99.5 Transmission Removal

[jux]

I'm replacing the rear main oil seal on my 3.3L V6 99.5 SE and have everything off according to the service manual and Chiltons manual except for the rear crossmember holding the back of the transmission and the bolts holding the transmission to the engine. My issue is that I can't see the top passenger side bolt holding the transmission to the engine even using mirrors. It appears that the rear brake lines are routed in front of it or are obscuring it. Is there a trick to getting to this bolt? Thanks in advance

 

For full disclosure I have asked this question in 2 other forums but have not received a reply, sorry for cross posting.

Edited March 2, 2010 by jux

[keelhaul]

when i dropped my transmission on my 02 vq35 I accessed the top bolts from the top through the shifter hole. Also if you lower the transmission mount and allow the engine and tranny to tilt back it will give you more room at the bellhousing.

Edited March 2, 2010 by keelhaul

[jux]

Through the shifter is a brilliant idea, I would guess it would have made getting to the crankshaft position sensor a little easier as well. I read about leaning the engine and tranny back a bit to get to the bolts but am worried about what that's going to do to the engine mounts. How much of a tilt would be too much?

[keelhaul]

the engine mounts will be ok. I think i let mine down as far as it would go. I kept the floor jack under it. just go slow and watch for things hanging up. also leave a couple of the easy to get to bolts in on the bottom or side before you undo the top bolts.

[jux]

That did it! Lowered the tranny about 6 inches and was able to snake a long extension with a U-Joint and 9/16 deep socket to get that bolt. Next weekend get to test my mettle at getting everything back together. Thanks for the help.

[jux]

So I have run into an issue. Got the whole thing apart, put the whole thing back together and everything seems to be ok except at high RPM when changing gears I'm getting a loud knock from the transmission like a loose exhaust heat shield but I know that's not it. As part of the procedure I replaced the fluid and the filter and all of that seems ok, level is fine. Any thoughts?

 

Thanks.

 

Edit: I should mention that it happens in park as well.

Edited March 21, 2010 by jux

[jux]

For historical purposes I'm going to finish off this story.

 

Initial problem was an oil leak at the bottom of the transmission bell housing. There was oil elsewhere on the engine but after 200k miles that didn't surprise me. Talked it over with some friends and came to the conclusion it was the rear main oil seal. To replace the RMOS I had to drop the transmission. I followed the Haynes manual and used the service manual to get an idea where some of the parts were because some of them I had to go in blind. I was going to try and list the steps but there were too many. Some notes I can offer from this operation are as follows:

 

1.) I needed two universal joints on a socket to get to the crankshaft sensor on top of the bell housing. It's a blind bolt so it's hard to get to but was easy to put back in.

2.) I had to order the copper crush washers for the transmission line from Nissan, it didn't seem like anyone else had them.

3.) If you are removing the transmission entirely from under the truck take into account the height of the jack when you decide the height you will jack up the truck. Luckily I didn't need to take it out from under the car but the 10 inches I had the truck jacked up was not enough if I wanted to move the transmission from under the truck when using this adapter transmission adapter.

4.) The transmission fill tube is about a half inch too long to remove from the truck when the transmission is on the truck. You have to remove the transmission to remove the transmission fill tube. Conversely when putting the transmission back on make sure to insert the fill tube as you're raising the jack into position.

5.) Two people would be really helpful when lining up the transmission for re-installation.

6.) Do not use water based paint when marking the relative positions of the drive shaft and the drive plate to torque converter. I did and after a few weeks of condensation it was almost entirely gone.

7.) To remove the top bolts on the transmission you have to lower it, use a deep socket on an extension and a universal joint to reach the bolt.

8.) The passenger side upper bell housing bolt has an air line right in front of it. You can get around it, don't work about breaking anything because the bracket that holds the air line in place is held in place by the same bolt you're removing. The whole thing will just fall out once you remove the bolt. The air line is just coming from the back of the transmission and ends about where that bolt is. The end of it just hangs in space.

9.) For putting the bolts back in on top of the bell housing I couldn't get my hand to hold on to the bolt at the same time I was trying to get the socket in place, there was not enough room. I put gasket sealant in the socket, put the bolt in the socket and then waited about 30 minutes to let it set. I was then able to just use the socket with the bolt in it to get it into place and screw it in halfway. the gasket material easily let go when I pulled the socket back out.

10.) The Haynes manual recommended 9 quarts of transmission fluid, the service manual says 7.5, the service manual is right.

 

 

I took the car to the shop after the job was complete to have them look at that rattling I described in a previous post, it turned out it wasn't the transmission at all but the heat cover over the catalytic converter. Not the first time I have been fooled by that tin.

 

And after all of that, the oil leak wasn't from the rear main seal. The oil leak was from the valve cover gaskets leaking down the back of the engine making it look like it was coming from the transmission bell housing. Replacing the valve cover gaskets was a much easier job. Neither the Haynes manual nor the service manual do a good job describing how to remove the upper air intake manifold though.

Edited April 8, 2010 by jux

[fleurys]

Thanks for the update.... I know a lot of people who would have just let it go and say nothing...

 

I also have a small leak that seems to be coming from the bellhousing sqaure window (underneath where the bellhousing meets the engine)... I am pretty sure too that it is the mail seal, but reading your story brings a doubt to me... so I'll go and check the valve covers now..

 

Tks again.

[jux]

Thanks for the update.... I know a lot of people who would have just let it go and say nothing...

 

I also have a small leak that seems to be coming from the bellhousing sqaure window (underneath where the bellhousing meets the engine)... I am pretty sure too that it is the mail seal, but reading your story brings a doubt to me... so I'll go and check the valve covers now..

 

Tks again.

No problem, I know it frustrates me when people don't post the end of the story when it would have been really helpful.

 

If I knew then what I know now I would have gone to the valve cover gaskets first based on the observation of oil on the side of the bellhousing where the dust cover meets the bellhousing. At the time I thought that the oil was getting through the dust cover but after seeing how the tightly the dust cover is bolted to the bell housing I don't think I would have seen oil on the side of the bell housing if it was coming from inside the bell housing.

[Darylkeleny]

Roughly how much oil were you loosing?