Well my daughters 98 eddie tranny finally died!!! left her sit on the interstate. tranny fluid was gray with metal flecks through it. i found a 98 doner with 46k on it... supposed to be anyway. this is the control trac 4x4.
I guess this posting is to inform others of the pita this is. and maybe someone else can throw their ideas in.
I jacked the thing up on blocks all the way around to gain access. then noticed immediately that the drivers side foward cat is dead in the way of dropping the tranny. so you have to remove that pipe at the maniflold and then disconnect it at the main tube, then you gotta remove the o2 wire it runs to the top of the bell housing. this is the sohc motor i had just enough room from the top of the engine to unhook it with one hand (wonder how ignorant it will be to rehook later). then you have to remove the front drive shaft not a big deal but you better have quality torx bits ( i snapped one off in the bolt that holds the front u-joint luckily the piece came out with magnetic pick up tool. then the rear drive shaft needs to come off ( get out your big breaker bar and a real good 12mm 12 point socket here! next the transfer case.. the lower 3 bolts arent bad the uppers keep you aggravated (be carefull dropping the case down its heavy and does not balance on your palm well you might eat it if your not careful. Im still not convinced (this is a work in progress i will post between coffee breaks) the exhaust on the passenger might need to go too because it runs real close the tranny too. Next i moved to the starter,now this is real joy the upper bolt i had to crawl out at least 3 times to fetch a conglomeration of stubby ratchets and universals but i did manage to get it free. Now im stuck sort of i cant see how the devil the starter comes down through past the oil pan and the differential case. it just about comes out but just wont clear and it sure doesnt come out the top... i guess you need to either drop the front rear or raise the motor to clear. i cant imagine ford would make this that ignorant can you imagine trying to change that out along the road somewhere with basic repair kit??? not gonna happen. Ok that brings me up to speed with where im at on this swap.

I hate to be long winded but im thinking someone else is gonna be doing this swap in the future and might like to see what their up against. Im gonna go grab a Jack & Coke and calm my nerves heck i might even throw in percocett just for good measure.

No really i dont drink and wrench.. not never and i gotta get this P.O.S done and outta my shop cause my 68 mustang is sitting outside in the cold! and the daughter is driving my wifes new suv!
Im pretty sure my next step is remove the converter bolts and fluid lines, disconnect electrical lines and gear selector rod then unbolt the bell housing and lower it down... boy if were really that easy!!! Chow

 

Ok im back. got the starter out i finally gave up and took a hacksaw blade and trimmed the flange of the case on the starter it has a thin side and im not seeing any problem with function later. i took about 1/4 inch off about 1 inch long and she came right down. I think a smart fella would put a new starter in with this swap but i will bet this one of the expensive 160. or higher starters. (Bosch) probably. And in this economy 160+ dollars goes a long way.. can i get an Amen on that one! CU

 

I just went through this on our 97 Explorer, pulled the trans myself, had it rebuilt, and re-installed it. I know you are in a hurry to get it done, but it will go much better if you take your time somewhat. I ended up cutting off all the exhaust bolts (bought new ones) which made removal faster. For the top bolts on the bellhousing, I used a universal, and several extensions with the ratchet almost at the back of the trans. Air tools make things faster too, once the bolts are loosened up.

On re-assembly, it will help to have a buddy assist you putting it back in or you will be frustrated to all hell. My dad came by and between the two of us, had the trans and t-case mounted in about two hours. We took our time, and methodically thought the process out. If something didn't work, we just backed out from under the vehicle and tried a different method.

You will be able to get those top connectors back in, but you will end up doing them by feel. I just reached up there with one hand and squeezed them together until I could hear/feel a "click" telling me the tabs had locked.

Good luck, I hope the rest goes well.

Ryan.

