Transmission Heartaches.....HELP!!!

[mr48chev]

It isn't hard to swap transmissions in one of these trucks. the bigg trest pain is unbolting the center crossmember from the frame.

I'd get under it first and figure out where it was loosing the fluid. Once you have that figured out and repaired you can decide if the trans does indeed need to be replaced. You can usually tell by looking at and smelling the fluid if the trans has been fried and needs replacing.

I've swapped out my trans a couple of times using a 2-1/2 ton floor jack because I don't have a trans jack. It isn't for the faint of heart or the weak of arm though. Outside of the usual steps that are in any manual I would suggest getting two long (4 inch or longer) 3/8 nc bolts and when you get the trans up close put them through the bottom two bolt holes in the bellhousing part of trans and then thread them into the corresponding holes in the back of the block. With them threaded in you can then slide the trans up to the block easily and install the other five bolts before removing the long ones and installing the correct bolts. This step has helped me many times.

You can also use a pair of 10 or 12 inch long 3/8 bolts to slide the trans back far enough with a floor jack to replace a front seal, torque converter or flexplate and then slide the trans right back in place without a big fight. I've even used that trick to replace a back of the block freeze plug on my 71.