Hey guys and gals... Can I, a guy with better mechanical skills than most of my friends, do a torque converter change? I am definately no expert though. I have done things like water pump, thermostat, alternator, and stuff like that but this just sounds like a big scary job to me. Thanks ya'll.
Can average Joe change a torque converter?
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249 Posts
cannot stress that enough! trying to do the job while balancing the tranny makes it THAT much harder.
And the patience as well is a big factor...this job will take you some time and you will probably get irritated a time or two
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1,033 Posts
its big a scary cause its big and heavy. But not to technical. when putting the converter into the tranny after you get it out, make sure its all the way in. they will go in kinda in 2 stages, you have to wiggle it up and down a bit to get it line up on a second set of splines then it will slip all the way in. Good luck.
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602 Posts
Its heavy.
You need a tranny jack or at least a fllor jack with a plate welded to hold a trans.
The truck is too low to take the trans on/off the jack safely under the truck.
The exhaust hanger is a SOB, I use a big pry bar while on a lift. Not sure how hard that will be to get past with a little craftsman screwdriver while laying beside a nearly falling trans...... O.O
Remove drive shafts.
Remove T-Case. This may be rather hard to do. You can leave this on, but the whole thing is much heavier.... and I assume you are doing it with half of the wrong tools and half of the helpfull experience.
Remove the shield from the block on the passanger side as well as the shield from under the converter.
Rotate the flexplate using a flat screwdriver on the teeth of the flexplate. Grab a tooth and pry the screwdriver against the edge of the bellhousing. Your going to move 1-2 teeth per pull, take your time.
Before you remove too much, get the wire harness unpluged, I think there are 4, maybe 5. The cable that comes back from that bracket on the front just pops off. Make sure you go front to back and clear it of all that would get ripped to shreds if you dropped it!
Once the convertor is unbolted, slide the trans back.
We did this because we can get the convertor away from the flexplate in under and inch, to get the trans from the convertor takes multiples of inches!
Lower and pull back on the trans, you should be able to get back and down enough to get the convertor out and the new one in.
Fill the new one with fluid at least part way, and slide it on the input and pump. Yes, there are at least 2 "bumps" or "notches" as you put it on the trans!
Work the trans back up and forward and you should be able to get a couple bolts started to help you draw it in. This is going to suck on your back! Enjoy.
Once you get it pulled in with the bolts, get the converter bolts and start loosely bolting as you turn the flexplate with that handy screwdriver to get from bolt hole to bolt hole. Heck, at this point you almost got'er beat!
As fast you can, start slamming bolts tight, tossing plugs back onto connectors, jamming drive shafts back onto the T-case that you just picked back up and reinstalled...or not if you never took it apart.
Fill fluid after a quick 20 second cycle through the gears in the garage.
Start and cycle the valve body one more time and check fluid again.
Go burn some tire.
When your done, depending on how things go for you..... you may hate yourself for not just paying someone with a lift 5 hrs labor for that job! At $80 an hour and $400 for the job, I would personally not desire to do this on my back.
I know....... some guys can do this one handed, in the rain, on a gravel driveway with a 20 degree slope.
You need a tranny jack or at least a fllor jack with a plate welded to hold a trans.
The truck is too low to take the trans on/off the jack safely under the truck.
The exhaust hanger is a SOB, I use a big pry bar while on a lift. Not sure how hard that will be to get past with a little craftsman screwdriver while laying beside a nearly falling trans...... O.O
Remove drive shafts.
Remove T-Case. This may be rather hard to do. You can leave this on, but the whole thing is much heavier.... and I assume you are doing it with half of the wrong tools and half of the helpfull experience.
Remove the shield from the block on the passanger side as well as the shield from under the converter.
Rotate the flexplate using a flat screwdriver on the teeth of the flexplate. Grab a tooth and pry the screwdriver against the edge of the bellhousing. Your going to move 1-2 teeth per pull, take your time.
Before you remove too much, get the wire harness unpluged, I think there are 4, maybe 5. The cable that comes back from that bracket on the front just pops off. Make sure you go front to back and clear it of all that would get ripped to shreds if you dropped it!
Once the convertor is unbolted, slide the trans back.
We did this because we can get the convertor away from the flexplate in under and inch, to get the trans from the convertor takes multiples of inches!
Lower and pull back on the trans, you should be able to get back and down enough to get the convertor out and the new one in.
Fill the new one with fluid at least part way, and slide it on the input and pump. Yes, there are at least 2 "bumps" or "notches" as you put it on the trans!
Work the trans back up and forward and you should be able to get a couple bolts started to help you draw it in. This is going to suck on your back! Enjoy.
Once you get it pulled in with the bolts, get the converter bolts and start loosely bolting as you turn the flexplate with that handy screwdriver to get from bolt hole to bolt hole. Heck, at this point you almost got'er beat!
As fast you can, start slamming bolts tight, tossing plugs back onto connectors, jamming drive shafts back onto the T-case that you just picked back up and reinstalled...or not if you never took it apart.
Fill fluid after a quick 20 second cycle through the gears in the garage.
Start and cycle the valve body one more time and check fluid again.
Go burn some tire.
When your done, depending on how things go for you..... you may hate yourself for not just paying someone with a lift 5 hrs labor for that job! At $80 an hour and $400 for the job, I would personally not desire to do this on my back.
I know....... some guys can do this one handed, in the rain, on a gravel driveway with a 20 degree slope.
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923 Posts
theyre heavy as hell, i pulled one out of a first gen using my arms and knee and pulling it down onto my chest (im a hefty fella, and transfercase detached of course, i didnt have a death wish). and i dont reccomend doing that, i struggled with that trans and new trannys are bigger and much heavier. trans jack makes the job a wholllle lot easier
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