 

Thanks Ryan for the positive reinforcement! I mean Really! cause everytime i hit another roadblock its like you wanna sell it for scrap! lol
I definately can relate to taking your time and getting that exhaust outta the way even if means putting in new bolts. I was able to completey get rid of the drivers side clear back to the muffler, but i think i can get by with passenger side ok ( i tried to remove the upper exhaust manifold bolts and i was having the feeling they werent coming so im letting them be for now. I was able to get all the bell housing bolts out like you said about 30" of extensions and universal joint and a pipe on the ratchet end and they gave. the trans lines are tricky too fortunately once i broke them loose they came out fine with fingers!! all i gotta do now is pull the dipstick tube. My son came down and ran the ratchet on the harmonic wheel and got the converter bolts out. I think i will call it a successful day and pack her in for the night. Tomorrow i can drop it down and hopefully get the other one back in... i think it should go well Thanks again I will keep up posting.
On another note i wanted to relay to all who may be reading. the old tranny had 156k on it and the tranny would move the car if the fluid was cold so i had to make my moves count like getting off the car dolly and into the shop. and also there was a terrible amount of clicking noise Im thinking the converter went I could be wrong maybe the sound was in the tranny I doubt i will care to investigate the old one.

 

I'm just "paying it forward". I've had other people give me a kind word or two in on past projects and it really helped me keep things going.

The starter is kind of a wierd thing, I seem to remember turning it completely around before it would fall out, and it really did FALL out once I figured it out. Kind of like some wierd chinese puzzle.

After I put my trans in, it was leaking fluid out of the servos. I thought I would just get my rebuilder to fix it. Then, when I fired it up and test drove it, it was slipping and not shifting right. Kind of a kick in the head if you know what I mean. I drove it (gently) to my rebuilder friend and he fixed the leak and changed the valve body and voila, it seems to work fine now. Scared the (^@#$ out of both of us because I didn't want to pull it out again, and he was just puzzled as to why it was so screwy. Must have had a defective valve body.

Don't forget to slip the bottom t-case bolt in the tranny BEFORE you put in the rear trans mount. Once the mount is in place, you cant insert the bolt as the mount is in the way. I forgot to do this and I had to loosen stuff up to get that bolt in. Probably only lost a few minutes but will save some frustration.

Look forward to hearing how the reinstall goes.

Ryan.

 

Another thing I would do, partially overhaul your donor before putting it in. Its mileage is irrelevant, these transmissions had a design flaw that is much easier and cheaper to fix before it fails versus after. Just do a search for 5r55e boost valve. This will make the replacement trans much tougher than the original.

Other than that, just look everything over to make sure it is good and replace any gaskets and seals you disturb.

 

You wont believe it! I got the tranny down today... myself. Im kinda embarrassed to admit this but maybe i can save someone from a crushed head or arms.

Here goes.. I get up today and had my coffee and figured on takin this thing on down so i finished pulling the trans dipstick tube now i thought i had all the bell bolts out..NOT after using a bottle jack and lifting the trans to take the weight off the trans mounts i let the jack down and low and behold there are 2 more top bolts so i get the long extensions and and take one right out and the next one breaks loose but it was kinda dragging. should have been my red flag that trans was falling away so i ignore the bolt and continue .. now i at least keep my body clear you know and all at once the bolt comes free and down comes the tranny faster than you can smack the ground, Now no one got hurt and nothing got damaged but let me tell you i would not have wanted to be under it.
ok thats not the end of my embarrassment, i get the tranny out and drag it over to the donor and the donor is almost the same, Key word almost the donor seems to be missing at least one hole that the old bell housing has and there is not a speed sensor on the donor tranny.. Now i investigate on the driver side there is time stamp thinngy the one i took down has 98 on it the other has 95 on it. Man did i get taken across on that. Now i got to hold the show and find the correct tranny. I just paid 400 for the donor tranny.
So guys learn from this dummies mistakes. Use alot of caution taking down the old tranny if you value your arms, hands or face! and look any used stuff over real close and know what your buying for sure. would be best to have your old one out when picking up your donor to compare.
I will keep you all posted

 

I found another tranny this one is the correct one, I took my old one along. Came out of a 98 eddie rolled over w/86k on it. I managed to put it up in myself with a high floor jack. the only assist i needed was my son to turn the motor over while i put the nuts back on the converter. I guess all in all it wasnt too bad of a change out. now if i can sell the 95 tranny...thanks to all that gave me input. I did not do the upgrade to the valve body im ordering it in with the new seperator plate, the only thing i got to take down would be the drivers foward cat. Hey im happy its out of my shop and my 68 mustang is back in before the snow hit!!