1995 Impala SS - Transmission Removal and Reinstallation

Hi All,

11 months ago, my Impala stopped getting power to the rear wheels and its been parked ever since. You can read up on that story here:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=974223


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Well, since that time, Ive done nothing but research everything about the transmission, shop around for good replacements, and finding the courage to tackle the job myself.



I finally jacked up the car a couple weekends ago, started the car, put the transmission in various gears and checked to see what happened.

Results:


Reverse: Wheels would not move under acceleration. Wheels hard to move by hand.
Neutral: Wheels spun freely by hand.
OD: Wheels did not move under acceleration. Wheels hard to move by hand.
D: Wheels can very very barely move under hard acceleration. Wheels move fine by hand.
2nd: Same results as D.
1st: Same results as OD.
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So this weekend, I decided to go ahead and remove the transmission myself and install a stock one with 97k miles on the clock. This is a temporary fix so I can at least move the car around while saving up for the proper transmission (engine is a 383).


Last night, I took the time to PB Blaster all the bolts on the driveshaft, exhaust hangers, and the transmission pan. I was disappointed to see that the pan does not have a drain plug.


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Transmision Pan

This morning, I removed the transmisson pan bolts one by one, losening the last two enough to let the fluid drain.

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac208/lt1silverhawk/1995%20Impala%20SS%20Transmission/DSC03466.jpg




After removing the pan, I noticed that there were no metal shavings but the fluid looked very dark brownish. Is that normal?

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac208/lt1silverhawk/1995%20Impala%20SS%20Transmission/DSC03469.jpg




Here is how the pan looked after draining all the fluid:

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac208/lt1silverhawk/1995%20Impala%20SS%20Transmission/DSC03471.jpg



Here is a view of the transmission without the pan. Everythig look ok so far?

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac208/lt1silverhawk/1995%20Impala%20SS%20Transmission/DSC03476.jpg


http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac208/lt1silverhawk/1995%20Impala%20SS%20Transmission/DSC03475.jpg



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Driveshaft

The driveshaft bolts are super stiff. Despite being heavily sprayed with PB Blaster, one of them just would not budge and I stripped the head.

So now Im headed over to Autozone to buy a bolt extractor.

Stripped head on the right.

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac208/lt1silverhawk/1995%20Impala%20SS%20Transmission/Picture001.jpg

hello again. your fluid looks burn't. should not smell strong and be a red brown at most. looks more like gray brown color bad.

I suspect a major transmission part cracked causing this. you will be able to get this repaired .

on the hardware removal , use 6 point sockets. also with a small propane torch heat the stubburn bolts till they get hot then gradually apply torque to loosen..

what did the pickup filter media look like on the tranny filter ?

use this for more help: http://www.gmhightechperformance.com/tech/0310htp_1996_chevy_impala_ss_pro_torque_converter_ install/index.html

hello again. your fluid looks burn't. should not smell strong and be a red brown at most. looks more like gray brown color bad.

I suspect a major transmission part cracked causing this. you will be able to get this repaired .

on the hardware removal , use 6 point sockets. also with a small propane torch heat the stubburn bolts till they get hot then gradually apply torque to loosen..

what did the pickup filter media look like on the tranny filter ?

use this for more help: http://www.gmhightechperformance.com/tech/0310htp_1996_chevy_impala_ss_pro_torque_converter_ install/index.html


Hey j cAT!

Good to hear from you as always.

The fluid was a very darky, murky brown and definitely had a nasty smell to it.

Unfortunately, I did not have a torch on hand so I just had to patiently wait for the PB Blaster to kick in. All the other bolts have come off with no issues so far. But I will definitely keep that trick in mind the next time Im in a similar situation.

Im glad you reminded me of the 6-point sockets. Need to add more to my collection.

I did not look at the the filter before putting the pan back on but will inspect it as soon as I have it off.

BTW, thanks for the article. It has helped immensely.

Driveshaft - cont'd.

I bought four bolts and a retainer strap for the driveshaft from a local Chevy dealership. They only had one retainer strap in stock but was told to try other local dealerships. Apparently NAPA also sells everything as a set.



Next I headed over to the local Harbor Freight and bought a set of bolt extractors. Almost got run over by two new Corollas in the parkinglot just going to and from the store :frown:


So then, I took a phat nap.


Once back into to it, I resprayed all four bolts with PB Blaster and waited for it to kick in.


I was able to loosen the stripped bolt with the #12 extractor, which threw me off because I thought it would the the #11. So I decided to try the #12 socket and it come out just fine. The three remaining bolts came out with no issues.

Before removing the bolts and straps completely, I placed a jack under the rear of the driveshaft. After removing the bolts and straps, I had to pry out the u-joint from the yoke using a flat screw driver. once it was out, it slid right out of the tailshaft.


