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View Full Version : How long to swap 555 and clutch and pp???



looneytuner
01-07-2006, 08:47 PM
I just spent six hours today just getting the bugger out. That was on a full hoist with all the toys at my mechanic's shop!!!!! And the engine is fine without a jack stand or support. I slipped the ball joints back in so we could get it off the rack for Monday's paying customers.

jre97
01-07-2006, 09:58 PM
Took me about 2 weekends to do an auto to 555 conversion outside in the cold and gravel with hand tools. I took several couple of hour long breaks and had some other replacing of broken or worn parts as I was doing it. I didn't get in too big of a hurry.The hardest part for me was getting the pedals swapped because I am big and couldn't get up under the dash well.

mo' parts
01-07-2006, 10:15 PM
now that its been out recently, it will be much easier the next time;)
i think it took me about 3-4 hours to get mine out w/basic tools(and a big pry bar), never having done a fwd tranny.
much less going back in:thumb:

grim
01-07-2006, 10:17 PM
me and jacks dodge did it in about 24 hours all together . but we forgot to change the axles and that took about 12 of that then the clutch petal he had was broke .lol . it could be done in about 12 hours if u take your time and have everything together ,i think .

billy

grim
01-07-2006, 10:21 PM
that was auto to 555 ^^

jre97
01-07-2006, 11:11 PM
Mine could have been faster if the weather conditions would've been better. I had at least one day when I raised the hood got discouraged and set it right back down.

looneytuner
01-07-2006, 11:13 PM
Thanks. This old (61) man feels better. I'll go back during the week and gunk the K frame and rack. I can't believe how much grease was still there after cleaning it with everything still in the car.
I'll open up the 520 somebody shoved in it. I'm guessing the diff pins came out from the tinny rattle it made when moving in gear. The 555 I got from Mid Ohio is going in.

grim
01-07-2006, 11:20 PM
Mine could have been faster if the weather conditions would've been better. I had at least one day when I raised the hood got discouraged and set it right back down.

lol ive did that . also have had them days where everything i touched broke or didnt work .lol

turbovanmanČ
01-07-2006, 11:34 PM
I find its way faster taking it out, usually 45 mins or less and there out, then the fun part putting them back in, usually 2-4 hours. :thumb:

87glhs232
01-07-2006, 11:52 PM
I find its way faster taking it out, usually 45 mins or less and there out, then the fun part putting them back in, usually 2-4 hours. :thumb:
Is that with a plasma cutter?:p

turbovanmanČ
01-08-2006, 12:07 AM
Is that with a plasma cutter?:p

Hahhaa, no. I am a mechanic for a living and have taken my tranny out many a time and done quite a few clutch jobs. I know all the socket sizes, extensions etc before I even bring the car in.

supercrackerbox
01-08-2006, 12:07 AM
I think we had the tranny out of a car in an hour or so once. Don't care to think about going back in though. (shudders)

looneytuner
01-08-2006, 12:09 AM
Is that with a plasma cutter? Yep that's the way junkyards pull them in vans. Cut the front end off flip it over and yank.

boost geek
01-08-2006, 12:36 AM
This is what happens when you push for time putting the tranny back in. Was hoping to drive it tonight.:confused:
Ended up forcing the tranny on, bent the end plate, now I'm gonna redo all the bearings. Will be on blocks for at least another week...

GLHSKEN
01-08-2006, 10:26 AM
Hand tools and jack stands.. takes me about an hour to 1.5 hours to have the trans on my floor at hoe=m... But we all know I've had a bit of practice ;)

Putting it in is the trickier part. That is where you will want the engine pulled forward and up... Otherwise the K frame is in the way. Also, make yourself 2 3 1/2" guidepinns for the top ear. MUCH easier that way.

slasky
01-08-2006, 11:10 AM
The first time I tried to put a transmission back in an L body I thought it was impossible. Then I pulled the motor mount bracket, on the front of the car, completly off. It allows you to swing the engine forward and drop it a little. It went in easy after that.

