Mating transmission to engine - rant

[tobyS]

HA! No, just a matter of repetition. I could probably do it in my sleep. 1 hr out, 1 hr back in.

Ha! Maybe you come and do my A3 Allison swap?

 

[rustystud]

[QUOTE Amateurs QUOTE]

Gimpy is right. If you had done this 15-20 times a year, this would have been done in less time than it takes to read this whole thread. But you haven't, and didn't have anyone who had, and could help you. So you done good! And learned a lot. Some of the last contract work I did here was to do some upgrades and repair shoddy work done, (by OSHKOSH) on the HEMIT A-5 trucks being issued brand new, in 2010 here in germany. Another guy, (master truck mechanic) and I, (a generator jock) removed and replaced the transfer on 27 trucks. The first truck took us about 9 hours. Not long afterwards, we could have it out, the new transfer in, and the old one canned, in about 3 hours. Practice makes perfect. You done good.

That is so true ! I was part of the "ZF" transmission project at work. We had to remove the transmission and "Seca" ring, then reinstall a rebuilt ZF transmission. (The original transmissions where failing at an alarming rate so the ZF factory sent out a specialist to work with us to repair the problems. Learned a lot about ZF transmissions !) I was part of a 2 man team on swingshift. The other team was dayshift. After replacing over 100 transmissions I knew all the tools I would need for the job and would lay them out at the beginning of the shift. One day my partner was sick so I did the job myself. I totally finished the job in one shift ! When I told my partner the next day he got mad and then tried to out do me ! We had been racing with dayshift for weeks before this and then I just upped the anty with my one day job. The things you do to keep from going crazy when doing repetitive work. What's funny is a week later I took a three days off. When I came back my partner told me he had done 3 jobs each taking only a day. I said that's nice but I would always be the first one who did it !!!

 

[rustystud]

Getting back to installing transmissions. I always use alignment dowels I have made up. I have an assortment of all sizes and lengths. Just take a bolt, cut off the head and using a hack-saw cut a slot for a screwdriver to be able to remove the dowel later. This makes stabbing a transmission so much easier. This was me today installing the TH400 back into the M1028.

 

[Guyfang]

I also did a A-5 Allison swap in 2010. Got to tell you, the hardest part was getting the **** radiator and fan back on without it rubbing. The engine/transmission removal, separation of tranny from engine and replacement took about 20 hours. We took no break. I, as a generator guy, had never done anything like this before. My partner who was a master truck mechanic, had done an engine removal on a A-3 several years before. So we learned a lot. We of course had the use of the military maintenance bay, overhead lift, and about a billion dollars worth of tools. That always helps!

The bad thing about this story is that the replacement was not needed! The stupid OSHKOSH rep told the army that the reason the tranny cherry juice was mixing with the coolant was caused by the tranny being bad. No one told us that. Just change it. Even I would have questioned this. A week later we had to drive back up to Mannheim to replace the radiator, and fix the truck. And once again, spent hours getting the radiator and fan back on without it rubbing.

 

[Recovry4x4]

When I did the SM465 swap a few weeks back it was the first time I had installed one in 30 years. Once I got going it was like I had never missed a day. I was able to walk it right into place.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Guyfang, don't get me started on the 939 transmission swap we had to do.

The trans is bigger than the clearance of the truck, so once it was on the ground, we had to use a crane to lift the front of the truck up and move it sideways to get the trans out from under. What a joke. I'll stick with my little, perfectly engineered deuce thank you.

 

[Guyfang]

That's how we did a A-5 tanker. The only shop with we could get was with a pit. It had metal sides to keep things from falling in, like a truck. Well, if you drop the transfer down on to the pit cover, (three inch thick wood pieces) then how do you slide it out? It weighed about 800 pounds I think. We used the over head to lift the rear end of the tanker. We didn't know that it was not empty. I kept pressing the up button, and the truck didn't get any higher. I thought we were going to have to reinstall the transfer, and drive the truck to another motor pool. But at 20:30 hours, where would I find another Motor Pool? So we kept lifting, waiting for the crane and perhaps the roof to fall in. But at last it went high enough to slip it out.

