Sorry guys, l know I am doing this the wrong way. I am at a shop and using a cell phone. I need to know if the automatic transmission in my 88 coupe comes out from the bottom easily or must come out with the engine? thanks dd

 

You can remove the transmission only, easier than removing engine and trans together.

A few words of caution, support your engine from tilting backwards and damaging the wiper motor cover ! they are not cheap to replace.
Do not over tighten the diff to trans beam,

Just in case you would like to know the steps here they are.

1 disconnect battery and the TV cable from throttle body and the trans dipstick bolt behind the head and remove dipstick tube assy.
2 put car on stands or hoist,disconnect the oxygen sensor connector and remove the exhaust. ( can drop it down whole by removing bolts from exhaust manifolds, the support bolts just in front of the cat and the rear muffler bolts)
2 remove pan, fluid lines to radiator and drain trans fluid.
3 remove starter motor and flex plate access cover.
4 support engine from tilting backwards.
5 remove tail shaft support beam bolts on transmission.
6 disconnect the shifter cable from trans, speed sensor and electrical connector on transmission.
7 undo the torque converter bolts from flex plate.
8 undo the bolts holding trans to engine then pull slightly backwards including torque converter then you can lower it down.
9 don't forget to flush the radiator trans cooler and lines, before fitting the reco transmission

10 Fit reco trans don't over tighten the trans to diff support beam!

11 The TV cable to throttle body needs to be set correctly!!!!!!!!

Hope it helps I am not near my shop manual but if you need bolt torques, TV adjustment and trans fluid specs let us know

 

Remove the dist.
it allows you to tilt the engine down further to make access to the 2 top bellhousing bolts easier ( over the top of bellhousing from underneath car )

 

Thanks gerardvg and rodj!
I dont know for sure yet if it has to come out to fix the leak, which is between the converter and input shaft at the front of the trans, but probably will know tomorrow. thanks to you guys I now know the procedure. This is the best car club ever! dd

 

If you have access to an FSM, it will be invaluable. You can disassemble and reassembe a car with the information within. It's like a cookbook.

 

I put blocks of wood under my engine to support it and after I got the trans out noticed that the engine was not sitting on the blocks. The motor mounts kept it from tilting down too far in the back. Maybe my car is different from others, but there was no contact with the windshield wiper motor.

My trans dipstick tube was mounted by the top right bellhousing bolt. I pried the dipstick tube out of the trans and left it in place while I pulled the trans out.

I disconnected the rear cat from the rear Y pipe and left the rear Y pipe in place. I put blocks of wood under the front of the Y pipe because the exhaust tips were pressing against the bumper. The rear cat is mounted to the C beam by a hanger and you have to take the cat out to get access to the rear C beam bolts. I didn't remove the C beam. I just slid it back far enough to release the trans. Good luck with the Oetiker clamp on the A.I.R. tube to the cat. That was a real pain to get off and another real pain to get back on.

I had to lower/tilt the trans to get to the flare nuts for the trans cooler lines. Not enough room to get the flare nut wrench in there while the trans was in the normal position. Access to the TV cable bolt was also much easier with the trans tilted down.

My torque converter cover is slotted for the starter so I didn't need to remove the starter. I replaced my trans with one from a '89 and the cover has a round hole for the starter so the starter does have to be removed. I don't know what year the change happened.

I highly recommend draining the fluid before doing any work. It will pour out of the dipstick tube hole and the TV cable hole if you don't. Put the pan back on with the gasket after draining. I put the pan back on with 4 bolts and no gasket. Big mistake. I kept shifting in and out of Park to get to the driveshaft U joint bolts and that changes the fluid connections in the trans and fluid will pour out.

I've done this twice and I found it much easier to reconnect the TV cable with the throttle body end still connected.

 

Hi Daddog
It is a common problem to blow the front seal, it is the seal on the front of the transmission that seals onto the torque converter.

