and I'll shut up! sorry, but this has really been nagging me, and I think it might be a legit concern. first things first. I read the faq on the aw70 tranny>>rear seal/bushing replacement. I understand that one can do it without removing the whole tranny. however, one thing that caught my interest was that the first cross memember (I assume it's the one with the rear tranny mount on it) has to be removed and the tranny pan has to be supported with a jack so as to allow one to lower or raise the tranny from the rear tranny mount. BUT, is the primary reason to support the tranny via the pan so that the rear part of the tranny does not sag and put undue stress on the connecting parts of the front tranny, which is still bolted to the torque conv./engine/etc.? say, if the rear is allowed to sag because there was no tranny jack to support the pan when the rear tranny mounting bolts were removed, will the tranny misalign with the torque conv., tranny cooler lines bend or crack at their connecting points to the tranny, dipstick tube contort at the connecting point on the tranny pan, tranny and engine no longer have a perfect fit all due to letting the rear of the tranny sag? phew.

or am I missing the whole point by thinking that the rear of the tranny is only supported by the first cross member? is there another way the rear tranny is supported or bothed to the undercarriage I am not aware of?

the car was on a hoist, but don't ask me why I am asking about this issue.

on a side note, I was told I received a new seal/bushing/yoke to fix the rear tranny leak for free under warranty. the tranny I got did have new front and rear seals, but I guess the rear bushing was bad and caused the rear to shaft to leak. I don't know if I got a new rear tranny gasket, as I would think that would be a bit more work and more things removed, which means it would take longer. normally how long would it take a shop to do a seal/bushing change? what is a tranny yoke? thanks ;)

Duck,

I found using a little spray on gasket remover helped speed things up considerably. I think Permatex made the product I used and I bought it at Auto Zone. Most big chain auto parts should have some brand of the spray. Make sure you clean off all residual gasket material and remover (if you use one) before installing the new gasket. I saved at least a half hour of gasket scraping time by using the gasket remover, as compared to a couple of times I replaced the rear seal and bushing on other Bricks without it.
BTW. it's good idea to replace that bushing when you do the seal. If you don't have a press to press it out, Don Foster gave me a great tip. Use a hack saw(take one end of the blade loose and run through the bushing and hook it back up to the saw frame) and carefully cut the inside of the bushing along the groove in the tailcone. Don't cut into the tail piece. When cut through the bushing will collapse with some careful prying and come right out. Then after lubing the new bushing you can carefully drive it in with a hammer and socket or bench vise. The only thing to note in installing the new bushing is don't line the hole in the bushing up with the groove in the housing. Hope this helps.

So, that stuff works? Must be methylene chloride then.

For some reason or another I just felt compelled to make use of that brand new tailpiece gasket that came with the kit, even though the old gasket came quite clean off the tailpiece. Won't do that again.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore Crrrrazy Ray's!

I didn't know they sold such a thing. You learn something every day.

I used the u-joint yoke to drive in the new bushing - worked good.

Right on about aligning the lube holes properly when installing the new bushing. (Make note of the rotational position of the old one before you remove it.)

Wow, You are a little too concerned about the small stuff.

You definitely DON"T remove the whole tranny....

This job is not that difficult. I just did mine about a month ago. Yes you need to support the tranny oil pan to keep it from saging down and putting a strain on the bell housing where it mounts to the engine. The tranny is not supported in the back other than the support bracket and tranny mount. You don't have to worry to much about screwing up the lines or the alignment for that matter. Just put a jack w/ a piece of wood between the pan and the jack and support the tranny. You don't have to lift it up, just make it snug.

The whole job took me about 2.5 hours from start to finish. It was well worth the time and energy to do it myself. I would guess the shop would charge anywhere from 200-400 to do the job.

The directions in the FAQ may seem drawn out but if you go step by step you will not have a problem. I used it, and it worked great. The only difference was the speedo cable. Mine (89) didn't have one.

Once you get the rear housing off everything (bearing and bushing) is done on the work bench. There isn't any little springs or anything like that that will explode in your face when you pull the rear housing off. I was surprised at how little there was in that area. You WILL need a new rear housing gasket. You can get the whole kit from IPD for a very reasonable price.


I think this job is easy enough for you to complete and feel proud to have done it yourself. Just take your time.....

YOU CAN DO IT.....Good Luck
Let me know how it works out....

On a tangential note.....
Where is the transmission governor? I think my '89 tranny has gunk all in the governor. I'm told there are some arms that are supposed to swing out on centrifugal force in order to cause the transmission to shift out of first gear. My tranny sticks in 1st for a while until the fluid is cozy warm. Wonderin since you guys are talking transmissions...
Now back to the thread...
Cabbie2169

Cabbie
I don't know anything about the governor, but my 89 will do the same thing if i'm low on tranny fluid. I have to keep mine right at if not a little above the "high" line.

I found the worst part of the whole job was scraping the old gasket off the transmission. When I re-assembled it I just smeared a very thin layer of grease on both sides of the gasket. That way the next bushing replacement will go easier for whoever owns the car at the time.