Hey all, I've been gone for a while & have finally decided to change the tranny on my Pinto. Anyways, it's a 77 sedan 2.3 with the C3 auto. How long should I plan on taking & what all is involved in replacing it? The car has sat for about a year with the bad tranny & I want to replace it so I can drive it again.
Hi Matt,
How long it take depends on your experience, what tools you have and how rusted some of the bolts are. The auto trannys are HEAVY and awkward, so a tranny jack is your best bet. The problem that you could run into is not being able to have the car high enough to slide the tranny out, BUT still have the jack reach the installed tranny. Make SURE the car is supported VERY sturdily. If you have a helper or two that would be great, and read the shop book on this topic too. Don't rush, and double-check everything.
The best advice I can give you is NOT to re-use the tranny cooler, cooler lines, and torque converter that are in the car now. They can be full of debris from the tranny and can kill the new one very quickly. Some tranny shops can flush them out for you, but sometimes you are better off with new. Make new (brake) lines and get an aftermarket cooler that zips to the rad., or a new rad. For all that time and effort, you don't want to do it again if you don't have to. Plan on replacing the tranny mount, most of the ones I have had were shot.
Bill
Thanks Bill, I'll do that. Looks like I'm gonna be parts shopping before I swap the tranny out.
Hey Matt, if you can't find a tranny jack use a motorcycle jack, it's about the same thing but more people have them in there garages ;D
Last time i did a tranny swap, i found it easier to remove the engine and trans in one shot.
Only took me 45 mins to get it all unbolted and ready to pull. May have to do it again. Seems whoever rebuilt this one goofed. All of a sudden my PARK stopped working. I have 2 NEUTRALS and NO PARK. Im thinking the internal linkage fell off or something. One day it just wasnt there no more.
Steve
Thanks for the tips guys. I would go ahead & pull the engine & tranny as an assembly, but I don't have an engine puller, place to do it at & no way to get the car somewhere to do it at. The car barely made it 3 blocks when driving it last night.
Quote from: Pintopowers on November 09, 2007, 06:08:50 PM
All of a sudden my PARK stopped working. I have 2 NEUTRALS and NO PARK. Im thinking the internal linkage fell off or something. One day it just wasnt there no more.
Not to hijack, but I have an idea for you Pintopowers. I think your problem is probably the parking pawl. Happened to my brother's GMC. Apparently on the TH350, it is held in with a bolt or two (never seen it myself) and those bolts had stripped out the holes. A mechanic buddy of my dad's just heli-coiled the holes and it is working to this day. All auto trannys have them, even if the design is slightly different for different manufacturers. Needless to say that experience has changed the way I "park" my cars with auto trannys.
First, when I get to my desired parking space, I leave the car in drive (or reverse as the case may be) and engage the parking brake while still holding the car in place with the regular brakes. I then shift to Neutral and slowly let off the regular brakes to make darn sure the parking brake is holding. I then let off the regular brakes all the way so the weight of the car is resting on the parking brake. Then, and ONLY then, do I shift into park. If the parking brake will not hold the car, adjust it accordingly. There are two nuts on a threaded bar under the brake handle cover inside the car, one is to adjust it and one is used as a jam nut to keep the other from self loosening over time.
--Doug
Thanks doug :)
Yeah im suspecting the pawl too According to a tranny book, the C3 uses a pin to hold it in place.
Figured ide look in the pan first and check the linkage, then ide move on to the tailshaft where the pawl is located and hope i can get it back operating..
Its been broke for 3 yrs now and ive been using the parking brake to the point i weakened the metal and had to have it welded hehehe.. I sought out forward sloped parking spots with concrete blocks and i kept a wood block behind the seat when i went out :D
Steve