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Torque Converter Tube Stuck in Transmisson


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Well... Hello,

 

Yes this is my first post and yes I would not be posting on a Subaru forum if wasn't having an issue. I am a mutli-subaru (01 legacy GT and 09 Forester) owner and I do all of my own work on my cars since I am moneyless. 

 

Now, the issue that I having has to do with the replacement of the transmission in my 09 Forester. Before I dig into what the issue, I will say that I had a 98 legacy outback wagon that I did a transmission on about a year ago with no issues.

 

So I pull the old transmission on the 09 Forester and go to put the "newer" one in. Assuming that the torque converter was seated, I bolted the bell housing up. I go to put the torque converter bolts in from Access hole on the rear of the engine. I put the first TC bolt in with no issue. I then go to turn the crankshaft with a ratchet and it turns but is very tight. So I loosened all of the bolts on the bell housing and pull the transmission back about a 3/4". Now the crankshaft will spin without any issues. So I pull the transmission and TC back out of the car and assess the situation. The TC came out of the transmission without an issue but the retaining clip was mangled and the tube that attached to the TC was still in the transmission. I am able to get a pick behind the "nub" on the tube and attempt to get slid it out but it will not move. So I got a piece of pipe and notched it out so it would slide in and lock around the nub on the tube. I tried to pull and tap lightly on it and it will not budge. When I put the TC back into the transmission and try to spin it, it does not move by hand. If I put a couple bolts in it and use a pry bar to try to spin it, I can move it 180 degrees with a struggle. I am worried if I really hammer on the tube with the "tool" that I made it, that it will really mess things up worse.

 
Attached is a picture of the Old transmissions tube.
 

So my questions are...

 

Has anyone else made this amateur move and how did you deal with it?

 

Is the Transmission doomed?

 

Any help is appreciated...  Thanks!

 

 

post-54672-0-47326700-1408573869_thumb.jpg

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With a little more inspection and measuring the new transmission and the old one... I have come to the conclusion that the tube is pushed over the step in the tube and cannot be easily removed without opening the case. It might be going to a transmission shop. 

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i've had the tube inside the transmission once. i remember trying to get it out, multiple things not working, but i can't recall how i eventually got it out.

 

if the TC wasn't fully seated when you bolted the engine and transmission together - the oil pumps usually crack and the transmission is toast.

i'm not sure how to determine if the pump is damaged from this point.

 

you can spin the engine by hand and get the oil pump to move oil through the ports, i've done it before and seen the oil squirt through galleries, heads, cam cases, etc.

i would guess you could attempt the same with the transmission, but i'm not sure how well it would work or if it would be definitive.

 

you can pull the front diff - replace the ATF pump - and then reassemble in the reverse order.  it's not often done but it has been done before.

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I am going to pull the what I would guess to be the transaxle (front transmission) off of the old transmission and see how involved it is and go from there... I might even be able to use the whole transaxle on the new transmission... I dont know? Ill post my results.

 

Thanks for the input.

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Well that was uneventful. Just pulling the bell housing/ differential took me nowhere. The rest is beyond my knowledge. I'm going to call around tomorrow and see what my options are. probably going to be stuck buying another transmission. ugh.

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The oil pump in the trans is probably FUBAR.  You can swap the oil pump housing from the old trans, but you'll need to do more disassembly.  Look at this PDF: https://www.xcceleration.com/trans/4EAT_Phase_II_Automatic_Transmission.pdf

 

You'll also need to use the diff and housing that went with the old pump.  Not sure if you're up for going in that deep into the trans...

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I talked to the auto mechanics teacher today at my work (Votech Welding Instructor) and he gave me a lot of good info on it and all of the step by step prodemand printouts on how to do the job without issues... so I am going to finish pulling apart the old trans, especially since I will probably need the oil pump from it and then do the new one. It really seems like a simple job but mainly because I have the instructions on it. I also did find a write up on how to do it on another forum... ( I hope that there isn't any bad blood here). http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1949638 

 

Thanks for that manual it seems to have a lot of good information in it also.

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