2 noob question about dropping the tranny

The main shaft will hold it in place, yeah. When I've taken mine out, I have used both the transmission mount and a jackstand/2x4 to hold it up to keep pressure off of the input shaft until I'm ready to drop it out finally. Also, for the top bolts some people like to use 8 million feet of extensions and u-joints. I've found that if you can get your arms up in there, try hugging the transmission and using a gear wrench. Maybe even have a little brother or someone with smaller arms do it?...

Good question on the torque wrench. I think I read somewhere that if what you're torquing isn't DIRECTLY underneath the head of the torque wrench(in your case off centered by u-joints), then torque values will be changed. Might want to wait till one of the older guys posts for that info though. In honesty, the I use a torque wrench on all the bolts I can easily reach on the bottom and use my best judgement for the bolts on top. In 3 transmission pulls, I've not lost any bolts and have had no issues....to each their own though. Good luck with it!

I found this, kinda cool, but i dont think its what you mean.
http://www.specialpatrolgroup.co.uk/spooky/torque/torque.html

But from what i understand it doesnt matter if there is an extension to the socket, You're applying a torque at one end, and the bolt is applying a counter-torque at the other end. If the extension is not in the process of being twisted to a greater extent then it already has been, then the torques at both ends must be the same in magnitude but opposite in direction. (If the torques were not equal, the extension would be twisting more.) Then by Newton's third law (more or less), the torque being applied by the socket to the bolt is the same as (but opposite) as the counter-torque being applied by the bolt to the socket.

and if the torque wrench does not line up with the head of the bolt it will not be as accurate, but im not to sure how to calculate that, but i honestly dont think you have to worry about it..

When I droped my trannie i just stuck my 2.5 ton jack under it, and rolled it back when all the bolts were off!

The torque applied to the shank of the bolt or nut on a stud will be roughly equal to the cosine of the angle. If you had the extension/swivel at a 45 degree angle, and if the socket would stay on the hex of the bolt or nut without popping off (which is will pop off), .707 of the torque value would be going to tighten the nut and the other .707 of the torque value would be going to side force on the nut/bolt. To sum to a torque of "1" indicated on the wrench, it would be the sum of the squares of the sides equal the square of the hypotenuse (long side = 1).
.707 squared = .5; .707 squared plus .707 squared euqals 1 sqquared = 1.

So unless you have a really steep angle approaching 45 degrees, you can add a little torque to the value needed.

If you've ever used a ratchet with an extension, a u-joint at an angle, and another extension, you know how much the universal wants to jump out of position, because part of the torque at an angle pushes out and part goes to the target. Even if you hold the u-joint in place the side force is still against the piece holding the u-joint.

http://www.algeo.com/~joe/KIAT/kiat_3.htm

I normally pull transmissions out alone...but last fall i was pulling my Toyota trans out, which is very similar in size/weight on the TT trans. Well I though it was secured, so i let go of it to take a break, 15 seconds later the trans fell on my head. Fisrt time ive ever been to the hospital in 26yrs and a few stitches also! Be careful when taking the trans down..just sayin.



Face is Swollen

Several things on making the tranny pull a bit easier....

- Tranny should in neutral if a 5 spd before starting this job.

- Use a jack on the rear of the tranny to support it when removing the rear support bracket. Jack allows the tranny to be tilted up/down to give better access room for getting to bolts and for accessing connectors on top of tranny, etc. Note: Some people pull the engine with the tranny attached - so the tranny really doesn't need any add'l support from the rear (it can just hang). But you don't want it just hanging when trying to undo the bolts.

- Tranny jack like what they sell at Harbor Freight for around $80 is a good way to go. Have this one:
http://www.harborfreight.com/450-lb-capacity-transmission-jack-39178.html

- If you use this jack -- use a small wood shim to wedge under the saddle where the tranny sits a little high. Also buy a 2nd strap from Home Depot -- that single strap isn't enough to keep things totally wiggle free. You won't mind giving the jack a good yank to break it free from the engine. Suggestion of the shim is for keeping the tranny sitting on the jack saddle just as it did when attached to the engine. It really does help.

- Before undoing the bolts, jack up the engine/tranny connection point just a little bit. It takes some of the pressure off the bolts and makes them easier to undo. Once bolts are loose - hook up the tranny jack.

- Whenever jacking anything, use a small piece of wood (3" x 4" x 3/4" or similar) between the jack and engine part. It distributes the load better.

- No need to drain any tranny fluid if using the jack and keeping things mostly level. It takes a bit of a tilt to get fluid spilling out of the drive shaft opening. However, you will need to drain the fluid if the tranny is being serviced or moved around off the jack. Easier to drain fluid while tranny is still attached to the car.

- When re-installing the tranny, helpful to take a 2 long metric bolts (Home Depot, etc) - cut off the heads and Dremel a screwdriver head slot. Bolts act as guides for allowing the tranny to slip on the engine bracket - screw heads allow them to be easily removed. I found just 2 bolt - one on each side got the job done. Others have used 3 or 4 but I'm not sure why that many are needed? Good idea to lube them up a little too.

- Pay attention to how the engine tilts AFTER the tranny load is removed. Look at it from the engine bay top BEFORE undoing the tranny and with a piece of tape mark a reference point. This is how you want the engine to be sitting when trying to re-mate the tranny. Makes alignment, even when using a tranny jack easier. REMEMBER - Do any jacking with a piece of wood to distribute load more evenly.

- Don't worry about bolt torque for the higher placed bolts. Just do by hand and call it a day. Don't forget to re-attach the battery ground strap to that high bolt on the psngr side either. Pain in the butt to get the bolt done and then realize you didn't fasten down the strap.

- For the battery/harness cable bracket that sits above the ground strap but is fastened to the back of the engine block. Easier to get that bracket back in-place by using a piece of tape to hold the 2 halves together. Less struggling to get the bolt into place -- pretty sure I used a longer bolt too (plenty of room for it to fit).

- FYI: Posted this last night to another question. Another really helpful piece of gear --- but a car OEM or a rolling jack will do too:

One of the most useful things I purchased from Harbor Freight besides a tranny jack was a 12v electric scissors jack. The flimsy plastic saddle broke almost right away but it didn't matter. Once off (and rivet is removed) the jack has a nice flat surface for jacking up frame rails, putting a little tension on the tranny while removing the tranny to engine bolts, etc. We have used this thing so many times over the last year for various car jobs -- well worth the $60 or so it costs. I'd actually recommend removing the saddle right from the start and using it that way. I'm thinking about fab'ing a little metal saddle (block) for times when I really need to use it that way but those times haven't been very often so far ...

This is the idea: http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=100637530&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&ci_sku=100637530&ci_src=14110944&cm_mmc=shopping-_-googlebase-_-D25X-_-100637530&locStoreNum=906