transmission removal which bolts come out ?

[mr41cadillac]

ok i got the drive shaft out. now for transmission removal. lokks like 4 big bolts hold it inbehind the flywheel? are those the ones to remove or does flywhhel come out? also my mechanic said remove linkage any suggestion are greatly appreciated. thanks for yalls advice on the drive shaft. were are going to go thre entire engine and transmission. john

[harry s]

John, Those four (3/4") bolts hold the transmission to the bell housing should be last to come out. You need to remove the shift linkage (2), speedometer cable and cross member. The cross member is also the rear motor mount, so you will need to support the rear of the engine. When all is disconnected and bolts removed slide the transmission rearward until the input shaft clears the bell housing and then drop it down. We are talking about a standard shift I hope.  If not the procedure is a little different. Disconnect the linkage, remove speedo cable. Support the rear of the engine and then remove the front transmission inspection cover, remove multiple bolts around flywheel , remove the rear cross member, support transmission with a suitable jack, then remove bolts holding the front housing to the engine block.  Good Luck,  Harry

[mr41cadillac]

harry thanks yes its a standard shift. i already have the oil pan off so do i need to put it back on to support the rear of the engine ? also i assume in your reply that the last 4 sentences apply to an automatic ? thanks john

[Steve Passmore]

Harry's comprehensive reply tells you everything you need to know, as you say, the last part is for Auto.  Its best to have the pan on the support the engine but its possible to pull the engine and gearbox together if you wanted to.

[Jay Friedman]

I would just like to add that a good way to support the engine is to put a solid piece of wood, such as a 6 or 8 inch length of 2" x 4", on a floor jack and raise the jack and piece of wood snugly against the rear of the oil pan.  The wood protects the oil pan from damage from the jack.

Also, the manual transmission is pretty heavy; you can lower (and raise) it on a 2nd jack--the best is a transmission jack--or it can be done with 2 guys, the second person acting as a helper.

[Mike Simmons 938]

I would also suggest cutting the heads off two 3" or longer  bolts, cutting a slot in each so that you can use them as removable studs. That way, you loosen and remove the two top bolts first and replace them with these headless wonders. They support the trans once you start sliding it out of the clutch (protects the fingers of the clutch.
Reverse the procedure when installing the trans.
Mike Simmons 938

[mr41cadillac]

ok thanks everyone i got it out with 2 floor jacks. looks like green paint on transmission was this the original color and if so where can it be bought reasonable? thanks