Transmission jack solution for j10

[Thatch]

My son is trying to drop the transmission in his 78 j10 in order to do a full Clutch/Plate/Bearing job, but we're kind of stuck on the transmission removal part of the job. None of the transmission jacks we've located seem to lift high enough to pluck the tranny out of the truck. short of piling up wood and muscling the thing out of there, with great risk to mechanical items and fleshy bits, I'm at a bit of a loss. Most of the places we've called don't have transmission jacks to rent. Those that do have very light weight ones. Purchasing one would be a possibility but to get one that lifts high enough is more than a transmission job.

Any thoughts on how to get that 400+ lbs beast out of the truck in a mostly safe, not incredibly expensive way?

Thanks,

[airman]

I use a engine hoist and go through the pass door.

Andrew

[babywag]

Last one we did, used a sheet of plywood and some ratchet straps...
Unbolted everything slid it back, then let the straps down.
Worked pretty well actually.

CJ5 in the dirt though, so an actually jack would have been a PITA, YMMV

[tgreese]

I had no trouble with my Harbor Freight transmission jack -

http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-motorcycle/transmission-jacks/800-lb-low-lift-transmission-jack-60234.html

Maybe you have the truck up too high on the stands? I had to lift the frame rail a little with my floor jack to roll the jack and transmission out from under the frame, but it did not take much.

The ratchet strap helps.

[Thatch]

tgreese, I'm assuming you're at stock height on your truck? ... My son has a bit of a lift with larger tires, not way up in the air, but it's got a few inches of vertical which seems to be part of the trouble. (it does make doing all the rest of the work down there a treat though)

[Mikel]

I used ratchet straps attached to the frame rails to suspend the transmission and be able to move it back a few inches, enough to get to the clutch. No need to "drop" the transmission.

[blazer3664]

X2-3 on the ratchet straps. Use some good heavy ones, and go OVER the frame not under with the working portion of the straps.

I actually have a pair of straps dedicated to this. Wasn't intentional, but thats all they are used for. Partly because they are kinda pinkish yellow from all the ATF they have soaked up over the years. I tried pressure washing them once, but anything you tighten them against still ends up with ATF film on it.

I also have the HF trans jack. It does the job on vehicles it reaches/fits under.
One of those too tall or not tall enough type of deals. I still kinda feel it should go down more than it does, but it can't.

Hope you get it all figured out.

Do be careful, whatever method you use. If it tries to fall, get out of the way.
I have seen people (and watched myself - while thinking "idiot" ) try to "catch" heavy trans/t-cases as they fall. More times than not it doesn't work out too well. Many times replacing anything that breaks when falling off a jack is cheaper than the hospital bills and time off work.

Good luck,
Jim

[tgreese]

tgreese, I'm assuming you're at stock height on your truck? ... My son has a bit of a lift with larger tires, not way up in the air, but it's got a few inches of vertical which seems to be part of the trouble. (it does make doing all the rest of the work down there a treat though)

Yes, stock height but it's up on stands, with the tires about 5-6" off the floor. Jim/Blazer3664 is right about the HF jack not lowering as much as it seems it should. In the picture, the jack is all the way down. I thought I'd have enough height on the stands, but I needed just a little more to clear the frame rail.

[j2sax]

Remove the tires and drop the truck on the ground

Without pics I don't know if the above would help, but I pull the back tires and put BIG jackstands under the rearend. then gently jack up the front and remove the front tires, set it on Jackstands.

You can always remove the floor access panel and take the Dana 20 off first... it is a SLUG and has caught WAY too many people off guard with it's weight. (have a bud who went through 4 month of convalescing after ripping everything loose from his shoulder There is ONE bolt that comes out of the front face of the D20.. I believe it's on the psngr side... frustrating if you do not know it is there!

You can drop the Trans and then jack the truck back up to make it easier to wrestle the trans out from under it.

IF you are going to be doing this kind of stuff a lot, scour Craigslist for a pnuematic (air) bumper jack... makes like SO much better with framed vehicles and is easy to store, sometimes cheap! Auctions are a great source too.

Good luck!

[68glad]

Let some air out of tires. Drop tranny. Fill tire or jack up high enough to fit tranny under frame.