Several searches turned up nothing. Have to get my Muncie out of a '73 and was looking for as many tips as possible. Surly someone out there has done this before. Have no resource for a hoist so am going to have to do the jackstand trick, how high up do I have to be to have sufficient room to do it? Thanks for ANY help.

Randy

 

Hey, Ill take a shot and see if I can help you out. I put my muncie in when I converted my car to a four speed (so my car has a removable crossmember, yours does not). I put my car up about 18-20 inches off the ground to get my transmission out. That should be around the second to last click on the jack stands if that makes sense. Once I had the car all jacked up, I placed 2 pairs of those drive on ramps underneath all the tires to make me feel safer.

The next thing I did was put a jack underneath the engine (with a board on top of the jack) and jacked it up just enough so the engine would not rock backwards and hit the firewall when you take the transmission mounts off. I then removed the speedo cable and tucked it out of the way. Next I loosened the driveshaft from the yoke and slid the yoke all the way back into the transmission. I loosened the bolts from the transmission mounts bracket and exhaust hanger and removed those (there should be 4 total?). Next I loosened the 4 bolts that connect the transmission to the bell housing. I was now ready to remove the trans from the car. I have a Hurst shifter and I was able to remove the transmission without taking the shifter off. I believe the stock shifter bolts to the cross member and you can just unbolt it and leave it there, but im not sure.

I removed the transmission by lying on my back, with my legs towards the front of the car, underneath the engine. I wiggled and slide the transmission out and set it on my chest. Once it was on my chest I kind of rolled it off onto a dolly and rolled it out from under the car. I think the Muncie weighs about 65 pounds, so it should not be a problem. I tried to describe this as best as I can remember, its been a year and a half since I did this. Good luck!

James

 

Did mine about 2 months ago, jackstands were not a problem getting it up high enough, I don't recall the exact height but it was enough to make it comfortable underneath the car. The hardest part IMO was the shifter, getting that bugger out and back in was a PIA, the bolt has to be undone from inside the car. But overall the job was not too bad, I bought the muncie rebuild kit for about $169, so look around before you pay the high $200's that are found in most of the catalogs. OBTW prior to doing mine I found a bunch of good info on this site, just use the archive search function and you will find a ton of good info. Good luck.

 

Thanks to both of you for the replys and info. I take it the tranny slides straight back until the pilot shaft clears the bellhousing then down and forward? Not really looking forward to it but a new experience, I guess. BTW, found rebuild kits for 'bout $150 from 'kajunjon' in Texas.

Randy

 

Just pulled my ST-10 two weeks ago and the above advise is
Since you can't remove the crossmember...sliding the trans all the way back (rearward, once bolts are out) ) then twisting clockwise as you pull forward again will be necessary.
Eddie

 

Thanks Eddie, on the shifter, it's bolted to the crossmember, right? Just have to drop the shifter rods or pull everything??? Also, what's correct as far as the speedo cable goes, left or right side??? Mine is on the right.

 

Is there also a trans lock acble that needs to be removed as well, not sure but I think so.

 

There is a trans lock cable if it is still there. Many have been removed over the years. You have to remove all the shifter and linkage. Slide it back and rotate it as said above and the pilot shaft will just clear the bellhousing. I have done this many times over the years and you get pretty good at it after a while. Just make sure you can support about 70 pounds for a while. I let it come down on my chest then roll it off and slide out. I know have a Tremec with removable crossmember but it weighs more. Not a bad job just be careful when it lets go it can be a little heavy if your not expecting it.

 

I've had a few of these where the input shaft will not clear the bellhousing when you slide the tranny back and rotate it. In these cases, I have simply pulled the bolts out of the bellhousing to allow the bellhousing and the tranny input shaft to fall downwards at an angle until the shaft clears. It's not a tough job - just a little awkward if you're laying on your back and doing it on jackstands. Earlier this year I pulled my tranny, installed a new clutch & pressure plate, and put it all back together again during the Superbowl Halftime Show.

 

O.K., thanks again to all for the help.

Hey Lars, wanna come over and help???

 

Make sure you have the engine blocked up also the distributer cap can be broken very easy if the engine drops down any.The tail shaft will be held up by the cross member as it comes out. A helper for a few minutes when it is loose makes it a real easy job.

 

Thanks Lyle, Got a buddy who's volunteered to help.

 

Good lord lars......you are the freakin man.

 

That's a darned good point... unrestrained, the engine will tilt back and break the cap against the firewall. I actually allow the engine to tilt back and hang on the engine mounts - it makes the angle for tranny removal better. But I do remove the distrubutor cap and pull the tach drive cable out of the distrubutor to avoid pinching and kinking it against the firewall when the engine tilts back. If you allow the engine to tilt, also watch your engine fan so it does not hit and break your fan shroud.

 

Dang, more good advice. Much abliged! (sp)

 

The shifter is bolted to the crossmember via a bracket to eliminate rattling that was on earlier models (ask me how I know). Once you unhook all the linkage from the tranny, you should be able to remove the shifter minus the ball with all of the linkage intact from underneath the car.

Use a jackstand with a block of wood under the end of the oilpan where it is strongest to support the back end of the block. You'll need to lower it enough so that you will have room to clear the tunnel when you rotate the tranny but as stated above, watch the dist, fan on the shroud, etc. Also, I always unbolt and drop the front of the drive shaft at the tranny's output shaft (tape up the u-joint) so you have enough room to slide the tranny back to clear the bellhousing and then you can rotate it. Next, slide it forward and down to get it out and on your chest.

 

Hot dog!!!! I can't wait!!! Thanks Mark. It's been almost 30 years since I last pulled a Muncie but that was in my '69 Z-28.