I had my seal blow out after doing several runs at a drag strip
When i had my transmission rebuilt they made a modification to bleed any excess fluid back into the trans pan rather than blow the seal out, have not had a problem since.
This is a well known flaw with standard auto transmissions when they are pushed hard repeatedly,

 

My original '86 trans had the seal blown out. Then when I put in the rebuilt it also blew out. I found out after some research that this is a well-known problem (which makes me wonder why the trans shop didn't fix it when they rebuilt my trans -- they told me the pump had "unusual wear patterns" and replaced it with a rebuilt pump, which should have had the fix in my opinion). The fix is to drill a hole in the pump and then stake the bushing into the hole so it can't move.

Go here and look at the section entitled "Stake the pump bushing":

http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/w...ips_and_tricks

While researching this, I found out that GM changed the design in 1987-1/2 to put a lip in the pump so the bushing can't walk and push the seal out. You can buy a newer pump (they all interchange). I priced one at Bow Tie Overdrives at $225.

A friend of mine gave me the 700r4 out of his '89, so I solved the problem that way...

 

I need to decide to just have the sesl(s) replaced or have the the entire trans rebuilt. About 600$ for seals, 3000$ plus for a rebuit.
The trans runs fine except for the leak. What is a normal price for a rebuilt? Is this 700r4 a special trans? where would you guys go for a rebuild in the san diego CA area? Thanks to all for the education so far, I am learning from you! dd

 

any help with this? I need to deal with this and want some guidance from you guys
about a transmission shop in the san diego CA area................. dd

 

Is there a easy way to remove those fluid lines going to the radiator? Right now from what I see the best way to remove them is to remove the filler tube. Any other techniques?

 

oh yeah mine is a 93'

 

Look at line #1, the dipstick tube must come out anyway.

 

I was able to pull the filler tube out of the trans, but for some reason it feels like it has something else is attached to the tube because the tube wont pull all the way out. Maybe it just fits in there so tight.

 

Some of them are tight and the angle is all wrong for pulling it straight up. Wish I had a magic trick to offer, but you will need patience and persistence, good luck.

 

I finally have some time to continue working on removing the transmission. I am looking at the best way to support the engine and keep it from tilting backwards. It looks like to me the best way is to put some type of jack under the oil pan. My question is the oil pan strong enough to hold the weight? If not what other way would you support the weight?

 

Please contact me for a professional consultation regarding your needs. We are happy to provide you with references both here in the United States and Internationally. Be sure to check out our website at maddogtransmissions.com

Hear what our customers and fans say on our Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/maddogtransmissions

We also accept orders over the phone. Be sure to contact us and we will recommend the correct transmission for your application. For your convenience, we accept PayPal and all major credit and debit cards.

If you prefer, we can call you personally, just e-mail us your phone number.

All our transmissions are very strong and reliable, and can be used for everyday driving. Extended warranties are also available.

Thank You,
"Mad Dog" Lou

Mad Dog Transmissions
Phone 770-781-0949
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I just did this Monday... Trans back in Tuesday. Details on Wed. & Thurs. Drove it for the first time today.

I couldn't get to the cooler lines until I dropped the rear of the trans. Not enough room between the trans and the tunnel to turn a wrench. I have a Proto flare nut wrench and I couldn't get it on the flare nuts until the trans was tilted down.

I put blocks of wood under the engine oil pan. Once the trans is disconnected the motor mounts will hold it. My engine lifted off the blocks of wood about 1/4" after I unbolted the trans.

I don't know the configuration of your dipstick tube, but mine is held in place by the top right bellhousing bolt. I just left it in place and it was held by all the wiring and other stuff around it.

 

Thanks for the info Cliff

 

My 88 is back from the shop. They could not get a GM rebuilt 700r4, and did not want to deal with another brand, so I had them just replace the front pump seal and "O" ring and the tail shaft seal and the speedometer sensor seal and the shifter shaft seal. At the front pump seal there is both a gasket and an "O" ring. My total cost was just a few dollars over a thousand$. No big news here, I just wanted to finish the story and thank you people that jumped in with advice and information. dd