how in the heck do you get the top 2 bell housing bolts off.
trying to remove tranny and these are the only 2 bolts I can't get. any Ideas would help. I have the official ford 2 volume 3 million page manual...

 

I work for ford as a tranny tech and ive never had trouble gettin them out. Just use a really long extension.

 

I just did this last weekend....the drivers side bolt wasn't too bad, but the other one took quite a bit of contortion to get. I was able to get them from the top, not with a long extension from the bottom....can't really see how to get them from below, but if a Ford tech says he can, he'd know better than me. (I pulled the engine, so the intake manifold was off, now that I think about it, there MUST be a way to reach them from below.)

 

got em. what I did is probably what everyone does with out thinking. put the jack under the tranny and undid the crossmember holding it , then let the jack down to get some sag from the engine mounts an inch of drop gives you tons of room to work with , and a loooong extention and swivel socket.

turned out not so bad. hope they go back in easy later.

 

I'm replacingt the flex plate and was wondering how to get those top two bolts off as well. Now that I see how to get them off - what is the best way to get them back on.



JRR
2004 F-150 SuperCrew 5.4L 4WD
2008 F-150 SuperCrew 5.4L 4WD

 

I use a really long extension with a swivel head 13mm socket that has a magnet in it.

Darrin

 

Thanks Darrin -

Please clarify a few points for me . . . Did you remove the two upper bolts first, then raise the transmission to level and remove the remaining bolts? Or did you remove them last with the transmission lowered in the rear. I wan't sure what would happen to the engine if those two were removed last.

Secondly, what was your procedure for re-installing the transmission? Were you able to access those two upper bolt holes with the transmisson level?

I really appreciate your help . .

JRR

 

I work on a lift and use a transmission jack, so that makes it easier and a little different. But, the main points will be the same. You can remove those top 2 bolts first or last. Doesn't matter, but you can't get to them with the transmission in it's normal position. The transmission has to be lowered to access them. And, it won't hurt anything if those are the last 2 bolts you remove. You will need to wiggle the transmission to break it free any way you do it.

One point that needs to be 100% clear though is that you ALWAYS must remove the nuts/bolts that hold the torque converter to the flexplate BEFORE trying to remove the transmission. Not doing that will mess things up.

Darrin

 

I already removed the nuts holding the torque converter to the flexplate - thanks for the warning though. Do you remove the transmission with it level or does it matter. Do you need to loosen the engine mounts at all?

JRR

 

No need to loosen the engine mounts and you will probably have to let the transmission hang to have the clearance to get it out.

Darrin

 

Well - I got the transmission off and the flexplate replaced. Those two upper bolts were easy once you drop the transmission an inch or so. Now lets see if I can get it all back together the same way it was.
I'm starting to hate those plastic pieces that they use to hold wiring harnesses in place!!!

JRR