Im about to yank the sp400 on my 65 rivi. I just want to make sure there isnt going to be any suprises. If someone could scan me a couple pages from there shop manual I would be ever greatfull. Im sure its just the normal deal but I dont want to break something trying to fix another. Thanks Brandon
A fairly simple operation but likely a bunch of frozen fasteners. Renting a tranny jack helps a lot. (Wife has said I should have bought. Where'd I put it?) Unbolt the flywheel (3 bolts) and remove the linkages, lines and wiring. Then support the tranny. Unbolt the tranny from the crossmember. Then unbolt the bellhousing from the engine. If you're lucky it'll wiggle out without removing the crossmember. Likely not. The pair of bolts on each end of the crossmember are probably frozen good. Break them off and remove the crossmember. If it's jacked high enough, you'll be able to lower the tranny and pull it forward to get the driveshaft out. Otherwise you'll have to unbolt the driveshaft at the differential. That can be hard. When you pull out the driveshaft spline it'll gush tranny fluid so put a drain pan in. Done!
I just pulled the ST-300 tranny on my '68 Skylark. Apples 'n' oranges, I know, but one thing that surprised me is how how high you have to lift the vehicle in order to get the tranny out from underneath. Drive-up ramps for the front wheels weren't enough. Tall, 6-ton jackstands on the sway-bar mounts ahead of the front wheels gave me another 6" of clearance. The result was *just* enough clearance... if the tranny was sitting on the floor of the garage. I lowered the transmission using a floor jack, then slid it off the jack onto a piece of cardboard, then slid the cardboard across the floor and out from under the vehicle. A tranny adapter for the floor jack greatly simplifies installation, but it requires even more clearance. I suspect that if I put the jack stands behind the front wheels instead of in front I would've had the room. But, boy oh boy is that front-end gonna be way up in the air! In my case all of the fasteners were easy to remove, though access to some was tight. The last time I pulled the tranny I ended pulling the engine while waiting for parts and the two went back in together. This time, it was just the transmission being reinstalled. In retrospect, it was almost as difficult to remove and reinstall the engine and transmission as one unit than it was to do them separately. The short answer? Get the vehicle as high in the air as possible. With enough clearance, all things become easy.
Definately need it high. Left out the "transfer to cardboard" step above. Resting on the ground the top of the bellhousing is, what, 20" or 22" up?
