Back yard 96 Taurus transmission swap opinion

[thisnametooktolong]

The shop has been a little slow, so I have taken a little project to home. I have never ever played musical transmissions in this type of car without the benefit of a lift, stands, and a tranny jack. What I am trying to say is that I am doing a grass roots swap without the benefits of even air ratchets. Now that I have really looked at it, it looks to me like it would be far easier to just yank the tranny and motor as a piece and then swap the tranny and replace the motor/tranny. I do have a cherry picker at home that I purchased back in the late 70s..... So what du you think, pull the whole thing or just drop the tranny?????????

[wafrederick]

The transmission comes out from the bottom and a special jig to hold the engine up is required.Make sure you get the right transmission,interchange is 1996 only.

[thisnametooktolong]

Originally Posted by wafrederick

The transmission comes out from the bottom and a special jig to hold the engine up is required.Make sure you get the right transmission,interchange is 1996 only.

I think you neeed to read my post again.

And never mind;
After performing this swap a few times with what you would call a special stand. I would say that it a far simpler and takes a slightly less amount of time to just pull the entire assembly in the back yard. It took 6.5 hrs and the fastest I ever did it in the shop was 7. I rank what the book says right up there with Monza V8 spark plugs (see chapter bla bla to remove engine) the GM 2.5l water pump (about 2hrs by the book and 45 min witha brain) and lets not forget the mid 80s thunderbird heater core. there is also others, like the GM 3.8l water pump that can be done in a few min with a dremal tool or an hr by the book. The list is too long to complete so I will just leave it at that.
I am not a mechanic, and I tell that to my clientele. My shop does not even have a sign out front. I have been playing with and restoring automobiles for 30 years and I still have no idea why the books say to disconnect the battery 90% of the time. I also have no idea why people think that it takes some sort of Einstein to repair a transmission; I have a cousin that dropped out of the 9th grade that owns three transmission shops in the New Orleans area!

[rdh2]

As far as pulling the motor/trans, the issue becomes the amount of room to maneuver the combo out the top. Far easier in my mind to drop the subframe and pull the trans out the bottom.

That being said, if you come to a forum to ask advice, take all the advice given and formulate your own opinions. Everyone has different opinions and varying skill levels. Remember, your the one who asked the question!!!

[wafrederick]

You cannot do this job without the special jig to hold the engine up,all there is left holding the engine up is the wiring hoses and gas lines after the transmission is removed.

[thisnametooktolong]

Originally Posted by rdh2

As far as pulling the motor/trans, the issue becomes the amount of room to maneuver the combo out the top. Far easier in my mind to drop the subframe and pull the trans out the bottom.

That being said, if you come to a forum to ask advice, take all the advice given and formulate your own opinions. Everyone has different opinions and varying skill levels. Remember, your the one who asked the question!!!

I have dropped the tranny out the bottom more than twice, and it is always a pain dealing with the cradle and the steering rack. Then it is also a matter of working around the support system for the engine and the engine cradle. A couple of two by fours and carpet works very well. ( I guess that is the so called special tools)

To yank the engine/tranny out is very simple in that car. I know that it looks tight but it is not.

Yank the hood, all the wires unplug accept the grounds bolted to the firewall and the main power wire to the fuse box. Remove the steering pump hoses and the two bolts that support the high pressure line. Remove the right side fan, unbolt the power A/C pump. Unfasten the lower ball joints, and yank the half shafts with the steering turned from lock to lock. Unfasten the rear motor mount with the two horizontal bolts. Unscrew the front mount via the one big bolt to the frame/cradle. Remove the battery and the box. Unfasten the single right side motor mount. Don’t even bother with the rear exhaust bolts just cut them with a 4 inch grinder. Its OK they will just twist out by hand. Unfasten the two exhaust support bolts.

Lift the engine about 4 inches, Remove the front right motor mount via the two horizontal bolts. remove left side mount bracket by twisting the engine a little to gain access to the rear bolts. Scoot the A/C pump off to the side
The engine comes right up, and there is lots of room. That is unless you have only worked on pre 1980s pickup trucks. Then it is very tight

Now maybe I am a little biased about the process because I hate working under the car. Maybe I am biased because I hade to replace a rusted out oil pan.