Transmission removal

Ok folks, getting ready to pull the tranny. I took off the aft floor to see what I have, and attached the pictures. I made a link to the removal steps. Do I follow those step-by-step? This is a '99 Sport Nautique with the PCM 1:23.

Is there enough room to remove the trans w/o loosing the engine mounts or is that not possible?


thanks,

Ultra

I found this quote from Eric from another thread:

eric lavine wrote: unlag rear mounts, loosen front pinch bolts on front mounts, remove 4 coupling to prop shaft bolts, pull shaft back, lift rear of engine/transmission with bottle jack under manifold to stringer, or simply lift and block, or use a cherry picker or chain hoist, at this point the transmission should be high enough to clear the prop shaft. then unbolt the trans from the bellhousing and remove.

Transmission removal surgery successful!

No big surprises, and here is how it went.

We first prepped the area as usual: work carpets, zip lock baggies for hardware, etc...

1. Winterized engine and associated plumbing.

2. Removed the 4 coupler bolts, and slid shaft aft. This required a slight tap on top of the coupler to separate it from the other half.

3. Removed the transmission cooler lines. The top line from the transmission, the lower line from the cooler (as the fitting on the lower line is easier to access on the cooler side).

4. Loosened both front engine mounting bolts. This necessitated the removal of the shower pump on the right side, as this pump is just aft of the engine mounting bolt, and a half-inch drive sized socket would not go on all the way. This also required a VERY long ratchet handle (torque wrench size in our case), as it's likely these bolts were factory torqued and had never been loosened on my boat. This seemed to be the case on ALL the bolts in this project.

5. Removed the two wires from the 'you are not allowed to start in gear' sensor.

6. Removed the shifter linkage and safety-tied out of the way, and replaced the upper bolt for safety.

7. Removed the 2 lower transmission mounting bolts. Use a long ratchet extension. These are easier to get at if you jack the engine first and don't mind working under it with it blocked up. Just depends on your comfort level. I got to them easy enough without the engine jacked up.

8. Removed both rear engine mounting bolts where they mount into the transmission. Use short-well socket in 3/8 drive and no extension, as a long extension puts you too close to the stringers.

9. Positioned a small jack on small piece of plywood, and set the jack plate directly under riser.

10. Jacked engine/transmission upward 3 to 4 inches, and then blocked on both sides under the riser directly on top of the stringers for safety.

11. Removed the upper transmission mounting bolts.

12. Slightly tapped top of transmission to loosen from bell housing.

13. Slid transmission aft and when spline clear (just a couple of inches) up and placed on towel.

14. Removed remaining transmission cooler line.

Noted transmission fluid inside the bell housing on the bottom. This would indicate a main seal leak at the spline (see picture). Is this a correct assessment? Noted the same on the inside of the transmission as well at 6- o'clock position.

I'm on a milk-crate hunt tomorrow, but all-in-all it went well with two of us working, and neither of us having done it before.

I haven't searched yet for the thread on the procedure to set the shaft alignment, so if anyone has a link handy....

Next, is there anything else I should consider doing while this is all apart? Anything with the shaft, etc.. I suppose it's a good time to check or change packing to Goretex?

I thought I'd take the opportunity to put on new trans. cooler lines and certainly flush the cooler as Eric indicated to do.

Thanks so much for your help so far. I'll post some more pics tomorrow in better light.

Note: Engine/Transmission 450 total hours. Boat is a '99 Sport.

Thanks for both links Critter. Also stumbled upon a cutlass bearing removal video. Very slick.

I'll check tomorrow, but I think my up and down engine adjustments can be made at the front mounts on my set up. I do see the adjusters on the aft mounts also, on my own picture above.

ahhhh, and risk messing up his hair?, i picture him more as the cooler attendent

Allright, with some better light, and up on the bench, I took a more careful look. As indicated earlier, I had a chronic leak, not visible while the engine running and transmission in gear.

So, upon inspection tonight, I notice plenty of fluid at 6-O'clock but dry around the mail seal. So, I decide to take off the back plate to investigate....

I immediately notice the damaged o-ring at the bottom, and notice this is at an exit port for fluid. Bingo!

I also notice this strange notch at the 9-O'clock position. What is this? I don't have the manual handy, so is this normal? A notch for a screwdriver? This plate rotated right off with hand pressure.

So Eric, et. al., does it make sense now just to swap out the o-rings, main seal, pressure plate and back together?

Thanks,

Mark

this is assuming that the trans had zero drag.....

call DIM, they sell those parts seperately, i really dont want to see you ponying up 186.00 for a seal and gasket kit, the drag was meant for when the boat was in the water in neutral idling, the boat should not move from transmission drag

27 years old with a PCM trans?

mzajac wrote: Is the flywheel the same on reverse rotation 351 as normal 351. I have a 74 Martiniqe

The flywheel doesn't care the direction it turns.