How do you remove a turbo 400

[skokie]

I am going to take my 400 turbo to the shop to get it rebuilt. Shop wants $200 more if I take the truck down and let them pull it down and put it back in. Gotta love Ca labor rates. Can someone give me a step by step on how to do this? BTW truck is a 68 1/2 ton and its got a small block motor.


Thanks

[cduster]

lift the truck on some stands
remove driveshaft
disconnect shift linkage and speedo cable, kickdown, etc.
remove torque converter bolts
put jack under trans
remove trans mount and trans crossmember
remove bell housing bolts
slide trans back and let it down
I think thats it. I'm sure I'll be corrected if it is wrong.

Dan

[72 CustomCamper]

Don't forget to support the motor while the trans is out...


Chuck

[beaterC10]

The bell housing bolts are easier to get at if you lower the jack with the trans attached and let the engine droop.

[COBALT]

Originally Posted by beaterC10

The bell housing bolts are easier to get at if you lower the jack with the trans attached and let the engine droop.

...and bust your exhaust manifolds. You have to be VERY careful doing this. I'd rather skin up my knuckles a bit and save my exhaust.

Some things that were missed are:

* Disconnect the coolling lines to the transmission from the radiator AT THE TRANSMISSION, and plug them with some rubber stops to prevent coolant from getting all over the place (this is a good time to check to see if you have any leaks too).

* Mark your driveline yokes so you know how it was oriented in the truck before you remove it.

* You have to get your truck over 24" into the air to get this thing out. BE CAREFUL if you're just using jack stands and don't have a lift. I learned this the hard way. I managed to get the truck around 20 inches into the air, but I ended up having to rock the front of the transmission forward on the stand, and roll it out with the tail in the air to get the bell housing to clear the frame.

* Loosen the torque-converter-to-flexplate bolts by turning the flexplate with the spark plugs out.

* Do NOT allow the torque converter to come off the front shaft. Once you've removed the torque-converter-to-flexplate bolts and you're ready to lower the transmission use one hand to keep the torque converter in place.

* The cross member should slide back. You can't remove it unless someone bult the truck with a different cross member. Remove the bolts, and use a 2 lb hammer to tap it back so it clears the tail housing.

* Emptying the fluid out of the transmission can help lighten the load. That's over 13 quarts of fluid in that thing: Over 3 gallons. Getting some of that out will help, so you may want to drop the pan, drain the fluid, and then reinstall the pan with the bolts more than finger tight, but not torqued.

* I STRONGLY suggest supporting the engine by placing some wood under the deep part of the oil pan before you drop the transmission. If you don't you could risk breaking your engine mounts (which is what happened to me and my small-block) and your exhaust manifolds.

* When putting it back in keep the cross member bolts and the transmission mount bolts loose so you can tighten them all at once. Otherwise you'll be fighting the bolts in one place or another trying to get them in.

* Plan on replacing the transmission mount, and the vacuum lines to the modulator from the intake. Those are things the shop won't care about.

* Make sure the shop tests your torque converter for failure. When reinstalling it dump a quart of atf into the torque converter before putting it back on the front shaft.

[da-burb]

Your California rates don't sound bad. It was about 5 years ago and they wanted $150 to R&R a tranny in Minnesota. It isn't the most difficult job to do, but if you are working alone or don't have the right tools, you just might have $400 worth of frustration installing it.