87 GL-10 T-Wag Engine / Tranny Swap

[froggymike]

Dateline: Sunday 05/01/2005. The day is finaly here. After a long week of school work and work work, I am FINALLY swapping everything. I'm not familliar with the auto tranny and the torque converter. I didn't realize it sat behind the flywheel (where does that name come from anyway?). Are there any gaskets on that thing that need to be replaced. Anything I should watch out for concerning removal and re-install of the AT?

[froggymike]

Dateline: Sunday 05/01/2005. The day is finaly here. After a long week of school work and work work, I am FINALLY swapping everything. I'm not familliar with the auto tranny and the torque converter. I didn't realize it sat behind the flywheel (where does that name come from anyway?). Are there any gaskets on that thing that need to be replaced. Anything I should watch out for concerning removal and re-install of the AT?

 

UPDATE: So yesterday turned out to be a quagmire, kinda like the one after the first week of the Iraq war, sans sand storm; a quagmire only because I wanted everything to be done NOW and that wasn't going to happen. I rented an engine hoist (cherry picker) on Saturday and they didn't give me an engine sling, which makes the hoist useless when trying to lift an engine. I called them and they didn't have one, so I returned the hoist and got my money back. I ended up buying a hoist for $150 (and of course the hoist didn’t come with a sling either but I found a way to improvise. Thank God for bungee cords. Just kidding … I used high capacity tie-downs). I could have rented one, with sling, from another company in town, but the realization hit me that the engine / tranny swap was probably going to take several days, and the rental fees would have come close to the purchase price. Plus, in a couple of months, my lead vocalist will be swapping engines in his Pontiac Fiero and was planning on buying a hoist for the job. When he starts his project, he’s agreed to buy this one from me, and if he doesn’t, I can sell it on e-bay.

 

 

 

Then I started shopping for the bits and gaskets that I need to do this right. But again fate was against me. Each auto parts store had only one or two of the needed parts in stock, so I had to go all over town to get the stuff, and I’m still a piece or two.

 

 

 

So now it’s 5 pm. Had to assemble the hoist.

 

 

 

So now its 6:30 pm. And I’m too tired and frustrated from the lack of progress to do anything else.

 

 

 

I did manage to get a little prep work on the new(er) engine last night. But dinner called… AND the new season of Family Guy started at nine. It Rocked

[MilesFox]

when installing the torque converter to the tranny, take it off the back of the motor by the 4 12mm bolts

 

slip the torque converter onto the shaft on the tranny. spin the torque converter and it will seat onto the splines, you will feel it sink in, the teeth for the starter will be flush with the bellhousing of hte tranny

 

then install the motor its easiest when you install the rear tranny mount to the body, then jack the front of the tranny up a few inches so the motor slides onto its studs, and the motor mounts clear the frame when going inward

 

you can slip a long prybar in the holes of the flexplate(flywheel) to hold the motor still to tighten the 12mm bolts on the torque converter

[froggymike]

when installing the torque converter to the tranny, take it off the back of the motor by the 4 12mm bolts

 

slip the torque converter onto the shaft on the tranny. spin the torque converter and it will seat onto the splines, you will feel it sink in, the teeth for the starter will be flush with the bellhousing of hte tranny

 

then install the motor its easiest when you install the rear tranny mount to the body, then jack the front of the tranny up a few inches so the motor slides onto its studs, and the motor mounts clear the frame when going inward

 

you can slip a long prybar in the holes of the flexplate(flywheel) to hold the motor still to tighten the 12mm bolts on the torque converter

 

Thanks for the tips. Has anyone else noticed that Chilton's Guide is not as informative as it used to be, or is it just me?

[NorthWet]

IMHO, Chilton's was useless 30 years ago, and it is still useless today.

 

Follow Miles advice about installing the torque converter onto the transmission shafts prior to attaching engine to tranny... or accept the VERY BAD consequences. Trying to mate the two while TC is attached to engine can result in terrible damage to the automatic tranny.

 

I am not sure that I have seen an engine "sling". Typically, a length of chain is used to attach to the top of the engine at lift points. A touch of finesse can be added by getting a load-leveler (not the proper name) that connects to the lift's hook and allows the engine to be tilted (back-to-front) to aid in removal and installation.

 

Good luck!