WheelinintheR50 Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I have a 98 pathfinder se that this summer i am going to be swapping the transmission in as the current one blew up. the truck is at the shop right now and they want two thousand dollars to fix it. when the pathy died i bought a jetta and the head jaskets going in that. i need to fix this truck now so i can have my 4x4 back. my main question is, how hard is it going to be? i dont have a lift and all off that. its going to be on the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1994SEV6 Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 A transmission swap isn't terrible if you have 4 things 1)SPACE <--this is THE most important part of doing automotive work. And make sure you have the space. Not like "oh, I can use my neighbors driveway for a few days without him knowing. You need your own dedicated space. 2)Time. If you are one of those people who says "Jeez, I don't even have 10 minutes a week to do..blah blah", then this isn't for you. You are going to need to dedicate hours a day until the job is finished. You are going to need time to do the job and time to figure out how to do the job. This might be because you don't have the right tools, or you need to research on NPORA how to do..blah blah. 3)Know-how/experience. Obviously, you need to be somewhat mechanically inclined and you need to know how to properly use a wrench. 4)Tools. Always important, but least important on this list. You can always buy new tools, or borrow them, or somehow improvise. What I have said above is obvious, but you still need to make sure. Going into a project unprepared is the worst thing you can do. This is how it was on my Hardbody, and I can't imagine it will be TOO much different for you. I guess the first thing you would do is remove your driveshafts. Remove your main propeller shaft and your secondary (4x4) driveshaft. For my truck, each end of each driveshaft had 4 14mm bolts. If it's anything like mine, you will need two box end wrenches. A socket won't work. Then you want to unbolt the trans from the engine. You want to unbolt it before unmounting the transmission so it can move freely and not stress the bolts/engine. For me, there were 6 bolts securing the trans to the engine, 6 bolts securing gussets (metal plates that block dirt, mud, etc, from entering the trans) to the trans, and 2 bolts for the starter. You might want to remove the starter first because it's easy and you want to just get it out of the way. Then take the rest of the bolts out. Remembering where they go. Set the gussets aside and continue. The next thing you want to do is unbolt the transmission from the trans cross member. The cross member spans under the transmission and bolts to either side of the frame. You should have two bolts for each side of the frame, and two bolts securing the transmission to the frame. You want to unbolt the middle two bolts first that secure the member to the trans. Once you do that, the trans is loose. R50s don't have torsion bars, so I think I'm correct with the next step. You want to lift the trans with a jack of some sort, and keep it suspended. Then you unbolt the trans cross member from the frame and remove the cross member Once you have the member out, you can remove the trans. Oh wait, before you remove the trans, you need to disconnect cooler lines and wires. That's not really a big deal. Before lowering it, you want to slide it backwards to clear it from the torque converter, THEN you can lower it. Then you slide it out and put the new trans in. Just reverse the steps. I was assuming this is an automatic trans. If it's a manual, then you need to disconnect the slave cylinder line and remove the shifter. Those are about the only differences. I didn't mention how to remove shifter linkages and physical things like that. You can figure that out if you're thinking about doing a trans swap. I did my trans swap on a stock hardbody truck in a gravel driveway on jackstands. I used a floor jack to lift the trans. I was on my own mostly and had a moderate tool supply. Jack up the front and put it on jackstands. It took my quite a long time the first time, but if I did it again, I could probably get it done in two days. Honestly, if I had the space, tools, and parts provided for me, I would do this job for about $300 I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 If this is an automatic: When you're putting the transmission in, make sure you use the new torque converter and do not bolt it to the flex plate then put the transmission in. That would be the easiest way to do it, but there's a seal on the front of the input shaft that if you mess up while installing you're going to hate yourself. The biggest bitch about the whole thing, I think, is getting the torque converter bolted to the flex plate after the transmission is mated to the engine. It's almost an entirely "by feel" process where you have to bend over the fender of the truck and get down in there . A small Philips screwdriver helps to align the bolt holes and then thread the bolts in. There's barely enough room to get your finger tips to the torque converter to spin it and it can test your patience in a hurry. Blow all of the transmission lines and cooler out with compressed air. Installing an aftermarket