Beginning my transmission rebuild (progress with pics)

[DefiantS4]

The 1-2 shift collar locked up in my stage 3 car a week ago during a relatively normal takeoff from a stoplight. It was already a bit kinked when I bought the car, so I was expecting this. Spent this past weekend tearing the car apart. Ordered JHM's complete rebuild kit this afternoon, and will be performing the rebuild myself once it arrives. I will update with pics as progress is made. Seems like quite a few of us have been in this boat lately.

Up in the air on 6-ton jackstands. Yes I'm doing a complete trans rebuild in a 1-car garage. No my wife doesn't care.


Test pipes removed. Didn't have to remove the upper halves of the downpipes.


The transmission mounts were a total pain to get out. I tried getting away with just removing the rubber mounts and leaving the arms in place. No way around this, gotta remove everything. 4 bolts on the passenger side, 3 on the driver's side.


After ~8 hours. Didn't require a transmission jack. I approximated the transmission's center of gravity, placed the floor jack there, and carefully pressed it off the flywheel/clutch.


We have a coolant leak!


Coolant spray all over the driver's side. Hope it's not the head gasket. Is there an easy way to test it? btw that out of place orange hose goes to the turbo wastegate. OEM hose popped and this was the quickest and easiest fix.

[mistert396]

Looking good so far man. Keep us posted as I feel like I will be doing the same exact thing here before long.

[sCeRaXn]

Doesnt look as bad as i thought. Of course everything seems easy when youre looking at pics of it on the internet lol. Good luck with the rest of it.

BTW-Will you take a pic of the inside of the case(when empty) if you get the chance?

[The_Jerbel]

Lookin good. I just removed the tranny mounts and support bracket together in one unit, makes it easier than removing them separately.

Also, looks like you removed the shifter rods from the shifter end of things. How was that to get the rods out of the boot without moving the engine/tranny forward? I just unbolts the shift linkage from the tranny and did it that way.

Also, you're probably going to want to remove the at least the driver's side dp from the engine to get the clutch slave back in, as well as the engine speed sensor.

[DefiantS4]

This was the 2nd time I've pulled the trans out of an S4, so I wanted to try a few things differently. I unbolted the linkages on the transmission side the first time without much trouble. This time I actually unbolted the boot itself from the car and disconnected the shifter. I found this easier to do since it's just a few little nuts in the center console. We will see about that downpipe... I was able to get the slave and sensor out with the trans still on the motor. I don't see why the reverse won't be possible.

[The_Jerbel]

They're easy to get out, but as you know, not so easy to get back in.

That damn dp is going to be in the way and annoying as hell. I'm sure it will be possible to do, but a lot easier without the dp.

[ThirdStrike]

i have a coolant leak in the same area. i think its my secondary/aux water pump. its most likely not a HG. do a compression test just to be sure.

[///M3 TO S4]

Yay....I get to do this in a week.....

How hard was it to get to the bolts on top of the tranny with the motor in the car? Any tips/special tools needed? Just any advice in general would help....you and jerbel

Thanks

[DefiantS4]

There are 4 bolts that you have to get to from above. They are challenging to get to due to the mess of plumbing that is there behind the intake manifold. I was able to break them loose with sockets and crescent wrenches, then use my fingers to do the rest. If you unbolt the trans mounts from the subframe and use a floorjack to raise the tail of the trans a bit, it will tilt the motor forward giving you more room. Put a jackstand under the tailshaft just to be safe... it would suck to have your arm buried between the motor and firewall if the jack somehow let loose.

[The_Jerbel]

You really only HAVE to remove 2 bolts from above. In fact, I found it easier to get at the other 2 from beneath once the axles and dp's are out of the way.

I also found it gave me more clearance to drop the subframe down a bit, rocking the rear of the engine and tranny down and away from the firewall.

There are many ways to skin a cat I suppose.

To get at the 2 bolts on top, you'll just need a deep 17mm socket and a ratchet. You may need a long handled ratchet or a normal ratchet with an extension cheater bar to get at the other 2 bolts on the top corners of the tranny from underneath the car.

[eliTTe]

wow looks like fun! keep up with the pictures, I'm sure I'll be doing this one day!!

