Trying to Replace Transmission!

[dlb]

xirdneh did a good write-up on manual trans removal/installation. here's the link.

https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7148

[marcandfiveonettes]

So I'm working from the guide posted by xirdneh. thanks dlb!
I have the car up on four jack stands. Have the transmission drained and driveline removed.
I'm stuck at the part...

"Disconnect outer tie rod ends on both sides of car. I do this by removing the cotter pin and loosening the 17mm nut till it is almost flush with end of stud. Then while holding a dolly under the arm I smack the end of the stud with a copper or brass hammer. Note: a dolly is a small but heavy piece of metal like the end of a sledge hammer that is used to absorb some of the shock so you do not bust off the cast iron arm. It will help if you first put a torch to the end of the arm to heat it up a bit thus causing the cast metal arm to expand a little. Remove the two 14mm bolts that hold the lower ball joints to the lower control arm."

I don't know how to identify the outer tie rods first of all. There seem to be three different major connections to the wheel... don't know which is which.

is it different from "lower control arm"?

the one arm that appears to be obviously cast iron is the lowest piece where I see what looks like the ball bearing connection.
which arm is that?

right now all this is regarding the front driver-side wheel

[xirdneh]

the tie rod comes from the steering rack (inner tie rod end) and attaches at front of wheel hub assy (outer tie rod end)
its a 17 mm nut with cotter pin

the ball joint is on the bottom inside of the wheel hub assy
attached with two 14mm bolts

attached to the upper center of the wheel hub assy is the bottom of the strut (aka shock absorber)
attached with two 17 mm bolts (not necessary to remove do not remove these)

attached to the middle of the wheel hub assy is the axel

[Highlander]

The best trick that I've found for removing the tie rod is to back the nut off until its flush with the end of the stud, then hit the arm itself (that the tie rod end goes through) with a sturdy steel hammer (not something that absorbs the impact like copper or brass) out near where the tie rod comes through, and parallel to the tie rod. It'll take a few smacks, but the tie rod end will drop out and rest on the nut.
I've tried pickle forks, beating on the stud itself (which by the way mangles the stud) and every other tool known to man (including using a puller to load the stud) and this is by far the easiest and most effective way to do it. I personally use a 3 lb drilling hammer, before I had that I used a 20 oz claw hammer and that worked well too.

[Petros]

I second the experience of Highlander. You smack the collar side of the taper with a hammer, the shock wave through the metal causes the taper to pop out. Works perfectly, just watch out your blows do not hit the rubber boot. I have even used the handle end of a ratchet wrench when I did not have a hammer handy, it just took a lot more blows.

BTW, I have not found it necessary to remove the steering tie rod, I turn the steering to full lock, remove the ball joint from the bottom (two 14mm bolts), and than pop the inner CV spline shaft from the diff. There is just enough swing in the strut to allow the spline shaft to clear the diff. Than you go to full steering lock on the other side to allow enough room to get out the other one. You can leave the axle shaft hanging but it helps to tie them up out of the way.

[marcandfiveonettes]

Ok, so I think I identified everything, got the pry bar in place and am able to push down on the ball joint and pull on the wheel, but haven't been able to pop the axle loose from the diff. Does it at all involve removing the two bands and rubber casings? we tried that and it was pretty easy (although messy), didn't seem quite right.

any tips on breaking the axles loose from the tranny?

[Highlander]

This is an easy one. from under the car, you'll see that there are grooves cut into the axle just outboard of where it enters the diff/tranny. place a prybar (I use the 14" flat one) into the groove and rest the bar onto the trans so that when you push towards the trans, it pries the axle out of the trans. There are expansion rings on the end of the axle so that it won't slide out, once you pry the axle out, the expansion ring collapses into the groove in the axle shaft and allows the axle to come right out.
I have encountered some very weak rings that don't want to re-expand freely once they are compressed, so make sure that they stand proud of the splines before you reinstall the axles. BTW to reinstall them, I typically use a 6" flat pry bar in the groove and whack the end of it with a mallet to get the ring to start into the splines.

[marcandfiveonettes]

got it out before I saw that post but thanks!
hope I didn't break anything...

so it seems I'm needing help every step of the way...
it says to remove charcoal canister, air filter housing, and distributor. So far I haven't been able to identify any of these.

any tips?