Once the removal was done, I inspected everything.



The old retainer straps appear to be fine:

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac208/lt1silverhawk/1995%20Impala%20SS%20Transmission/Picture048-1.jpg




A rubber boot slipped off one end of the u-joint but it didnt appear to be damaged.

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac208/lt1silverhawk/1995%20Impala%20SS%20Transmission/Picture055-1.jpg




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Torque Converter / Flexplate inspection Shield

With the driveshaft out, I tackled the torque converter / flexplate inspection shield next. This one was missing a bolt and the rest were different sizes (1 #13, 1 #14 and 1 #15). No doubt the last shop's fault.


The shield came out after some wiggling and had some transmission fluid inside of it, which I suspect got in there when I was draining the pan.


http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac208/lt1silverhawk/1995%20Impala%20SS%20Transmission/Picture051.jpg



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Exhaust


After the inspection shield, I loosened the four bolts that attach the exhuast to the cats.

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac208/lt1silverhawk/1995%20Impala%20SS%20Transmission/Picture026-1.jpg



Judging from the pictures and accompanying captions I saw in the aritcle provided by jcAT, I thought loosening or removing the four bolts would allow the exhaust to separate from the cats but it didn't. I imagine I would have to loosen the exhaust clamp at the "H".


http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac208/lt1silverhawk/1995%20Impala%20SS%20Transmission/Picture013.jpg



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Calling It a Day...

So I ended the day by running into a few problems:


Could not find the shift linkage
No idea where the TV cable goes
How to remove the dipstick/tube
Loosen the exhaust enought to have more space to work.
I took a few pictures of places that I could not properly see in the dark.


Since I have never seen a damaged torque converter, I will assume it is fine until I am able to remove it.

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac208/lt1silverhawk/1995%20Impala%20SS%20Transmission/Picture042-1.jpg




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Sunday, November 14, 2010

So this morning, after posting last night's remaining pictures and findings, I decided to reshoot some of the pictures because some didn't come out well. I also found some answers to the issues I ran into the previous night.



I believe I found the shift linkage, aka the shift shaft.

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac208/lt1silverhawk/1995%20Impala%20SS%20Transmission/Picture047.jpg




After checking the dipstick tube from the replacement transmission, it seems like it is bolted down somwehere behind the gine, but I can't see where. At this point, Im thinking I may be able to remove the tube, along with other hard to reach connectors, once the transmission is unbolted from the engine.

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac208/lt1silverhawk/1995%20Impala%20SS%20Transmission/Picture029-1.jpg





... Work week begins tomorrow. Might not get to anything under the car until Tuesday, or this weekend. In the mean time, I'll see if I can start prepping the replacement trans and order and updated shift kit for it.

Hey there. These transmissions are fairly easy to come out. There problems that you are listing are fairly common and understandable. The dipstick tube bolts up on to the passenger side head. It is jsut one 13 or 15 mm bolt or should be if the shop has used the right one. The exhaust you should take off completely this way you can pivot the engine back to get to the upper transmission bolts and see the bolt of the dipstick. The side case plug you can just pop out with a flat blade screw driver. It sounds like the front pump on the tranny went out

Hey there. These transmissions are fairly easy to come out. There problems that you are listing are fairly common and understandable. The dipstick tube bolts up on to the passenger side head. It is jsut one 13 or 15 mm bolt or should be if the shop has used the right one. The exhaust you should take off completely this way you can pivot the engine back to get to the upper transmission bolts and see the bolt of the dipstick. The side case plug you can just pop out with a flat blade screw driver. It sounds like the front pump on the tranny went out

Hey dorfboy,

Thank you for your words of encouragement as well as tips!

This is my first transmission so I am taking my sweet time about it while documenting everything.

I didn't take a closer look yet but I think there is just enough space behind the engine to unbolt the dipstick tube with a wrench.

Is the side case plug the big round gray electronic thing with the orange arrow pointing downward?

Thanks again!


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Wednesday, November 17, 2010

I will not have a chance to work on the transmission again until this Friday.

I did invest in some socket extensions a Harbor Freight yesterday to reach the 6 bellhousing bolts.

I also found quite a few videos in youtube that detail the tear down of a 700r4. I figure these will come in handy once the transmission is off and ready for inspection.


A few questions:

What is good source for transmission bolts? I assume I can't just pick 'em up at Home Depot (though I did do that when putting an engine onto a stand and they've been fine) and should visit a local performance or transmission shop instead.


Can a transmission be mounted to a regular engine stand since they have the same bolt locations? Just to make it easier to roll around and work on. I checked online and saw super expensive rigs that I am not ready to purchase.