 

[rustystud]

That's how we did a A-5 tanker. The only shop with we could get was with a pit. It had metal sides to keep things from falling in, like a truck. Well, if you drop the transfer down on to the pit cover, (three inch thick wood pieces) then how do you slide it out? It weighed about 800 pounds I think. We used the over head to lift the rear end of the tanker. We didn't know that it was not empty. I kept pressing the up button, and the truck didn't get any higher. I thought we were going to have to reinstall the transfer, and drive the truck to another motor pool. But at 20:30 hours, where would I find another Motor Pool? So we kept lifting, waiting for the crane and perhaps the roof to fall in. But at last it went high enough to slip it out.

At work they have 3 axle in ground hoists that left up to 10ft high if you need them too. Each bay has one and the average base (7 total) has 20 bays. Makes removing anything pretty easy. The hardest part is setting the blocks under the bus. You must get down and push the arms to contact the frame lifts points. The center post is firmly mounted in concrete and the two others move on steel lined rails to contact the rear axle and front axle. There's a funny story about one of our ex-mechanics ( you guessed it) who put screwdrivers into the lift buttons so he could go and talk on the phone. The center screwdriver stayed in but the other two fell out. We call this bus the "bendy" bus now ! It ripped out all the hydraulics and wiring (roof mounted) and tore the articulation suspension apart real bad. It is only able to articulate 20 degrees.

 

[KaiserM109]

Hey, have a real fun weekend!!!

PS We had to dig a hole under the truck to get the transmission in place to lift.

 

[rustystud]

View attachment 629965

Hey, have a real fun weekend!!!

PS We had to dig a hole under the truck to get the transmission in place to lift.

Why did you take the "Seca" ring off ? Was it broken ?

 

[gimpyrobb]

There is SO many questions about that pic...

 

[wreckerman893]

I think you folks are going about this all wrong.

Transmissions are by nature shy beasts in that they don't see daylight much.

Expecting them to mate with people around, a lot of noise going on and with lights shining is a little cruel.

The first thing you should do is to make sure the engine is ready to mate with the transmission.

This is usually indicated by a small puddle of oil on the ground behind it. The transmission can actually sense this and will become aroused.

Once you are sure the engine is in season you can place the transmission behind it, turn out the lights and give them some privacy.

Playing some Kenny G. (or if it's an old transmission, Barry White) music in the background may help the engine and transmission get in the mood for the mating ritual. (it works for me and the Boss Lady).

After a few hours check on them and see if they have mated. If not, repeat until they are firmly joined.

WARNING: Do not wash the truck for several weeks after the mating......throwing cold water on them can cause them to uncouple.

Hope this helps.

 

[rchalmers3]

I had the opposite happen one time. I stabbed the tranny so quick and easy. I just aimed, pushed and boom! It went all the way home with zero resistance.

I was so blustered. That never happens. All I could think of as to why it went so well was that I forgot to install the disc and or pilot, but I looked on the bench and all around and the pieces were all gone. So I went ahead, but with a higher measure of doubt.

It worked just fine. But I'll never forget that experience and sound like "cherclock" when it bottomed out.

Rick

 

[Guyfang]

Bad, BAD! How my eyes burned! A little beer helps also.

 

[M543A2]

Transmission Hoist

For our M series deuces and 5 tons we find this hoist most useful for transmission removal and replacing. It is a winch unit that sits on the cab floor. The worm gear is run with a wrench, looks like it should have had a crank for this but the instruction booklet does not show one. The cable on the drum is long enough to drop the transmission to the ground. The drum the cable is on is on a square shaft with roller bearings so it can be moved back and forth on the shaft to pull the transmission out of the motor and slide it back in again. We find this to be a very nice unit, saving on strong language and safe to use.

 

[gimpyrobb]

I have one of those too. I feel a come-a-long on a bar works better for a transmission and that winch is awesome for the T-cases.

 

[Guyfang]

That winch is an antique! The NSN has a double zero. The double zeros NSN's went to 01 back in the late 60's I think. Looks new. And very handy!!

 

[Recovry4x4]

I had one of those trans hoists and promptly sold it after the first attempted use. Seems that without removing the seats, I couldn't get it right above the trans. If I turned it around where the cable drew from the other side, it would have worked but didn't clear the dash. FYi, you can't re wrap the drum the other direction either. Since then it's a cherry picker or come along. For the come along guys, try this. I secure the comealong to a 4x4 with a chain. I run the chain through a piece of pipe that is 4" wide. I can turn the pipe to move the trans fore and aft.

 

[gimpyrobb]

I use a tanker bar I got from Mwmules, but any old rock/spud bar works great.