Questions about the trans swap....

[SilverBullet00]

Ok, I finally found a donar trans for my car. Its a used 3650 out of a 2002 mustang, just like mine. I was looking at beefed up tansmissions to swap in, but my employer put my on a 3 day work week, so $350 for a used tranny was all I could muster up.

I have never done any tranny work before, is there anything difficult about it? Both tranny's are the same exact thing, so I am going to leave the clutch, etc in place and get a new TOB. I know I have to take the starter off, disconnect the clutch cable, and remove the shifter- but has anyone been able to do this with thier longtubes on? My kooks are suppose to be able to not get in the way of dropping the trans, but I have a bad feeling I will have to remove at least one side (which is going to blow).

Basically I am looking for any tips and advice to make this go as smoothly as possible. Are there any special tools I need? The brighter note of working 3 days a week is I have 4 days to complete this task!

 

[snidehockey]

I just got done doing this...well I went from a t45 to a 3650 but same thing.

So yeah, remove shifter...disattach clutch cable...unplug harnesses etc.

You have to unbolt the driveshaft back at the differential...(need a breaker bar for sure and a weird socket) then slide it out.

unbolt the tranny to engine bolts (including the 3 super awesome starter bolts) the top ones will also be an enlightening experience for you (worst case scenario if you cant get the top bolts out you can gain EASY wrench access to them by removing the intake manifold)

Now for your headers...I have BBK's and it is known that one has to come off for the tranny to come out...so I took the passenger one off - if you can manuever the engine it's not THAT tough. It was almost not necessary to remove it though so you very well may be able to get away w/ leaving them on.

once it's all unbolted and the trans crossmember is out just break the seal from engine to tranny and pop it out. It does take some elbow grease though. I don't know why it's so tough - there aren't really any binding parts, but whatever.

so now it's out.

getting that input shaft into the clutch again...oh my. maneuvering the whole transmission trying to line it up right...I was so frustrated at this point. just keep trying it at different angles and eventually it will just pop in.

then the rest should be cake. Leave the top starter bolt out btw...don't even bother wasting 3 hours on it, it's not necessary.

 

[SilverBullet00]

Thanks for the input! I meant for this to be posted in Tech...I'm not sure how I messed that up.

I should have a trans jack available which I am hoping will help.. I really dont want to take a header off, thats a huge pain in the ass. Taking the intake manifold off wouldnt be the end of the world... its would probably be quicker to do that than to try and reach the top bolts anyways...

 

[snidehockey]

yeah I forgot that part...I had a trans jack also and not really sure if i couldve done it without one.

Anyway, those top bolts on the tranny...I'm not really sure how you are supposed to get at them w/ enough room to torque them loose w/out going from the top. I'm sure there's a way...I just don't know it.

 

[SilverBullet00]

What kind of "weird socket" do I need to remove the drive shaft? The only thing I am really worried about is having to remove my headers to gain access... I guess I will see what happens...


How did everyone else gain access to the top tranny bolts?

 

[Stangdriver13]

The weird socket he is talking about is a 12pt 12mm socket or wrench, if its not a 12 pt is will not work, you can use a pipe on the end of wrench if you don't have a breaker bar. The top bolts of the trans can be reached if you do a couple of things.
1.) Jack the front of the motor up a little bit, put a piece of wood in between the jack and the motor, I believe a but my jack on the crank pulley, but just find something solid.
2.) use several long extensions and swivals wich a good size wratchet, i used a half inch so the extensions wouldn't flex as much. The starter bolts are a pain as mentioned above, just take your time, it will be even harder for you with long tubes in the way,
3.) Make sure you take your time, and have someone help you with taking the trans out and putting in back in.
4.) Replace your clutch, it will require you to repeat this process over later if you don't and you will be sorry. I bought the king cobra clutch which is very nice for the price, the kit comes with the tob.
5.) Replace your pilot bearing, rent a pilot bearing puller from auto zone or advanced auto. Freeze the bearing before putting it to make it easier on installing it. Use an impact socket so you don't damage the bearing.

 

[SilverBullet00]

I was going to install a new TOB, but I dont know anything about the pilot bearing. I guess I will have to look at my Chiltons manual to get a better idea. I am not going to replace the clutch because the better clamping force is going to help me destroy the trans again...

It sucks being broke.. maybe I should put in the new tranny and get rid of it...

 

[Stangdriver13]

To get to the pilot bearing you have to remove the clutch, its the bearing that the input shaft of the transmission sit in. It is in the engine block inside the rear main seal. How many miles are on the current clutch? My king cobra doesn't grab very hard, just better than stock but you also have a ton more power than my car. I am actually surprised your stock clutch has been able to last as much as it has. Powershift will damage a trans quicker than anything else as I had to find out first hand.

 

[SilverBullet00]

I powershift all the time into second gear, and occasionally 3rd. For some reason 3rd gear is the only one that I am having problems with, it just wont go into gear. I am surprised the trans broke before the clutch.... who knows, maybe its not the original clutch? The car has 68,000 miles.

 

[Stangdriver13]

I broke a blocker ring in my trans powershifting from to second. I went ahead and replaced the synchros at the time and it was 800 for the rebuild. I about went with a t56 but i just didn't have the extra money at the time. My trans went out at about 62k and my clutch looked pretty good actually, i would say it would have had another 30k left in it but i just figured to do it while the trans was out.

 

[bobc83]

To hell with the upper starter bolt!!! I hate that one arrrrrggg