[dlb]

hey marc. the air filter housing is the big black spaceship-looking thing staring you in the face when you open the hood. it's where the air filter lives.

the distributor is the thing with the big wires going to each of the spark plugs. just remove the 12 mm bolt towards the bottom of it and pull it out. it will come slowly and then give all of a sudden so pull hard but be prepared so you don't smash your hand, or the dizzy itself.

the charcoal canister is part of the emissions controls and it's just a big black can mounted to the firewall or the fender (can't remember which) on the passenger side, in the engine bay. it has a few hoses running to and from it.

hope you took the CV(s) out carefully. there is a seal that sits just inside the diff housing and if they get damaged they will leak gear oil when you put the CVs back in. i had one go a while back so i replaced it but it kept leaking. i removed the seal and res-eated it several times but it kept leaking. i finally bought another seal and it has been good on the first try. definitely frustrating taking that CV out 4 times but i got pretty fast at it!

[Petros]

I have not found it necessary to remove any of those, but sometimes you risk damaging the distributor when you lower the rear (trans) mount. It tilts the back of the engine down and against the fire wall (the metal wall the separate the engine compartment from the passenger compartment). Sometimes the distributor can rest against the firewall first and damage it. Oddly not always, but sometimes you have to allow the engine to tilt back further than the distributor allows to get the trans bell housing to clear the tunnel on the car floor. If you unbolt everything, lower the trans (keeping an eye on the distributor clearance to the firewall), and it is clear, see if you can get the trans to pull out reward and downward. If it seems to hang up than go ahead and remove the distributor and upper radiator hose and pull/push the engine so it tilts further back and try again.

The distributor is what the spark plug wires plug into (that is they plug into the cap on the distributor). Is easy to remove: pull the 4 spark plug wires off the spark plugs, than remove the 12mm bolt at the base (on the left side of the distributor as you face it standing on the left side of the engine compartment), than you slip off the vacuum lines, and remove the green electrical connector. Make sure you do not mix up the vacuum lines, I leave one attached to the distributor and remove it at the other vacuum tube end, and than leave the other on the vacuum tube end and pull it off the distributor. Some have three vac lines, just do something similar to keep from mixing them up.

Sometimes I have found it necessary to remove the top radiator hose to allow the engine to tilt back far enough so the trans clears the tunnel. That means draining at least some of the radiator fluid. So see if you can wiggle the trans out first, if not than remove the upper radiator hose to allow the engine to tilt further back.

Good luck.

[marcandfiveonettes]

everything is moving along nicely, very close to having the old tranny out.

what is the Cat tube air canister???

[Petros]

a chamber on the left side of the engine with a reed valve on it, the resonance sucks fresh air into the chamber and the exhaust pulses naturally pumps it into the catalytic converter. The fresh air injections helps complete combustion to lower emissions. Look at the catalytic converter (looks like the front muffler on the exhaust pipe) and you will see a smaller tube coming off the side of it, crosses under the trans and feeding up to the left side of the engine to a roundish chamber. It just gets in the way, many people remove it and pinch the pipe off. Not likely the cat is still good after all these years anyway, but if you have to pass annual smog checks you have to keep it.

[marcandfiveonettes]

Alright.

so I'm pretty sure everything is loose.

we have it resting on a hydraulic jack.

we can lower it on the jack but only a couple inches before it seems to catch.

so far we are trying to lift and push and wiggle it back, but it is not breaking loose from the engine.

tried prying it away with a screwdriver but no luck so far.

when we rock the transmission up and down the engine seems to go right with it.

is this normal?

we're so close... don't want to break anything now.

[Jarf]

Take a break, go get a beer, maybe 2.

While it will sometimes be seized together you should still be able to create a little independent movement between the 2, if they are moving as one, you have likely missed 1 or 2 bolts. Get in there with your hands and feel all the way around, you'll find it. If you don't at least you will know that you have them all out.
If it doesn't go easy, take another look, odds are you missed something.
Resist the urge to grab the Ford Hammer, that is a recipe for an empty wallet, when things break they are usually costly to replace.

If once you are ABSOLUTELY sure you have ALL the bolts out (you pulled the started right?) then and only then, would you take a (2 ft)long flat screwdriver, insert between the plate and the bellhousing but ONLY at an area where the plate is backed by the block. I prefer to go for the top where the trans
meets the engine and gently hammer the screwdriver in between the plate and the trans (the plate stays with the engine) it should pop straight back a little if all it does is lever and spring back to position, look again for the missed bolt, sometimes they get shy and play hide and seek (some will thread in from the rear, others from the front). If you have to use brute force, something is wrong.
If all else fails and you can't find the issue, wash up and go to bed, tomorrow morning it will probably be a lot more obvious.

[marcandfiveonettes]

It might be important to add that my old transmission is stuck in 2nd gear.
when my shift lever is in the neutral position, the car is still in second gear.
the clutch is effective at engaging and disconnecting the gear but I cannot shift between the gears. the lever itself is disconnected somehow from the mechanism inside.
I started to wonder if the transmission is typically removed in the neutral position.
the clutch cable is disconnected so it is currently engaged in second gear.

AHHHHH!