Transmission Removal

I have a 1995 Windstar with around 150,000 miles on it. Reciently, it began leaking tranny fluid between the motor and transmission. Upon deciding to remove the tranny and replace the front seal I thought I should ask for a few tips on removal of the axles.

I haven't dealt with front wheel drives much so I wanted to make sure there aren't any special tools or tricks I need to have before I continue. Do they simply slide out of the tranny?

I have the tranny almost conpletely unbolted, motor secured with an A-Frame winch, and have loosened the four bolts secureing the subframe. I have also disconnected the control arms and other suspension components that are tied to the subframe. My plan is to drop the subframe and slide the axles out one at a time without tampering with alignment adjustments.

Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated!

Thanks all!
Glenn

I have a 95 that I bought with a bad mtr.
Remove eng and tran at one time
easy way to go
can remove eng only but tricky
remove trans requires to much disruption of parts for the layman
take trans and all at one time
its easy
takes time to disconnect all the stuff
tag everything and take lots of pics
skip :nono:

Hi Glenn,

I have not done a tranny removal but have replaced the CV half shafts before. They are held in by a circlip (sp?) which is like a washer that is cut at one point. I have had luck using a pry bar between the tranny and the "head" of the CV shaft and prying it free. Not too difficult. However, manuals are careful to recommend not pulling both CV shafts at once as they say a ring gear in the tranny will fall out of place. So, be sure and investigate that before you continue. Re-installing CV shafts is pretty simple. You simply "stuff" the circlip into the tranny opening and push the shaft in until the circlip seats itself. On the OEM shafts there may be a small journal where you can get the head of a standard screwdriver or punch to tap the shaft into place.

Good luck. Big job. Let us know how you do.

Mel

Hey Glenn
Regarding "However, manuals are careful to recommend not pulling both CV shafts at once as they say a ring gear in the tranny will fall out of place." I did some looking in both my Haynes and my Ford factory manual and they said nothing regarding this. As I recall my Tempo manual had this warning - it however was a manual transmission. So forge ahead. Btw, my haynes manual did indicate that to pull the half shafts from the tranny that a slide hammer with a hook type attachement may be useful

Mel

Haven't messed with anything that new. '91 Escort is the latest. Says you should put a wood dowel about 7/8" diameter in the half shaft holes when you extract them due to possibility of gears falling and necessitating dismantling of transmission to rectify. Also make sure when you reinstall half shafts that the circlip is properly seated. Book says you should not use the old ones but buy new. Your call. They are seated when you can not easily pull the half shaft out. Not sure if you still need a puller for removing wheel hub from half shaft yet. Nasty design. Hope my info isn't misleading. Good luck. Dan

Well, I finally tackled finishing removing the tranny. I had thought about removing tranny and engine togther, but was already too far along at this point to go that route.

It actually came out pretty easily. I was supprised. Once you get the sub-frame out of the way and everything loose it's a pretty easy drop to the ground. Prying the axles out with the screwdriver worked great as well! Thanks for all the tips.

Now I just have to get some parts and find the time to re-install it.

Thanks again to everyone!

Glenn