BadAssPerformance
01-08-2006, 11:18 AM
Hand tools and jack stands.. takes me about an hour to 1.5 hours to have the trans on my floor at hoe=m... But we all know I've had a bit of practice ;)

Putting it in is the trickier part. That is where you will want the engine pulled forward and up... Otherwise the K frame is in the way. Also, make yourself 2 3 1/2" guidepinns for the top ear. MUCH easier that way.

I could probably keep up with Ken on this one... lotsa practice...

those guide pins kick butt, been using those and a cross car engine support jig thingy for a while...

GLHSKEN
01-08-2006, 11:19 AM
LOL... Took me 11 hours just to drop it the 1st time!!

looneytuner
01-08-2006, 12:24 PM
My problem was the sticky doesn't say to remove the cable BRACKET. I have to make the guide pins. For removing the ball joints, used a 5 foot pry bar. THAT work great and doesn't mess up the ball joint boot.

GLHSKEN
01-08-2006, 12:39 PM
Yep... I used to disconnect the cables and then pull it with the shift cable bracket on there... Now I leave the cables attached and remove the 3 bracket bolts... Tuck it out of the way and simply reattach it after the install. MUCH easier than getting the cable clips back on in a tight "L" body engine bay.

BadAssPerformance
01-08-2006, 12:47 PM
Compared to an L-body, putting a trans in my G-body is like throwing a hotdog down a hallway! LOL...

turbovanmanČ
01-08-2006, 05:26 PM
My problem was the sticky doesn't say to remove the cable BRACKET. I have to make the guide pins. For removing the ball joints, used a 5 foot pry bar. THAT work great and doesn't mess up the ball joint boot.


You can also remove the sway bar, then you can push down the controls ares like there butter. Another trick is wrap some chain around the end where the ball joint is, then join together will a bolt, let 2 inchs hang, insert prybar thru hole and use any part on the car as a lever, works like magic.


Yeah, I hate putting the trannies back in, sometimes they fall back in, sometimes I spend hours, lol!

I can do my van auto in 3 hrs start to finish, I might have done it faster one day as I put it in, the rear main blew-I know but it was newish, so ripped the tranny out and replaced it same day.

I am lucky, never had to do one on the floor yet.

supercrackerbox
01-09-2006, 01:04 AM
I can't wait till my clutch finally gives up and I get to do one in the driveway again. Should be sometime in February I'm thinking. . .

86Shelby
01-09-2006, 02:15 AM
I can't wait till my clutch finally gives up and I get to do one in the driveway again. Should be sometime in February I'm thinking. . .

He says that as I shudder, cringe and shiver in anticipation. ;) Be nice to it and wait until April.

John B
01-09-2006, 01:31 PM
Forgive an unlearned question but I just acquired an '89 GTC TII with a 555 trans in it. Is that considered the "good" standard trans?

GLHSKEN
01-09-2006, 01:46 PM
YES... very good trans

looneytuner
01-09-2006, 01:48 PM
Yep. That's what was supposed to be in mine, but somebody shoved a 520 in. At least I have the 520 gear for a Quaife install.

Omnious
01-09-2006, 08:23 PM
from my experiences, a auto should take under 3 hours to swap. A manual should average about 4 to 6 hours at the most. The best way of popping out the ball joints is what simon mentioned, remove the sway bar bolts and swing it down. That has been the biggest time saver, and when you are working on it by yourself makes it a breeze to pop the ball joints back in. My first clutch swap was in a 88 tbi omni and it took me just over 7 hours, with flywheel replacement. Some times you get lucky and the shaft slides right into the clutch, some times it takes alot of patience and frustration

cordes
01-09-2006, 08:38 PM
It took me about 3 moths to do the clutch in my shadow. I recieved a mis-machined clutch disk, and did not test fit it on the input shaft before I intalled it. I was wondering why I could not get the trans to mate up to the motor, and I eventually ended up pulling the motor before finding that the disk was machined wrong.

It took a long, long time before I finally recieved the right one, and then it only took about 45 min to put every thing back in the car.