the next trail!
Adam :-D [addsig]

[Bounty__Hunter]

I use about 2ft. of socket extensions and a u-joint on the end to get the top 2 or 3 bellhousing bolts from underneath. The 1" BL helps as does lowering the tranny slightly.[addsig]