WTF is a Tourist? BTW there is more involved in removing a FWD trans, but they usually pay more. I sure as heck wouldn't want to swap one with out a lift. Tourist? Do you mean Taurus?

 

...........

 

Yes. I have an offensive nickname for a lot of cars, Ford Exploder, Honda Acrid, Hyundai ***-Scent, to name a few.

Don't get me wrong, I got my money for the job but it was absolutely miserable work doing it without a lift in 19-degree weather on a concrete floor that the ATF won't drain through. I lacerated my ear and sprayed blood all over the car, and I almost set it on fire trying to get the lower control arms off with a blowtorch. Will be charging a higher hourly rate the next time I do it!!

I now have a greater appreciation for RWD and stick shift when it comes to tranny swaps.

Yea buddy. I've owned my fair share of FWD cars and while they did OK in snow, I can't say that RWD wouldn't have done better. Esp. with stick shift, if you plant the rear wheels on the ground first you can really pull away from some slippery surfaces. Pulling away from stoplights in the rain is really tough if you have FWD cuz you can't plant the wheels and they slip all over the place. And once again, snow is not an "everyday" situation anyway, where most people live.

 

Maybe not where you live but here its an every month possibility

 

Yea, I know. There are a hella lot of places in the US and Canada where it snows for 11 months. I know a lot of cars come standard with LSD on the Canadian models, for this reason.

But most of Ford's costomers don't live in these places. Point being, I don't think that snow traction is the reason manufacturers have recently switched all their models to a FWD layout.

What's it like to drive on 4' of compacted snow? Can't say that I ever have, it must be really wierd.

 

I guess my proofreading skills need some help.

Let me try this again.

Going forward from a dead stop in snow, front wheel drive seems to do better than rear wheel drive.

Example: first few front wheel drive cars my parents owned were driven in winter with all season radials. We were shocked at how well they went in the snow. The other car they had was rear wheel drive with studded snow tires. It took more "skill" to get it going in the snow.

Stopping and turning, I have never seen a difference. I have had both keep going straight when I wanted to turn and have had the back end slide out while turning. And you can lock up the brakes on both and skid into something.

 

I can agree with that. Not disputing that FWD is slightly better going forward in snow. And that any drive configuration slips pretty easily in it.

Like all the a*holes with Lexus AWD "crossovers" who fly by all the 2wd vehicles when it snows, and the you pass them in the ditch a 0.5 mile later. AWD makes no difference in the coefficient of friction between ice and rubber!

 

Oh, I call them a Clitaurus. Chevy Impaler, Cadillac Caterrible, Pontiac Azzcrack, Buick Raindeer, Saturn Icon, & Astray (pronouced ashtray) Cadillac SUX (SRX) Saturn LOOKOUT!! Oldsmobile Slipperywhenwet. I did a timing belt on a Hyundia ***-Scent yesterday as a matter of fact.

 

i really never noticed a difference either. i live in jersey, like OP. we dont get extreme snow. and if we do, its both FWD and RWD cars stuck on the side of the road. obviously AWD/4WD are king. however, in the last snow storm we had back in october, i would have much rather had my RWD gmc sonoma then our dodge minivan. trying to go straight down crowned roads meant i was pretty much sideways in my lane. FWD cars just slid off the road.

 

Dude, I'm literally LOLing here. I have the same names for a few of those (Imapler, Lookout)

And I got a few more: GM Devil (Deville), Nissan PathLoser, GM Grand *****, GM Grandma (Grand Am), Subaru Wrecks (WRX), VW Pissant, Hyundai Very Crude (Veracruz), GM Meat Wood (Fleetwood), GM Metrosexual, GM Espresso (van), Ford Lack of Focus, Ford Excort, VW Call 911, Chrysler Carrot Van, Chrysler 3 Inch Dick (300), GM Failed Venture, GM Tornado (Toronado), Chrysler Challenge, Nissan Coast (Quest), Nissan ExTerrible, Toyota Corrolary, Ford Mustank. And the one that doesn't need modifying to sound somewhat obscene: Nissan hardbody.

 

And last week when I was using a pickle fork, I kept making jokes about "BJs" and no one laughed except me, to myself. (Ball Joint Seperator)

"He who laughs last, is laughing all by himself".

 

After doing a wide variety of front-wheel drive swaps at my buds used car lot, I don't mind them at all. They are merely different.

We put the vehicles on jackstands set just behind the front wheels (at home I use old rims which I prefer for stability). Blow off the axle nuts with an impact (break torque on them BEFORE jacking the car), get the spindles out of the way, ****** the axles, disconnect the exhaust, and the rest is pretty standard.

Have two floor jacks handy for maneuvering the engine/trans combo when reinstalling and/or to deal with subframes. I too dislike K-frames.

If it's an unfamiliar vehicle, I expect it to take longer the first time.

I LOVE my 6" (smaller discs don't reach well) Metabo angle grinder fitted with cutting discs for removing rusted parts. I don't take my torch to ball joints. I detach the spindle and control arm, drag them aside, and cut the joint. Then the control arm can visit the shop press where the rest will be forced out.

Agreed. We'd build them for sale, but our terms for them aren't fit for a family forum!

I don't mind their trucks, but the rest could go straight to the shredder when they roll off the line and I'd not shed a tear. I found one good use for Dodge Caravans though. That straight rear axle and spring combo is great for small trailers. Air impact the spring perches off at the body and you get the whole setup off in a few minutes.

 

Wrench, thanks for the war stories. I think that even for a good mechanic FWD would take longer to do anything on, but it's that kind of advice that makes it straightforward. Again, I'm a professional wrench-turner, but this was my very first FWD tranny swap so I know it was a little wierd for that reason. In the future I will adjust my estimates accordingly.

Glad you found a good use for Chryslers. I too will admit I like their fullsize vehicles because they seem really simple, if not reliable, but their cars are rolling scrap metal heaps. I always said that they were designed and built by a bunch of drunken clowns, and now it turns out that I was right. Remember the YouTube/ 6PM news videos about the UAW guys drinking on their lunch breaks?

Whenever I take apart a Chrysler or GM and ask, "WHY on Earth did they make this part this way" I get a chuckle when I think to myself, "There might not BE a good reason. They did go out of business, after all..."

 

Chevy Cr*palier, Shove-it (Chevette) and Crustacean (Citation), Ford Granola (Granada).

 

I also drench everything in penetrant even though I'm in the dry-ish South. ATF/acetone mix is cheap enough to use generously.

Our winters are bitter here too. I actually have to wear gloves sometimes.

An engine tilter can be handy if a front-wheel drive power pack needs to go in with one side low. I use a chain grab hook off my engine hoist because it doesn't slip on the chain. Much love for chain grab hooks. They aren't expensive.

I also put them on the "cable end" of my Wyeth-Scott cast iron comealong. These are literally a "lifetime" tool. I've used mine for 20+ years.

The Wyeth-Scott Co. - portable winches | cable puller | come along winches

I added a pulley to the end of my engine hoists and leave them locked at full extension. This allows dropping into engine bays with the boom out of the way. It's just a random iron pulley running loose on a bolt, You can see the setup at the left of the attached pic. I can pull a 460/C6 in that sandy yard thanks to the space--saver (still roll when flat) wheels and solid (non-castering, don't need it) lawn tractor wheels up front.