T15 rebuild

Anyone who has some tips or learned-from mistakes for someone who is about to rebuild their first tranny would be greatly appreciated. What kind of pullers, press, etc are recommended? Thanks

 

Get a $10 vernier caliper from Harbor Freight, and measure the thickness of the snap rings as you take them off. Take notes/pictures, and put the right snap rings back in the right locations.

There will be a lot of parts in the small parts kit - you won't be using them all.

Measure the diameter of the rollers as they come out. Use the right size from the small parts kit.

Be super careful about the direction front and back that stuff is oriented. It will look obvious when you take it apart, and puzzling when you put it together. Mark it as you take it off (front and back, or an arrow to the front) - sometimes drawings, notes or photos are not enough.

With manual transmissions, you just take them apart and put them back together with new parts, the same way they came apart. But pay close attention to how it came apart, and make careful notes and markings so it will go back together the same way.

You will need the lock ring pliers. Get the heaviest/best pair you can find. I have these: http://www.amazon.com/SK-Tools-Mode...SN0C/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1339084829&sr=8-5 Jeep shows special pullers, but you probably won't need those. Usually you can wiggle the front bearing out of the case with the input shaft as a unit.

 

I just did a t176 last month.
Take as many pictures at as many different angles as you can before and during your disassembly.

Like Tim said, lock ring pliers are a must. I got the Craftsman ones at sears. http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-lock-ring-pliers/p-00947386000P?&prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=L1. These fit the bill quite well.

Another good idea is if you have a vise take a wooden dowel rod or a smaller diameter piece of pipe and clamp the very end of it in a vise so you can slide each piece off the mainshaft and onto that so you can simulate it being back together and you won't confuse the direction things go in. You should most definitely mark an arrow towards the front of each gear and hub as well. like this:



Lucas Heavy Duty Oil Stabilizer is a good assembly lubricant.

And DONT THROW ANY OLD PART AWAY until you are completely finished with the rebuild and are confident everything is working properly. You may need to reuse on old part somewhere. Sometimes the sizes on the repair parts don't match up perfectly.

 

Another thing to pay attention to is the pawls for the hubs. On the t176 there were two different sizes. And it is important that they face the correct way too.

 

All great info. I've got the snap ring pliers on order. If parts that are hard to find are worn a lot, where is the best place to find them? Novak? I thought i had a spare t15 but it turned out to be a t150. Thanks

 

Novak is a little more expensive but they come with their own easy to follow rebuild guides and a good customer service.

 

What are some time estimates for your transmission rebuilds? I'm anticipating taking a day off work and work at it all day with few interruptions. If I do it on a weekend, there are often other things going on. I plan to remove my tranny and transfer case one afternoon, clean them up another afternoon, and have the tranny ready for the rebuild.....then there's the clutch I plan to replace. I have a clutch kit I'm waiting on from 4wd Hardware.

While I'm under there, I plan to change the rear main seal and oil pan gasket. Is that better done with the bell housing pulled?

 

It took me on and off about 3 nights, maybe 4 hours total

 

IMO you do the two jobs separately. You need to support the back end of the engine somehow, and that's usually blocked up under the oil pan (if you have the bell off). I would drain the oil and do the trans and clutch first. When it's back together and the transmission is supporting the back end of the engine, I'd remove the (well drained) pan and do the RMS and pan gasket.

 

Is removing the tranny hump cover a necessity or just makes access "easier"? The TSM says to remove it for a 3 speed but not a 4 speed?

 

Are you thinking of the cover or the floors? You'll want to remove the top cover of the transmission, otherwise the transmission/TC will be too tall to come out from under the Jeep easily. I don't see how you can do that without removing the cover. I think that's all you need ... don't bother to pull up the floors.

The 4-speed shift stalk comes off from the outside, so you don't have to remove the top of the transmission. You can remove the stalk through the boot hole, I presume.

 

Yes, i was referring to the floor. Thats good news if I only remove the cover. I didnt want to find another project right now if you know what i mean. My floors are in good shape, and I have them the way i want. I would have to score the bedliner at the seam.

 

I pulled my tranny and transfer case yesterday, started cleaning them, and separated them. Some threads came out of a couple of the holes in the bellhousing. I've read that heli-coils are good fixes. Anyone here used them?

 

Brett had recommended some Lucas and I grabbed a bottle while at Tractor Supply a couple days ago.

 

bcfarms, I am pulling my T14 and D20 next week to do a rebuild. This will be the first time I have rebuild a transmission and transfer case so it should be an adventure. I will be following your thread for progress report, tip and tricks, and lessons learned. Have fun with the rebuild and please post pictures and progress reports...

 

First time for me as well. I took off work last Friday and pulled the transfer case and t15 out as one unit. I invested in a transmission jack from Northern Tool (sale+coupon). It took some wrestling to get it out but this novice did it with no problem. I had to wiggle it out after loosening the passenger rear exhaust hangers. Remember to block your engine under the oil pan. I waited til after I got the tranny out to permanently block it because the motor tilting down helped to slide the input shaft out.

I currently don't have a photobucket account, but this thread may be a good reason to get one.

 

Here are some pics of the tranny and bellhousing

 

Bolts holding the bell to the block are in there tight. I figure they would come out pretty easily with the greasiness, but I sprayed them with penetrating oil. I need another universal socket joint so I'll pick up one to get in there better.

What size bolts are the 4 that hold the tranny to the bell so that I get the right size helicoil kit?

 

Yes thanks. I could take one of the bolts to Lowes and stick in their threaded bolt size finder, but if it's 7/16", that seems like that odd size bolt the regular hardware stores don't have (only 3/8" and 1/2"). If you can find out, that would be great. Thanks.

 

Thanks Nick