the_head
04-11-2005, 09:53 AM
Part 1:
I printed out the service manual pages to be sure that I didn’t miss anything. Like most manuals, there are a few things missing or not described in detail.
I disconnected the battery and then drained the oil from the pan. Next was the removal of the dipstick tube. I got the top bolt and the one behind the engine block. When I crawled underneath, the last bolt was really hard to get to. So I removed the shifter cable next (easy) and the bracket for that. Now the two bolts for the dipstick were a little more accessible. The thing here is that there is really only one bolt at the trans case for the dipstick. I removed two bolts. One of them was for a mounting plate the dipstick tube fits into. So you really only need to remove one bolt. This was not in the manual. Next came the harnesses, I only broke one wire holder so that was good (for me). The layout is pretty logical so I didn’t label anything.
Next was the propeller shaft. It comes out in two pieces on the 2WD. I marked the rear shaft with the differential flange and pulled it out. The front shaft was easy with two nuts removed from the carrier bearing. The manual doesn’t say to mark anything, but I marked the trans tailshaft and the front driveshaft so that when it all goes back together, I can line up both shafts like they were. Very little oil came out of the tailshaft.
The cooler lines were next. They came off easy but one of them is connected to the torque converter because it steadily dripped out for a couple of hours. I looked at everything and it looked like everything was going OK. Next was the bellhousing cover and the torque converter bolts. Nissan has put two holes in the bellhousing so you can turn the flexplate with a screwdriver so that was really easy. 4 bolts later and it was done.
Now the “fun” parts. I started loosening the mounting bolts to the engine block. Nissan did not put anything on the threads of the steel bolts and consequently, they were very hard to remove from the aluminum of the block. I used a ½” socket set with a breaker bar and a cheater bar over that. Of course I could get the lower bolts loose. The upper ones I used a universal joint and got one bolt out with that before breaking one of them and deforming the other universal before giving that up. Wipe blood on shop towel.
So to get the rest of the bolts out I had to lower the trans so that I could get a straight angle with extensions so as to not strip the bolt head or slip off (a painful proposition at best). So I put my trans jack under there and attached it. The three nuts that hold the tail mount were easy. I thought the bolts that held the crossmember on would be somewhat easy to do, especially since there were two on each side instead of 3 as shown in the manual. However, they were on really tight so it took a lot of effort to get those out. Now the first big hit in time. The crossmember is also interference fit into the frame. Believe me, you could damn near do away with the bolts it was in there so tight. After about an hour (yes 1 hour) of prying here and there I finally got one end loose. The other side took about 20 minutes and it finally popped out.
I printed out the service manual pages to be sure that I didn’t miss anything. Like most manuals, there are a few things missing or not described in detail.
I disconnected the battery and then drained the oil from the pan. Next was the removal of the dipstick tube. I got the top bolt and the one behind the engine block. When I crawled underneath, the last bolt was really hard to get to. So I removed the shifter cable next (easy) and the bracket for that. Now the two bolts for the dipstick were a little more accessible. The thing here is that there is really only one bolt at the trans case for the dipstick. I removed two bolts. One of them was for a mounting plate the dipstick tube fits into. So you really only need to remove one bolt. This was not in the manual. Next came the harnesses, I only broke one wire holder so that was good (for me). The layout is pretty logical so I didn’t label anything.
Next was the propeller shaft. It comes out in two pieces on the 2WD. I marked the rear shaft with the differential flange and pulled it out. The front shaft was easy with two nuts removed from the carrier bearing. The manual doesn’t say to mark anything, but I marked the trans tailshaft and the front driveshaft so that when it all goes back together, I can line up both shafts like they were. Very little oil came out of the tailshaft.
The cooler lines were next. They came off easy but one of them is connected to the torque converter because it steadily dripped out for a couple of hours. I looked at everything and it looked like everything was going OK. Next was the bellhousing cover and the torque converter bolts. Nissan has put two holes in the bellhousing so you can turn the flexplate with a screwdriver so that was really easy. 4 bolts later and it was done.
Now the “fun” parts. I started loosening the mounting bolts to the engine block. Nissan did not put anything on the threads of the steel bolts and consequently, they were very hard to remove from the aluminum of the block. I used a ½” socket set with a breaker bar and a cheater bar over that. Of course I could get the lower bolts loose. The upper ones I used a universal joint and got one bolt out with that before breaking one of them and deforming the other universal before giving that up. Wipe blood on shop towel.
So to get the rest of the bolts out I had to lower the trans so that I could get a straight angle with extensions so as to not strip the bolt head or slip off (a painful proposition at best). So I put my trans jack under there and attached it. The three nuts that hold the tail mount were easy. I thought the bolts that held the crossmember on would be somewhat easy to do, especially since there were two on each side instead of 3 as shown in the manual. However, they were on really tight so it took a lot of effort to get those out. Now the first big hit in time. The crossmember is also interference fit into the frame. Believe me, you could damn near do away with the bolts it was in there so tight. After about an hour (yes 1 hour) of prying here and there I finally got one end loose. The other side took about 20 minutes and it finally popped out.