Having trouble replacing transmission mounts

[Dave1027]

Not going so easy. The exhaust is in the way plus heat shields. I got the cross member off but can't see a way to get the mounts out. There is just not enough clearance to get a socket up on top to get to the nuts.

Maybe if I lower the tranny a little? Would that be OK?

[Dave1027]

I ended up bailing on this job and put the cross member back in. There must be a special tool or a trick that I could not figure out. Begs the question, has anybody here done this job? Maybe the automatic is harder.

I proceeded on to the tranny maintenance. I did a fluid and filter change. Took about 6 quarts of ATF. I could tell the tranny had never been touched (95K miles). The fill and drains were factory tight. The GM trannys must have changed slightly over the years. The DIYs I saw posted mentioned using a T40 torx and a T45 but mine was T45 for both.

It is so much smoother now. Shifts perfectly.

[danewilson77]

I ended up bailing on this job and put the cross member back in. There must be a special tool or a trick that I could not figure out. Begs the question, has anybody here done this job? Maybe the automatic is harder.

I proceeded on to the tranny maintenance. I did a fluid and filter change. Took about 6 quarts of ATF. I could tell the tranny had never been touched (95K miles). The fill and drains were factory tight. The GM trannys must have changed slightly over the years. The DIYs I saw posted mentioned using a T40 torx and a T45 but mine was T45 for both.

It is so much smoother now. Shifts perfectly.

Yes. Several have done this job.



Sent from the HTC DNA, Williamsburg, VA and USA

[Dave1027]

Yes. Several have done this job.
Well, if somebody could help with a tip, I'm all ears. Only thing I could think of is removing the exhaust and heatshields. Not sure this job is worth all that though.

[danewilson77]

37 should help you.

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?p=37358

Sent from the HTC DNA, Williamsburg, VA and USA

[Hornung418]

I did this job in the street on my back. The transmission needs to be jacked up after you loosen the top mounts on the trans bushes. Then undo the carrier and pull that. Reverse install for a trouble free job. Takes maybe 3 hours from lifting the front end to cleaning the tools.

From a GS3, this was sent.

[Dave1027]

37 should help you.

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?p=37358



Thanks, Dane

The DIY you linked to shows basically what I was up against. Everything went pretty smooth till I got to this part:

Step 6: Loosen the Tops of the Transmission Mounts

This is the fun part and unfortunately my pictures that show the mounts in place did not turn out very well. Thus the image in this step shows the bracket already out of the car with the mounts still in place - use it as a reference for locating the nuts on top of the mounts while still in the car.
Use your 13mm box wrench to loosen the nuts on top of both transmission mounts.
Remove the nuts.
This is a royal pain in the ass and it takes patience to do it right - be careful not to strip the nuts.

This guy says the heatshields must be removed. Even that is not an easy task.

[Dave1027]

I did this job in the street on my back. The transmission needs to be jacked up after you loosen the top mounts on the trans bushes. Then undo the carrier and pull that. Reverse install for a trouble free job. Takes maybe 3 hours from lifting the front end to cleaning the tools.
Did you also remove the heatshields? Did you find the hardest part was getting to the nuts on the top side of the transmission flanges to remove the mounts?

[alexandre]

Drop the exhaust, but go to a mechanics to have the 4 header bolts loosened prior. It's maybe 10 bolts in total plus these 4. You won't be able to remove the heat shields without dropping the exhaust - I tried when I did my shift bushings.

[Hornung418]

Did you also remove the heatshields? Did you find the hardest part was getting to the nuts on the top side of the transmission flanges to remove the mounts?

I can't recall. I think the fuel filter protection plate was down and possible the exhaust shield was loosened. The nuts are different shaped and required some fiddling to get free. When I'm working on my car I just take everything off that comes as an obstacle. Don't be afraid. I did all of this without a book or a procedure. Only checked for torque values and even then I couldn't get in there with my wrench.

From a GS3, this was sent.

[Dave1027]

Drop the exhaust, but go to a mechanics to have the 4 header bolts loosened prior. It's maybe 10 bolts in total plus these 4. You won't be able to remove the heat shields without dropping the exhaust - I tried when I did my shift bushings.Well, that was what I was afraid of. Not really scared. It's just that I'm a lazy bastard and I'm getting tired of crawling under the car. :(

[LivesNearCostco]

I think I had to remove one heat shield. Did not have to drop the exhaust, though that would have made it much easier. The heat shielding piece was held by three 10mm nuts and you slide it out from under (from above) the exhaust. Dropping exhaust is also not hard as long as manifold nuts are not stuck, just tedious because you have to disconnect it in 5 or 6 places and it's one piece weighing ~50lb. May have to do that again soon to look at CSB.

Could not get socket on the 13mm nuts holding mounts to transmission--used a combo wrench for that. Instructions for E46 with 5-speed may be slightly different because that transmission is slightly shorter than the ZHP 6-speed.


Thanks, Dane
The DIY you linked to shows basically what I was up against. Everything went pretty smooth till I got to this part:
This guy says the heatshields must be removed. Even that is not an easy task.

[Dave1027]

I think I may have been able to break those 13mm nuts loose with something like this
http://solr.bccampus.ca/bcc/file/b87f4760-bd3c-a250-f5f5-3212b94e126d/1/BC-Campus-Col-Repair-and-Ref-Prep.zip/BC-Campus-Col-Repair-and-Ref-Prep/5000-tools_and_equipment/5001-hand_tools/5001-assets/crows-foot-wrench-with-ratchet.jpg

[derbo]

Oddly enough, everytime I replaced it, the exhaust was off and driveshaft..so the transmission dropped a bit to gain access to the top bolts.

[Lespaulman16]

Professional suggestion: Line wrench crows foot and an incredible amount of patience.

Real world suggestion: Soak everything with PB Blaster. Wobble extension, universal joint, thinnest walled socket you can find. Hammer the socket on to the nut by banging on the end of the extension. Impact gun, brrp brrp. She's gravy.