crawlinss Posted April 20, 2009 Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 ok, well i really wish i had taken pix for this, but i was so f'ing frustrated doing this while my shoulder is all messed up and having problems with it i forgot!! decided to do some maint. on the truck today, front/rear diff fluids, x-fer case, trans filter/fluid. all went as well as could be expected, until i got to the transmission. drained the pan, took out the pan bolts and oh me oh my, the pain in the ass (and shoulder...and back...) began. my manual said nothing about clearance issues, and the manual i got on here wont run on my computer so heres what i did. 1- drain fluid. 2- while the fluid is draining, disconnect the shift cable from the arm on the trans. it pops off easily. then pry the 2 plastic tangs on the shifter cable together to allow the cable to seperate from the bracket. 3- (with stock exhaust, or shorties with stock catted pipe. ive got the magnaflow system that dumps in front of the RR tire fwiw) unbolt your collectors from your exhaust header/manifold. 4- unbolt exhaust hangar (should be 1 15mm headed bolt) 5-remove all bolts, but leave two (across the pan from each other) loose to let the pan hang. 6- at this point while its not a mess under there, figure out HOW youre going to move the pan to get it out. if i remember it was a slight turn of the pan and then out the front. a friend to keep pressure on the shift bracket towards the front d/s would be helpful. pull the stock x pipe slightly down and away, and that should give you clearance to move the pan. 7- r + r filter. make sure to be careful removing the factory seal, and install the new one carefully. i found it helpful to set it in lightly, and use the female side of a 1/2 drive extension to install it as my bearing/race driver was locked up at work. install filter, clean pan, reinstall pan with new gasket. 8-reassembly is the opposite of removal. IN RETROSPECT...... this was some shadetree sh*t right here. i wish i had left the transfer case empty so i could have pulled the front d/s without losing fluid (no auto trac II available on sundays, and i had already put it in). that would have allowed easier access to the stubborn torx bolts holding the shift bracket on, most likely making exhaust dropping unnecessary. was quite a pain for a simple filter r + r. on top of things my shoulder is way worse than it was this morning, and i have to get it back on stands to do the fuel filter i forgot to change, and put back the 15mm bolt for the exhaust hanger that my friend forgot to tell me he never put back in.....until i had already taken the truck out. and fix the minor exhaust leak. what a way to spend a rainy sunday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Posted April 20, 2009 Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 I am impressed you got the drain plug out and were able to drain the fluid. I could not get mine to come out. Trust me I tried. I used a 3foot 1/2inch breakerbar and only made the drain plug into a spiral helix shape. Honestly I was putting at least 150+ ft/lbs of torq on that plug and it never moved!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcsilveradoss Posted April 20, 2009 Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 ok, well i really wish i had taken pix for this, but i was so f'ing frustrated doing this while my shoulder is all messed up and having problems with it i forgot!! decided to do some maint. on the truck today, front/rear diff fluids, x-fer case, trans filter/fluid. all went as well as could be expected, until i got to the transmission. drained the pan, took out the pan bolts and oh me oh my, the pain in the ass (and shoulder...and back...) began. my manual said nothing about clearance issues, and the manual i got on here wont run on my computer so heres what i did. 1- drain fluid. 2- while the fluid is draining, disconnect the shift cable from the arm on the trans. it pops off easily. then pry the 2 plastic tangs on the shifter cable together to allow the cable to seperate from the bracket. 3- (with stock exhaust, or shorties with stock catted pipe. ive got the magnaflow system that dumps in front of the RR tire fwiw) unbolt your collectors from your exhaust header/manifold. 4- unbolt exhaust hangar (should be 1 15mm headed bolt) 5-remove all bolts, but leave two (across the pan from each other) loose to let the pan hang. 6- at this point while its not a mess under there, figure out HOW youre going to move the pan to get it out. if i remember it was a slight turn of the pan and then out the front. a friend to keep pressure on the shift bracket towards the front d/s would be helpful. pull the stock x pipe slightly down and away, and that should give you clearance to move the pan. 7- r + r filter. make sure to be careful removing the factory seal, and install the new one carefully. i found it helpful to set it in lightly, and use the female side of a 1/2 drive extension to install it as my bearing/race driver was locked up at work. install filter, clean pan, reinstall pan with new gasket. 8-reassembly is the opposite of removal. IN RETROSPECT...... this was some shadetree sh*t right here. i wish i had left the transfer case empty so i could have pulled the front d/s without losing fluid (no auto trac II available on sundays, and i had already put it in). that would have allowed easier access to the stubborn torx bolts holding the shift bracket on, most likely making exhaust dropping unnecessary. was quite a pain for a simple filter r + r. on top of things my shoulder is way worse than it was this morning, and i have to get it back on stands to do the fuel filter i forgot to change, and put back the 15mm bolt for the exhaust hanger that my friend forgot to tell me he never put back in.....until i had already taken the truck out. and fix the minor exhaust leak. what a way to spend a rainy sunday. isn't the fuel filter in the tank on an 03? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kckid1695 Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 Nope on the frame rail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 Where's the step in the instructions about fetching the drain plug and/or ratchet out of the drain pan? Mr. P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjaminh2 Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 for future reference, you wont loose t-case fluid when pulling out the front driveshaft. the quickest way to get these pans off, unbolt the tranny mount (2 15mm nuts in the center of the crossmember) then jack up t-case an inch, pan comes right out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streatsboy Posted February 17, 2010 Report Share Posted February 17, 2010 for future reference, you wont loose t-case fluid when pulling out the front driveshaft. the quickest way to get these pans off, unbolt the tranny mount (2 15mm nuts in the center of the crossmember) then jack up t-case an inch, pan comes right out. I would have done that if I had a jack available, but no jack I ended up prying the shifter cable bracket over toward the driveshaft and got it out. Didn't have to move it much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinister C3 Posted February 17, 2010 Report Share Posted February 17, 2010 Take the transmission out and then flip it over on your bench. Pan comes off easy then. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcsilveradoss Posted February 17, 2010 Report Share Posted February 17, 2010 Take the transmission out and then flip it over on your bench. Pan comes off easy then. ;) Sweet sig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.