transmission dust shield

[89turbospirit]

i have an 89 dodge spirit turbo car i just bought.
someone botched up the trans. dust shield on it.
(i assume they replaced the tranny.) now it's
grinding/rubbing on the torque converter bolts.
can i just take it out and toss it? or does it have to be
there.?? thanks, e.

[Mike M]

They can be left out with no ill effect. The same thing happened to me, it got bent while reinstalling the motor into my 5spd Sundance. Put it ALL together in one afternoon, got it running and making a racket... so I decided to pull the trans that night, tossed the dust shield and got her running and driving late that night.

I usually like to use them, if possible... but really, works fine without.

[Devsdaytona]

Just watch your fingers when poking around while it's running.:nod:

[89turbospirit]

thanks guys. stupid question... do i have to take the trans.
all the way out to remove the shield? or can i pull all the
bellhousing bolts and just slightly separate it and slip the
shield out??? thanks, e.

[Mike M]

The bottom one should come out, it is just squeezed into place. The top shield requires trans removal completely because there is a small bolt that holds it to the block which is squeezed in between the block flexplate/flywheel.

Unfortunately for me, it was the top one that was bent.

Good luck

[89turbospirit]

mine's the top one too. oh well, i'm about ready to junk this thing!
thanks for the info. e.