Any secrets, shortcuts, tips, hints, or other advice for me?

Anything else I should "fix" while it's apart?

The rear main oil seal has been leaking for a while in my 2002 Z71. There's no leak at all near the OP switch, nor is there any leak at the oil cooler block-off above the oil filter.
It's leaking pretty bad now, so I'm going to finally have to bite the bullet and yank the transmission and transfer case...not looking forward to it at all, as the neighborhood shop said it was listed in his online labor guide as a 10 hour job? Is that right?
Ten hours to remove and replace the transmission and transfer case?

It's my daily driver, and I have no other, aside from my Chevelle, which isn't coming out in the salt and snow no matter what...

What a PITA this is going to be...but I do have a Sawzall...

 

if the tranny has never been out it could be pretty well stuck to the block even when its unbolted.

You are going to need a 3-4' extension and a knuckle to get at the top bell housing bolts. Do you have a motorcycle jack or something you can use to lower the trans once it is disconnected?

My advice would be to buy a converter and make an improvement while you are in there! The truck will be more fun to drive afterward.

If you could get a print out of his online labor guide im sure that would help to make sure you dont forget any steps! Otherwise its pretty straight forward. will you have any help?

 

the exhaust will probably be the biggest PITA

other than that its pretty straight forward, i would guess 7-8 hours , first time always takes the longest

 

Disconnect battery, unbolt and move starter out of the way, remove converter bolts from opening where starter goes, make sure converter will turn once all bolts are out so you know its not seized to flexplate, Drain Trans, disconnect driveshaft, remove exhaust mid pipes, remove shifter cable, electrical plugs and trans cooler lines. Support trans under pan, remove trans crossmember, remove T-case, lower tail end of trans some and start removing bell housing bolts. I prefer to take out the 9 and 3 oclock bolts last, make sure the trans is supported before removing all bolts and lower it down.

This is just off the top of my head, not to be taken as gospel.

 

that pretty much sums it up. Doesnt necessarily need to be in that order, but close to that. Exhaust and driveshafts are usually what I pull first... again it doesnt really matter. Obviously some of that order needs to stay in place... but I think you're smart enough to figure that out haha.

 

Well I pulled my 02z71 last year one thing that sticks out that is the damn sealant/glue Gm uses in there connectors on the shift indicator - use a hair dryer or heat gun on low to help that come apart-

If you also don't have 5 ft of extensions to get the top bolts you could take the bolts out of trans mount and jack trans up which tilts motor forward- go with what you feel I've done both ways and those top bolts suck- don't forget the 13mm nut that hold the fuel lines trans breather and dipstick tube to get to the 15mm under them that holds it all together- hard to see them - you just get to feel them

 

I have dropped my tranny 5 times and can now do it in under 3 hours. Last time was a couple weeks ago and I did did all by myself on jack stands and didn't spill a drop of fluid. Practice makes perfect. I found it has been easier to drop it with the transfer case still on. You have to remove the torsion bar cross member, the tail end of the tcase can pivot on the frame cross member and helps with balancing it when using a floor jack. You need to make sure you have truck jacked up high enough so the bell housing will clear the fly wheel and oil pan when you are angling it down, my running boards are 20" off the ground on the jack stands. The shift indicator connectors are usually stuck so I left them connected and just unbolted the shift indicator and just pushed it to the side., use a scribe and score around the bolts so you can put it back in the same position. When I had a shop do it once they broke the shift indicator trying to remove the connectors. I should have told the what to do, cost me a new indicator.

Good luck.

PS if you go with dropping the torsion bars be sure to use a proper torsion key unloading tool and mark the torsion key bolts so you can put them back in the same place. A heavy duty c clamp will not work and is unsafe.

 

Damn and I thought I was doing good with 2.5 hrs on a car lift ha, that's awesome Slade

 

Thanks for reply. Yes, I have access to an actual transmission jack, and possibly a lift, but will probably be by myself for the most part. I was able to get the fresh big block back in my Chevelle by myself, but that's something I had done quite a few times in the past. This would be the first time removing the trans from the truck.

The exhaust is what I am dreading. I have the infamous Ebay headers (see thread in my sig), and they have not been touched since 2009 when I put them on.

Thanks for the reply. That's the way I try to do it as well. Do the easiest bolts last.

LOL. I'm sure I will figure it out, but figured I'd be a knucklehead not to ask first, since I'm sure there's some stuff that I haven't had to deal with yet, that will have to be unhooked or removed.

Thanks for the reply. And thanks for the head's up on the shift indicator. Damn shame you're so far away because I'd surely sub-contract this out...lol.

My biggest worry is that I am very limited on what I can do that puts any strain on my lower back. That's why I asked you guys for any tips and advice. I have to decide to either do it myself, or pay someone else, or stop parking in my own driveway...The effed up part is that I have been a heavy equipment mechanic for 30 years now, and it's taken it's toll. It really sucks that I know I have the skill and ability, but not always the physical ability....That's hard to take.

Thanks for the all the replies everyone. I appreciate it!

 

When my trans builder Mark and I do mine it takes about a hr to have it out with a lift, I slow him down some.