cooler at the same time wouldn't be a bad idea. The factory cooler in the radiator will be full of dirty contaminated fluid and you don't want that crap circulating back through the new transmission. The same reason why you don't use an old torque converter with a new transmission. If a manual, ignore my post entirely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheelinintheR50 Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 the rig is an automatic and the lowering the transmission safely and without messing up the engine parts is what im worried about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howie Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 (edited) I have a manual with 4WD, and dropped the transmission to replace the release bearing, which is a $40 part for which I didn't want to pay $600 in labor to replace. Anyway, it took me 3 days from start to finish, and had use of a lift with availability of every possible tool including a transmission jack. Good thing, too, because the bolt in the 12 o clock position on the bell housing was impossible to reach without a 6 foot extension for the wrench. You have to stand way at the back of the car and send the extension forward above the drive shaft to reach it. Can't get to it with a standard wrench. I could probably do it in a day now if I still had access to the lift, which I don't. Without the lift, you'll put it up on jacks and use a hydraulic floor jack to lower the transmission. It's do-able, but I'm not sure you should do it without a lift if you haven't done it before, or have an experienced buddy who can help. I'm not sure this will be an issue with your vehicle, but for some reason the rear part of my transmission wouldn't clear the exhaust pipes. So I had to remove the exhaust from the cat back just to drop the transmission, which of course added more time. Also, the clutch slave cylinder was a bitch to get back on, but I finally figured it out. I tore the rubber boot that prevents water from entering the housing around the withdrawal lever, and had to replace it ($10). Don't forget to get the liquid gasket to reseal the bell housing. You won't mess up your engine if you work slowly and make sure everything is disconnected before you lower it. Also, consult the Shop Manual posted elsewhere in this forum before you start. It will give you a step-by-step procedure with diagrams to follow. --Howie Edited January 25, 2012 by Howie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1994SEV6 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 If this is an automatic: When you're putting the transmission in, make sure you use the new torque converter and do not bolt it to the flex plate then put the transmission in. That would be the easiest way to do it, but there's a seal on the front of the input shaft that if you mess up while installing you're going to hate yourself. The biggest bitch about the whole thing, I think, is getting the torque converter bolted to the flex plate after the transmission is mated to the engine. It's almost an entirely "by feel" process where you have to bend over the fender of the truck and get down in there . A small Philips screwdriver helps to align the bolt holes and then thread the bolts in. There's barely enough room to get your finger tips to the torque converter to spin it and it can test your patience in a hurry. Blow all of the transmission lines and cooler out with compressed air. Installing an aftermarket cooler at the same time wouldn't be a bad idea. The factory cooler in the radiator will be full of dirty contaminated fluid and you don't want that crap circulating back through the new transmission. The same reason why you don't use an old torque converter with a new transmission. If a manual, ignore my post entirely. oh jeez! I'm so happy I didn't go from auto to auto. I didn't know you had to reinstall the torque converter like that...sounds terrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheelinintheR50 Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 im doing this trans swap this weekend with some buddies. i bought a used trans for $400 and it came with a transfer case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 im doing this trans swap this weekend with some buddies. i bought a used trans for $400 and it came with a transfer case. That is a STEAL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheelinintheR50 Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 so when dropping the transmission i missed the cps and fudged it all up.. wondering if anyone knows where i can get the whole wire for that i pulled it out of the socket. and so did the place i got my transmission from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheelinintheR50 Posted February 16, 2012 Author Share Posted February 16, 2012 Ok so i fixed that. and the transmission is up and in and im finishing up the assembly tonight and tomorrow i have some pictures of how i did it. i would be willing to post to help out anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheelinintheR50 Posted February 20, 2012 Author Share Posted February 20, 2012 Transmission is in and works good. Glad to enjoy my lift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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