Driveway Tranny Drop...any tips?

[ParadiseMJ]

I'm pulling a 1990 AW4 and 242 TC tomorrow from a guy parting out his XJ. Mean to swap into my 88 MJ

 

Need some tips. I have 2 floor jacks, blocks, straps and what I'm thinking are the right hand tools. Any "special" tools?

 

Anything else??

 

Electrics??

[dasbulliwagen]

Isnt there a couple of torx bolts at the top of the bellhousing? Someone else should be able to chime in and tell you what size.

 

Drain pan for when you pull out the driveshaft and oil runs out the back of the transfer case and the oil cooler lines.

 

Shop rags and hand cleaner so you can wash your hands and clean up spills.

 

Ace bandage for when you drop the assy on your arm as youre laying under the truck.

 

A bottle of saline solution to rinse the dirt out of your eyes that falls in while laying under it.

 

A roll of electrical tape so you can make nice shop style manyly black bandaids for when you smash your fingernail when your wrench lets loose of its bolt.

 

An extra shirt for when you dump tranny fluid on yourself trying to wrestle it to the ground.

 

Cardboard to lay on.

 

Am I missing anyhting?

 

[XXLMJ]

The top 2 bolts a the inverted torx. I'm not sure what size, i have used a 3/8 and got them off, but since i now know different i would buy the right tool.

[mjeff87]

hopefully the driveway is concrete or asphalt, not gravel/dirt. Try not to make a mess......use some old shower curtains or large pieces of cardboard underneath, or even a piece of 7/16" OSB (about $6 for a 4X8 sheet at Lowe's).

 

Beg, borrow, or rent a tranny jack. If it were a manual tranny, you could get by with the floor jacks and whatnot, but an AW4 is considerably heavier, even moreso if you plan on dropping the tranny/TC as one unit. Think safety above all else.

 

Ratcheting 9/16" wrench is a godsend if you plan on divorcing the TC from the trans prior to dropping it (for the 6 nuts holding it to the tranny), and you'll need an E12 socket and a boatload of extensions for the two top bellhousing bolts. 5/16" or 8mm to remove the driveshaft yoke bolts for the front/rear driveshafts, and either an offset box-end or other type of 1/2" or 10mm wrench (depending on which style of boltheads) for the four bolts holding the front driveshaft DC to the front TC yoke. 13mm socket for the tranny mount bolts, and a 15mm for the crossmember bolts/nuts. Bellhousing bolts other than the two top ones are either 18mm or 3/4" IIRC, and you'll need 1/2" for the dust cover/inspection plate bolts.

 

Oh, did I also mention a tranny jack? Yeah, do yourself a favor and get one of those too ;)

 

Jeff

[mjeff87]

also......get a tranny jack.

 

Jeff

[jimoshel]

Alternative to a tranny jack, depending on the circumstances, is a 4X4( I have used 2X4) resting on the 2 front door window sills, or dash and seat back. with a come-a-long. Drop the tran working thru the hole in the floor instead of from the ground. I've also used a cherry picker, running the arm in thru the doorway with a cable going thru the hole in the hump to the tranny.

[XXLMJ]

I used a motorcycle jack/lift last time as a trans. jack, It worked really well. Just the $100 one from Sears.

[Blue XJ]

The top two bolts are E12's. The easiest way to get to them is to lower the back of the trans enough that you can access them from the engine compartment.

[WBKrazy]

i dropped my tranny and tcase w/a floorjack with a patio block on top of it.... rolled the jack underneath the wheels of a furniture dolly, and then raised it up... then me and my buddy dropped it down carefully till it rested on the dolly, like this...

[Geonovast]

Don't put those Torx back in! Run down to your favorite hardware store and buy some Grade 8 replacements. 3/8 x 16 x 2 or 2 1/2.

[ParadiseMJ]

OK,

 

Plan B...or is it Plan D, E, F... :ack:

 

I can get a 91 AW4...out of the Jeep already (XJ) OR I can get the 90 AW4...still IN the other XJ. How much different. Do I need a different TPS, TCU. I don't want to have to futz with a bunch of swapping of electricals. But if I can just walk off with a tranny...my old bones will be happier.

 

Also - the TC for this tranny is gone, so how much trouble is it to change the INPUT shaft on the NP231 I already have (1988) to mate with a 91 AW4

[jpnjim]

Pull the T-case off first,

it may seem like more work, but it's not.

 

First time I R&R'd an XJ t-case & tranny I left the T-case on,

was NOT worth it. :rotf:

 

(not afraid to admit I was stronger then, bench pressed the combo up, as I spun the t-case yoke with both my feet to line up the input shaft into the clutch plate... really. :yes: :nuts: )

 

 

I cut a 1/2" (13mm?) combo wrench in half to get at the upper T-case bolts, and it made them easier to remove.

 

Those external torx are a PITA, but I never gave them the satisfaction of buying the right tool (again :nuts: ), I always banged on a 12pt 3/8" (I think).

 

Have a separated T-case yoke, or a plug to keep the tranny fluid from pouring out.

Best to swap it quickly, and duct tape it in place.

A bag + some duct tape will work too, but it's usually alot messier.

 

Also make sure you get the complete T-case linkage.

 

 

When you putting the combo in your MJ, try not to kill your motor mounts by letting the weight of the tranny & t-case hang down too far.

[jimoshel]

(not afraid to admit I was stronger then, bench pressed the combo up, as I spun the t-case yoke with both my feet to line up the input shaft into the clutch plate... really. :yes: :nuts: )

 

Been there. Done that. But not this week.

[jpnjim]

(not afraid to admit I was stronger then, bench pressed the combo up, as I spun the t-case yoke with both my feet to line up the input shaft into the clutch plate... really. :yes: :nuts: )

 

Been there. Done that. But not this week.

 

 

Must be a 'Jim thing' :clapping:

 

I can remember laying under there, thinking how much of an idiot I was for doing it this way,

but I wasn't going to pull it all back out, and pull the T-case off after all that struggling.

 

 

The worst part of all was that I pulled the Tranny & T-case because the (internal!) bellhousing bolts had come loose, and you had to pull the whole thing out to tighten them. (BA 10-5).

 

I was out of work, and didn't have the $$ to do the clutch/PP & throwout while I had it apart.

 

Within a month, the (internal) hydrolic throwout bearing failed on me, and I had to pull it back out again anyway. :doh:

[avnsteve]

 

I was out of work, and didn't have the $$ to do the clutch/PP & throwout while I had it apart.

 

Within a month, the (internal) hydrolic throwout bearing failed on me, and I had to pull it back out again anyway. :doh:

 

ahh, lessons from our youth...

 

i can remember the day too

[Automan2164]

The torx bolts are ok... Not really a problem with the right tools. IE, the inverted torx socket. No big deal there... Or at least as much as some people project them to be.

 

Rob L.

[JeepcoMJ]

they are called E-sockets.

 

 

I have them still in every one of my jeeps...but I have the right socket for them :D. also got a wrench and ratcheting wrench for them.

[Geonovast]

I've rounded them off with the proper socket.

 

Even with a socket, they're still somewhat of a pain to get to. Replacements are cheap, and you'll have the solace of knowing you have a regular hex bolt in there when/if you need to remove them again.