I am thinking of atempting to remove a th350 tranny from my 67 nova.Has anyone done this with out a lift? Is it possible to get enough clearance with the car on blocking. I might make a flat plate to put on top of my floor jack to hold the tranny. Any tips on this would be greatly appreciated...Thanks !
removing th350 trans
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I've never done a 2nd gen Nova, but plenty of other GM's on my back. As well as getting the car as high as possible make sure it's safe, you will have to remove the distributor cap to tilt the engine back. It's usually easier to undo the bell housing with a long extension, after you tilt the engine and tranny down or back you'll have better access to the bolt. Sometimes the top 2 are easiest to get from under the hood. Be careful they're heavy and awkward when you're on your back.
TH350 removal
You can remove your tranny without a rack. It's a little more work. You will need to put the car on stable jackstands or blocks at a height that will allow your tranny and jack to slide out without hanging up on your undercarriage. A transmission jack is the easiest and safest way to go. However, I have done a number of them with just a floor jack. A plate made from 3/4 plywood will work. A good rachet strap attached to the jack and over the tranny will help stabalize the tranny. The worst part is when the tranny separates from the motor. The tranny will be very front heavy, the center of gravity will actually be near the front of the pan. Watch for precarious wobbles. A slip won't do your tranny or body parts any good. I would recommend one or two helpers. It's a piece of cake then. One on the jack handle and the other helping you stabalize the tranny on the jack. Of course, if you and one of your friends can each bench press 300#, you don't need the jack or other helper.
You can remove your tranny without a rack. It's a little more work. You will need to put the car on stable jackstands or blocks at a height that will allow your tranny and jack to slide out without hanging up on your undercarriage. A transmission jack is the easiest and safest way to go. However, I have done a number of them with just a floor jack. A plate made from 3/4 plywood will work. A good rachet strap attached to the jack and over the tranny will help stabalize the tranny. The worst part is when the tranny separates from the motor. The tranny will be very front heavy, the center of gravity will actually be near the front of the pan. Watch for precarious wobbles. A slip won't do your tranny or body parts any good. I would recommend one or two helpers. It's a piece of cake then. One on the jack handle and the other helping you stabalize the tranny on the jack. Of course, if you and one of your friends can each bench press 300#, you don't need the jack or other helper.
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1,311 Posts
this guy is dead on..... i have a 66 & i usually remove the cap & dist. get the 2 top ones w/ an open end from under the hood, remove the cross member & tilt that motor down, then u should be able to see the 2 side bolts, w/ a really, really , really long extension ( like 20in's ), a swivel & a impact gun u should be able to hit them. hopefully u'll have a couple of friends there also one to work the jack & the 2nd to help u muscle the tranny from motor & help u keep it steady on the jack. good luck with it...
JOHN
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385 Posts
I have done plenty of trannys with just a regular jack. You'll be fine. Just be carefull.
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make shift long dowels
get 2 - 3/8 coarse hardened bolts that are about 4 inches long , cut the bolt heads off of them. I like to screw one in the bottom hole in the transmission on each side after you remove the bolt and save the next bolt up to be the last one you remove. This will let the transmission rest there once you get all of the bolts loose and let you slide the converter out of the groove in the crank evenly while pulling on the transmission from the rear.
When you go to re-install the transmission , this will give you something to get the transmission started on , and a place to let it rest if needed
get 2 - 3/8 coarse hardened bolts that are about 4 inches long , cut the bolt heads off of them. I like to screw one in the bottom hole in the transmission on each side after you remove the bolt and save the next bolt up to be the last one you remove. This will let the transmission rest there once you get all of the bolts loose and let you slide the converter out of the groove in the crank evenly while pulling on the transmission from the rear.
When you go to re-install the transmission , this will give you something to get the transmission started on , and a place to let it rest if needed
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350 Posts
done this a few times on my 66 alone,
as others said, get the car high supported on good jack stands at the front,
support the trans on ply under the trans pan then lower on the trolley jack,
if you leave the exhaust connected to the headers the engine should? not tilt backwards, still remove the dizzy cap just incase.
as others said, get the car high supported on good jack stands at the front,
support the trans on ply under the trans pan then lower on the trolley jack,
if you leave the exhaust connected to the headers the engine should? not tilt backwards, still remove the dizzy cap just incase.
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6,069 Posts
After taking 3 transmissions out in the last 6 months or so, I don't even want to think about it!!!
Again, pull the dizzy first, get the top two bellhousing bolts by sitting on the engine. When you pull the driveshaft, try not to scatter the u-joints on the floor, there's about 75 billion needles in the bearings and they do come out if you're not careful. Put the jack all the way to the front of the pan and walk the transmission back a little bit to get it off the dowel pins and then just let it down slow. Balance is key!
Kev
Again, pull the dizzy first, get the top two bellhousing bolts by sitting on the engine. When you pull the driveshaft, try not to scatter the u-joints on the floor, there's about 75 billion needles in the bearings and they do come out if you're not careful. Put the jack all the way to the front of the pan and walk the transmission back a little bit to get it off the dowel pins and then just let it down slow. Balance is key!
Kev
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3,074 Posts
Done this plenty as well, and I really like the super long extension for the two top bolts. I find the first and second gen cars are pretty tight at the firewall to do them from the top. Maybe my elbow is in the wrong place on my arm or something!
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651 Posts
Just get the car up high and safe,Pulling the distributor couldnt hurt depending on what kind of motor mounts you are useing.If you have headers on the car and are not using a converter cover cut off the ears of the trans to get by the heasers. Did it on my 72 and me and my g/f r&r the trans in no time at all.
Be careful!!!!
Greg
Be careful!!!!
Greg
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31,371 Posts
If you gently jack up the tail of the trans after undoing it from the cross member, it will give you some extra room from the top.:yes:
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3,405 Posts
Everything they said. What's a lift? :devil:
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x2
If you can get the car about 36 - 42 inches off the ground from the front frame rail, you can use a tranny jack. I got one from a tool guy near by and its the kind that adapts to a floor jack. would never have got my Richmond 5 speed in without it.
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558 Posts
Be sure to remember to disconnect the speedo cable and the kickdown cable. If not, they'll 'yank' the trans off its pecarious balance on the floor jack.
Don't ask me how I know
Don't ask me how I know
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159 Posts
I've never pulled a motor before, but I did swap a th350 in my 72. It's pretty easy as long as you have a big enough jack to raise the car high enough and a good enough jack to pull the tranny out with. A cradle adapter or a motor cycle jack (which is what we used) work awesome, but I've done it before with a jack with a piece of wood on the end that's long enough to hold the bottom of the tranny. If you do it that way use something to tie it down so it doesn't wobble.
Hope this helps.
Hope this helps.
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1,318 Posts
The last time I did this I had one of the cheap $20 hydraulic jacks. It had the removable swivel pad. I made an "H" out of 3 pieces of two by 4 and drilled a hole for a carriage bolt in the center section of the "H". then I mounted the "H" on the jack. It was very easy and ensured I didn't dent the tranny pan. I was able to simply roll the tranny back off the engine.
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