Finally getting around to replacing the auto-transmission in an old TJ and have a couple of question I'd be glad of some advice on;
(1) is it easier to remove the engine & auto together as a unit (I have an engine crane) or just take out the tranny ?
(2) do you need Special Tools for taking the lower ball joints off ?
(3) do I need special tools to remove the front hubs in order to get the driveshafts out ?
(4) any tips to be aware of for the novice

Look for my description of doing the clutch on a 2.6L TS - it will give you insight into the correct order of doing things.
Leave engine in, ball joints don't need removing. Use engine crane to lift box up and out.
Need a ball joint splitter that can fit over the ball joint while the shaft is in place, if you are going to remove the hubs.
Need 32 mm socket, breaker bar and 200 Nm (minimum) torque wrench for shaft nuts.


edit: no clearance to go up on the gen 2, needed to lower the box, not raise it.

if u have a jack as well its very easy...
i put the car on stands and removed the cv's ( i did remove ball joints) remove everything else then i supported the engine with the crane and lowered the trans out with the jack.

if u have a jack as well its very easy...
i put the car on stands and removed the cv's ( i did remove ball joints) remove everything else then i supported the engine with the crane and lowered the trans out with the jack.

I used the jack to support the engine and the engine crane to lower the gearbox. Crane is more precise when you reinstall and need to line everything up.

To all those who said replacing the auto transmission in a TJ is a difficult job, you weren't kidding were you. This is turning out to be a real b***h of a job. Initially I couldn't get the driveshaft end nuts off so decided to just remove the whole swing arm assembly with the drive shafts attached (amazing what you'll resort to after an hour of frustration). How hard can that be, it's just a couple of bolts on the strut, undo the tie rod and then the bolts holding the swing arm to the chassis. Wrong, couldn't get the rear bolts on the swing arm undone (3 x 17mm that bolt up into the subframe), they just start to strip with the socket and don't move. So forget the swing arm and go back to the wheel nuts with a vengence. Jammed a bit of 6mm angle steel between the ground and a couple of the studs and then got a 2m long steel tube slid over the end of the 32mm socket wrench. With that much persuasion, they knew I meant business and off came the nuts. I'd even gone to the trouble of getting a big gear puller to push out the drive shafts, but needn't have bothered, they came out very easily by hand. The special tool I got for separating the ball joint was next to useless, worked great for the tie rods, but there just isn't enough room above the ball joint to fit the head of the tool in while the driveshaft is still in place. Having now pushed the end of the drive shaft out, the tool will fit and I could break the ball joints if I wanted to, but doesn't seem much point now the shaft is out. Well, when I say out I mean the wheel end is out, but I can't get the other end out of the transmission case. The book says use a jimmy bar to prise it out, tried that to absolutely no effect. Had a good look at the driveshaft where it comes out from the transmission into the wheel well and reckon I may have enough room to drop the transmission out without actually removing the LH shaft. Looks like if I pull the transmission forward a couple of inches once parted the drive shaft will clear the frame. Things just seemed to go from bad to worse after that and no matter what I try I just can't remove the electrical connector that fits onto the gearbox where the righthand shaft comes out (speed sensor or something). Doesn't seem to be any clip to push to release it and just yanking on it does zip (well I didn't want to yank it too hard in case I broke it). Do something else me thought and come back to it later. Went to the other side and tried to remove the starter motor. Sure enough the top bolt just won't undo and the socket just starts to slip. Switched to a ring spanner, much better fit, but can't get any purchase on it to move it. Not sure how to get that little beggar out. Same story with the bearing housing on the RH drive/idler shaft. How do you get a spanner onto those bolts and then how do you get enough room to actually undo the bolts. With all the block supporting the body there ain't much room to move in there.
Advice on how to get the RH driveshaft out of the transmission greatly appreciated.
Couldn't face tackling the drive plate - torque convertor bolts with next to no room under the car. As it was now getting dark, I gave up and went in for a beer (let's say more than one) and a whinge on AussieMagna. Feel better now, but the transmission is still in the car.

Commiserations. The drive shafts are held in the transmission by a circlip kind of set-up, a jemmy-bar should do it, try getting the bar under the edge and give a good hard sharp flick....... just need to pop it past/off the clip.

Lots of the other problems, I can't really offer much help. The wiring on the sensor, will def have a retaining clip ...... look at the sensors right up there on top of the transmission (air box out etc) and see how the clip thing looks/feels. the one underneath should be basically the same idea. Those sensors are quite pricey - so don't be tempted to knock it apart with a hammer - for instance. Think they were about $106- or $120- - so I went to self-serve wrecker instead, with good result. I helped dad and brother re-install dads transmission after a rebuild - but I wasn't involved in getting it out of the car....... I know it was a long hard slog for them to get it out as well.

Look for my description of doing the clutch on a 2.6L TS - it will give you insight into the correct order of doing things.
Leave engine in, ball joints don't need removing. Use engine crane to lift box up and out.
Need a ball joint splitter that can fit over the ball joint while the shaft is in place, if you are going to remove the hubs.
Need 32 mm socket, breaker bar and 200 Nm (minimum) torque wrench for shaft nuts.


edit: no clearance to go up on the gen 2, needed to lower the box, not raise it.

