Step 5) Disconnect front drive shaft. The drive shaft is secured to the front of the transfer case and the front diff by U bolts around the U joints. This was secured by 8x 1/2” nuts. The front drive shaft freed easily with a little bit of wiggling.

Step 6) Remove exhaust heat shield. While this may not be necessary, I removed it to have easy access to the trans cooler lines (2). This is held on by two bolts which were extremely difficult and rusted. This was not necessary as later I found I had better access from above.

Step 7) Disconnect trans cooler lines. There are two of these located on the passenger side. I used a 13mm wrench to loosen both. Apparently it is very easy to twist the cooler lines while attempting to loosen the fastener. Don’t do that.



Step 8) Disconnect electrical plug and shifter (manual) on transfer case. The plug came out pretty easily but the plastic was baked, I imagine some impatience may result in a broken plug. I removed the shifter by loosening the nut tightening the holding bracket from the bottom.



Step 9) Disconnect kick down rod/bracket from trans. Disconnect the kick down rod by carefully sliding it off. The bracket was secured to the trans by 2x 9/16” bolts.



Step 10) Remove starter. Located on the front passenger side of the bell housing. Secured by two 1/2” bolts. Do not let this hang by the wires once removed.

Step 11) Remove flywheel cover and trans dipstick/tube. Located on the bottom front of the bell housing and secured by 3x 3/8” bolts. This is a thin cover which will give you access to the torque converter/flywheel bolts.

Step 12) Place transmission jack under pan for support. Be sure to safely secure trans to the jack.

Step 13) Remove nuts from torque converter studs which connect the flywheel. You must rotate the engine until you have access to the nuts, one at a time. There are a total 4x 14mm nuts to be removed.

Step 14) Loosen trans/engine fasteners. There is a total of 6x 5/8” fasteners holding the transmission to the engine. These are around the upper portion of the bell housing. I had the best access to these by peeling the carpet back and removing the trans access panel (9x 5/16” screws).


The 20” extension I used to do this was priceless. I would recommend using a 1/2” drive set up though because these were tough. Once I removed the access panel I realized I had good access to the previously removed cooler lines and the three electrical plugs that went into the transmission.

Step 15) Remove trans cross member. Before doing anything else I would recommend double checking your trans jack and security strap. I removed a total of 6x18mm bolts/15mm nuts on each side of the cross member to frame connection. I then removed the two nuts sucking the cross member to the transmission from the underside.

Driver side

Driver side

Step 16) Lower trans. Now that the trans was completely separated from the rest of the vehicle, I shimmied it up/down/left/right until I was able to pull it back from the engine. I then lowered it and slid it out from under the truck.


Mission accomplished, my completion time was 6 hours. For me allowing more than enough time to complete this made me more patient and thoughtful.


I removed the flywheel from the crank (matchmark, 6x 19mm bolts) to see the rear main seal.


I then was able to view the rear main seal.


The leak was coming from the rear of the oil pan. I then removed the bolts connecting the y pipe to the exhaust manifold (4x 5/8”) and removed the oil pan bolts (18x3/8”/4x1/2”). By placing a 2/x under the harmonic balancer and using a jack, I tilted the engine back and was able to clean mating surfaces, apply RTV and install a new gasket. This was extremely tight and frustrating but was doable. My motor mounts appeared to be in good condition otherwise I would not have attempted this as there is not much else securing the engine at this point.


I hope this helps some people out and contributes to the forum in a positive way. The transmission/transfer case together are extremely heavy. Be sure to keep SAFETY your number one priority. It becomes very apparent why reputable professionals are paid good money for this. Thanks.

Parts used:
Dana Spicer greasable U-joints: Front- 5-1204x Rear- 5-213x
Fel Pro rubber oil pan gasket/RTV: OS34506R

 

Thank you for this detailed write up. I read It starting at number 5, i cant find 1-4. After everything involved, would you recommend removing the transfer case before dropping the transmission? Mine is leaking between the t case and trans, but i also need to drop my transmission to either replace it or have it rebuilt. And i plan to fix all leaks while i have to take everything apart, so i was thinking maybe it would make my life easier to remove the t-case seperately. Since i will be working on the ground with jack stands and creepers. Thanks again to anyone who can offer more input.

 

Thanks for checking out the thread. Sounds like you have a similar situation that I was in. The transmission was very heavy and awkward with the t-case attached during removal. I think I would recommend taking them down one at a time based on my experience. Hopefully you have a good trans jack that secures the transmission to the jack. I had to do a lot of twisting and turning to get it completely out of the truck while supported on jack stands. Good luck with it and be safe. Let me know if you have any other questions.

I don't know why I can't find steps 1-4 on the search. When I click this thread it shows the 1-4 post at the bottom, so you can try that.

 

Part one(1) here: https://www.f150forum.com/f97/how-re...3/#post5533130