20 May 12 08:29, Mark Hofmann wrote to Roy Witt:   
      
    RW>> They used the above tool to hang the motor, remove the subframe and   
    RW>> then the trans...that tool makes the job so much easier. The last   
    RW>> one I watched them do was a 90+ Pontiac Bonneville with the 3.8 V6   
    RW>> in it. Piece of cake.   
    RW>>   
    RW>> They R&Rd a junk yard trans in place of the worn out trans, but it   
    RW>> wasn't the trans the owner thought he'd get from a junk yard and the   
    RW>> cost of doing the job all over again wasn't worth it to him. Harry   
    RW>> ended up with the car, which he sold for scrap iron.   
      
    MH> Buying something like that from a junk yard is a gamble.   
      
   Some people will take that gamble. Chances are that the trans is good and   
   junk yards will replace a bad one. I did that with a 700R4 trans for my 72   
   Chev pickup and it worked out fine.   
      
   You wouldn't believe the condition of the Firebird it came out of: it had   
   been rolled at high speed and landed on its roof. The top was level with   
   the dash. The trans worked like it was supposed to though.   
      
    MH> Due to the labor costs to remove/install it, I would want to make   
    MH> certain the transmission is in top shape.  You can buy them rom a   
    MH> junk yard and rebuilt it, though.   
      
   I called in an out-of-work mechanic and he installed the above in my   
   (machine) shop for $100...no hoist, no tranny jack either.   
      
    MH> I decided to have mine rebuilt vs. getting a Jasper transmission.   
    MH> The shop offered a 2 year warranty on the rebuild and showed me   
    MH> everything they replaced on the rebuild.  The cost was $2000 for the   
    MH> removal, rebuild, and reinstall of the transmission.   
      
   I had the above Chevy pickup TH350 done that way. What I didn't like was   
   the fact that they didn't rebuild mine, they swapped it out for one they   
   had on the shelf. Mine had a drain plug in the pan, which helped to keep a   
   filter change a clean job. Their trans didn't have that feature.   
      
    MH> The main problem I had before the rebuild was my 4th gear wasn't   
    MH> working. The "teeth" on the gear were stripped off.  I still have the   
    MH> old part in my garage.  When coasting, I was "free-wheeling".  It was   
    MH> like driving in neutral when coasting down hills.   
      
   If that was a 4spd auto w/od, it is free wheeling in 4th, unless the   
   torque converter is locked. This is why I don't use OD around town.   
      
    RW>> You mean the oil drain plug area in the pan is cracked? Or the drain   
    RW>> plug itself?   
      
    MH> He had it listed as the oil drain plug itself - but I have yet to go   
    MH> under the car and try and figure out what was replaced.  I assumed it   
    MH> was the washer or the area that the drain plug screws into.   
      
   They make self-tapping drain plugs as replacements for leaking originals.   
      
    MH> I do remember the original washer seemed to be plastic.   
      
   Hmmm. Supposed to be copper, but it may be a teflon or nylon plastic   
   washer...   
      
      
                   R\%/itt   
      
      
      
   ... besides, IMNSHO, Ward Dossche should resign as ZC2 and surrender his   
   ... net node-number to the ZCC !            - Cato the Elder -   
      
      
   --- Twit(t) Filter v2.1 (C) 2000-10   
    * Origin: Roiz Flying \A/ Service * South Texas * USA * (1:387/22)