Madmax, i know you are trying to help mate but please only post when you are sure of what you are talking about

Trans comes out under, if you have facility to use a trans stand under the car then you can do this if not and you have a crane, it is not much more work to lift the engine out as well, once shafts etc are off you drop the exhause, a few lines and out she comes

Do nto need to split the ball joints, just remove the 2 bolts and the abs wire from the strut and it will lie out the way far enough to get the joint out

Mate, read some of your last post but man, use paragraphs please, was going cross eyed

The speed sensor has a metal clip, look at the TPS, is the same sort of clip

The joint on the LHS, use the prybar

In short, if you have not done these before, you would have been better off giving the car to me as you would have had it back on the road the same day

As for removing the whole arms, I wont comment in so far to say make sure you reset the bush positions when you refit them. Really sounds like you have not the tools to do this sort of job to be honest, i have never encountered any of the issues you have stated above

Thanks for the comments Mal. In hindsight if I knew I could have just paid you to do it properly, I certainly would have. However, I would have had to get the car towed as it has no gears at all.

Yes, I agree that I probably don't have all the right tools for this (what I wouldn't give for one of those vehicle lifts they use in workshops). At least I did get myself an engine crane to lift and lower the transmission (man it's heavy) a few pullers and tools for the tie rods. I build pneumatic controlled simulators (www.virtualsailing.com.au) and have a fairly extensive amount of workshop tools, hence the self-belief that it wouldn't pose too much of a problem (yes I was wrong and can admit it).
Was thinking of getting an air ratchet to get at the hard to get bolts.

I'll keep tinkering away with it for now and can afford to take my time as it's just the spare car.
I think my inability so far to prise out the shafts from the transmission is just being a bit to timid and worrying that I might damage the oil seals. Will try with a bit more force.

re: the swing arms, I only took 1 bolt off the LH swing arm, before realising I could get the shaft out without removing the whole swing arm. Didn't touch the RH swing arm. What do I need to look out for resetting the pivot bush when putting the bolt back in ? there doesn't appear to be any obvious adjustment. Is this something I can get you to check later when I get it all back together.



This is the spare car, so it was going to be a bit of a project/learning experience.

MarkH : Good on you for trying it yourself, I know this job creates a lot of frustration and head scratching. In the end though, you can take pride in a job well done and the new skills and knowledge acquired. Mal gets frustrated at us first timers but he has done it many times and could do it 10 times faster, but he cannot deny us the opportunity to learn for ourselves.

PS we all develop different ways of getting the drive shafts off the car. There is no right/wrong way, just whatever works for you.

As for "reset the bush positions when you refit them" just locate the tang of the rubber bush in the hole in the metal keeper, insert the bolts but don't tighten them until the weight of the car is on the ground and the suspension arm has moved into its normal position.

Madmax, I do not get frustrated at first timers, I get frustrated when a first timer is given wrong information like lift the trans up our the top with the engine crane, not thinking that the chassis rail may have something to say about this

OP, if yo have the time to tinker that is great, get yourself some decent sockets as if you are rounding bolts you must have some cheap ones. Not sure where you are located but if you pop over to Bayswater you can go to F J's on Mountain hwy, they have reasonable stuff at good prices

Took your advice Madmagna and got some decent sockets. Also picked up an air ratchet and a set of impact sockets. I figured the cost was worth it if it saves me hours of struggling with tight bolts in hard to reach places. I can also use it for putting my simulators together even if it is a bit of overkill. Will have to make sure I don't go crazy with it though, it makes short work of undoing bolts.

Latest update;
The transmission is back in the car. Filled the gearbox with mitsubishi oil and have even been round the block for a test drive. Steering feels good, gear changes are good and accelerates without any hesitation.
Lessons learned,
the air-ratchet was not that great. Good for doing up nuts where there ain't much room for a standard ratchet, but you can't get much torque out of it (at 100 psi).
6-point sockets much better than cheap 12 point sockets.
For strut bolts with high torque, tighten the bolt not the nut.
Torque converters are interchangeable (thanks Mal)

Good to see you got it all done in the end and the auto lives on :)

The TJ lives!! Well-done Mark! I remember when the bronze-y TJ died and you bought another car.
You must feel a well-deserved sense of achievement now that you've completed the job - with a few "Challenges" on your way this last week or two!

Will keep you in-mind next time our family fries a transmission (jokes!! 2 out of 2 of our auto's have been rebuilt due to wave-spring).

Congratulations.

Cheers guys, my young ones call the new car their UPGRADE and the old car the DOWNGRADE.

The arrival of my sister & hubby from the US to stay for 3 weeks meant we needed the Magna running, so I finally had to get off the couch and do something. Also gave my neighbour an excuse to go outside for a smoke (said he was helping me !)

By the way what do you do with a fried transmission ? anyone need a good boat anchor !
Thought I might hang onto the engine crane for a while, just in case, before selling it on eBay.