tranny removal

[69rangerf100]

i am doing a complete tear down on my 69 f100 i have the entire front clip off and i am getting ready to pull the engine. people are telling me to take the tranny out first what is the best way to take out a three speed tranny off of a 390ci motor.

[fordman]

remove the linkage and speedo cable. remove the drive shaft. remove the trans crossmember. remove the four bolts holding the transmission to the bellhousing. it weighs about 75 pounds. push up and then let it down and pull it back catch the front with your other hand.

[Alfred Lord Tenniscourt]

Ford Man is obviously a hoss. I would stick a floor jack under the trans (if you have to work on gravel, put a piece of plywood down first).
The trick is, as Fordman said, to unbolt the four bolts holding the trans to the bell housing so that you don't have to struggle unbolting the bell housing from the engine block while it is in the truck. It is also smart to remove the crossmember completly before messing around tying to get the trans out. It may be possible to wiggle the thing out without removing the cross member, but it will be much harder by the time you are done. If your jack is unsteady, stick a two by four under the tailhousing to keep the trans in place with the cross member gone as you unbolt the trans from the bell.
Once you get the four bolts out, and everything else undone, it is not hard to slide the transmission straight back untill the splines are out, scooching the two by four back as you go, and then slide it forward and down off the jack and the two by four.
If you are thinking about just sliding the whole engine and transmission out the front as a unit, I can't give you any real guidance as I have never done it. One thing that I would watch out for though is that the whole thing will be really long and really heavy. If I were going to try it, I would put a chain back behind the bell housing or make sure there is someone to help you as the engine and trans together may want to tip backwards causing all kinds of hassle as you pull it out.
I would also make sure that you have plenty of room to either pull your engine puller forward, or push your truck back. It is going to take more room than it seems like it would to get the thing clear of the frame, and then set it down somehow. You will need a distance equal to the length of the engine, transmission, and puller when the engine is hanging measured from the front of the frame. It will also be important that you have a place to set the whole mess without tipping it over or crushing the oil pan so that you can unhook the crane and unbolt the trans from the engine.
If I were working alone, I would definitly pull the trans first, but I am curious now; and hope that you do them both at once so I can hear how it went...

[fordman]

no way. i am a weakling. the trans is just real easy to handle. it is porpotioned just right so that you can handle the wieght of it without dropping it.

[l1k2gadd]

In my younger days I would pull and install Toploader 4-Speeds in the mustangs by myself. Like Fordman says they're fairly easy to handle, with the front shaft and small tail shaft the tranny is fairly easy to handle, but heavy. remember, you're on your back under the truck. Don't let it fall on you OR your chest or head.

Do not let the tranny drop on the input shaft (the part that goes toward the motor) as you back it out of the bellhousing. Carefully lower it (and you can use a floor jack at first) and when it is out far enough to get a hold on the input shaft cover try lifting it to see if you can handle it by yourself. If not, set it back on the jack, roll the jack back a little until the input shaft is clear, and lower it that way.

Do what is safest for you.

[19674x4]

since you got the front clip off, it will be a snap. since im a young studly 19 year old i would just unbolt it from the engine, remove all the other stuff(refer to fordmans post), then pull it back off the input shaft and slide out with it on my chest butt....... not every one is as young and daring as i so.... a jack is a must. With the clip off you could pull the engine and tranny as a whole and separate them once out of the chassis and on the ground

[fordman]

well for safety please use a jack. and jack stands. also wear some goggles. i hate dirt in my eyes.

[oldschoolrods]

and if the trans starts to fall don't try and catch it!!!

[19674x4]

and if the trans starts to fall don't try and catch it!!!

party pooper

[theskytoucher]

I had an nv3500 from a dodge truck that was on dirt so i could really use a jack sop i ended up man handleing it up onto a set of board then slowly lifting one end and cribbing t then doing the same to the opposite side!! It ended up falling square on my chest and i just laid there under it for a few mins till i could get it onto the ground and start over got it almost all the way up and it came down again onto my armrolled it off!! Thenfinally got it up and close to being put together but i had to lift the front of the tranny with my arms and shake and move the back with my knees working around a bunch of wood cribbing but it finally went in!!! The moral of the story get a jack!!! Transmissions arent that heavy till they are laying on your chest and you cant breathe!! And i was 17 at the time i did this!!

[sargentrs]

Soon to be doing this myself. Personally, I'm investing in one of these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=39178

Back in the day I would have just bench pressed it in. No way I could even think of that now. Last time I put a clutch in it, I dropped my 3.03 that many times before I got it stabbed.

[oldschoolrods]

Soon to be doing this myself. Personally, I'm investing in one of these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=39178

Back in the day I would have just bench pressed it in. No way I could even think of that now. Last time I put a clutch in it, I dropped my 3.03 that many times before I got it stabbed.

that is what i like to see. I am only 21 and am not the most experienced mechanic here by any means but i have worked on heavy trucks and gen sets part time while going to school for trucks/generators for about 3 years now, and after working around that heavy stuff I don't like to see anyone take chances even with the light stuff, use a jack, get it cribbed properly if necessary and if stuff starts falling GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!

[69rangerf100]

ok this is what i decided to do. im going to take out the engine and tranny together later this week. here is my delima i took the nuts off the u clamps but can not get the u shape out and my drive shaft will not slide back. what do i need to do to seperate the tranny from the drive shaft. the drive shaft is a two piece b/c i have a lwb f100

[fordman]

tap on the ubolts lightly witha wooden hammer handle to get them to move a little and then put a srewdriver between the u bolts and the ujoint and pry. clean the greaes off of them too that will help some with the removal of them.

[kaptnkaos]

Hey 69rangerf100

I had exactly the same problem when tried to remove the driveline from my '68 CS.
I have use a screw driver to get as much of the 40 year old crude off of the u-bolts as I could.
I loosened the nuts only until they were flush with the end of the bolt.
I used a hammer and metal punch and alternated sides.
It still took a while to get them all out

Good luck,
KaptnKA S