[txaudifan]

Looking good!! I know yours and everyone else's pain... went through this this winter...

[DefiantS4]

Finally some updates. Let's start with Thursday night:

Not much else to do while waiting for the JHM rebuild kit to arrive. Went ahead and opened up rear for fun.


The Torsen center differential. I couldn't believe how easy it was to get out. You literally reach in and yank it out, after removing the tailshaft (4 bolts).

[DefiantS4]

Friday evening/Saturday morning:

Quattro the cat checking out an arrival from UPS.


The complete JH Motorsports 01E rebuild kit. Cat not included.


After watching the rebuild DVD, I got back to the garage. Here's the selector shaft coming out.


Rear housing removed, gears exposed.


Gears removed, via 3-jaw puller.


Front housing, after removing the center housing with input & output shafts. The front differential is in here.


The infamous bearings that fall out of the shaft in the background as it is slid out of the output shaft. After hearing Jay mention his hose clamp trick several times during the video, I still forgot to do it. Luckily I snapped to my senses immediately when I heard bearings coming loose. Caught all 23 before they fell into the front differential. Remember to USE THE HOSE CLAMP!!

[DefiantS4]

Center housing before disassembly.


From behind.


Input shaft removed.


Reverse gear tucked away in the corner of the case.


All shafts removed, and time to call it a night (3am).

[The_Jerbel]

Good job man! Looks like it's coming along quite well. Friggin good thing you caught all 23 of those bearings!!!

[DefiantS4]

Saturday evening/Sunday morning:

Got my new 12-ton press from Harbor Freight rigged up just behind the rear of the car. In the video, Jay uses a piece of large-diameter steel pipe to support the larger parts. Not having anything close to that in my garage, I had to improvise.


1 of 6 new synchronizer rings installed.


Comparison between old and new synchros. The new ones will definitely grab the gears better.


Comparison between old and new 1-2 shift collars. Old on the left. Notice how the teeth are ground down and smeared. I was able to hammer out the inner collar, but it would not go back on without significant force.


Output shaft reassembled with new/updated components and ready to go back into the center housing.


Looking into the empty case.


A closeup of first gear. There is some pitting on the surfaces, but nothing I'm going to worry about. Car drove fine before so it's not worth replacing. Replacing this gear would require buying a whole new shaft, as it is non-removable.


Reverse gear reassembled.


Another angle.


Center housing reassembled. Those 4 stacked metal things in the foreground are what you are actually shifting around when you move the shifter inside the car.


I had the Torsen differential back in and the transmission 99% buttoned up by 7am Sunday morning. Got 6 hours of sleep and jumped back to it.

Transmission strapped in and ready to go up. It finally slid into the pilot bearing on the flywheel after some wrestling.


At this point I called it a weekend and gave my back a much needed break. I have lost 8 pounds since I started this whole project... it is quite a workout. Hopefully the car will be back on the ground by next weekend.

[The_Jerbel]

Congrats that's awesome!!

[AB18]

My rebuild vid came today thankfully.I split the case first in different spot,after the bellhousing. Looks good man, have fun getting that back up there.

[Matt@JHM]

Very nice man! It's going to feel like butter.

[DxC]

damn i cant believe people are DIYing tranny rebuilds ...

if you are DIYing, u might as well get a shorter 3rd gear, and a taller 6th gear, and cryo-rem the gears too

[DefiantS4]

Thanks guys. This was definitely the most complicated thing I have ever done on a car. Rocker arms and cam swap in my old American V8 was cake compared to this. I would do it again if I had to though. Just hopefully not for a while. I have to say that I now have a much greater understanding and appreciation for how the 01E works. One of the many rewards of DIY. Huge thanks to JHM for making this kit available and producing the video. I didn't need the Bentley manual to do this.

One question: Is there a way to know if you put in enough gear oil? I bought 3 qts of Castrol 75w90 synthetic and proceeded to fill it from the rear drain hole while standing it upright. Then I discovered that there is a fill hole on top of the front case with a flimsy plastic cap over it... made a small puddle on the floor. Couldn't measure how much spilled, so I just used all 3 bottles.

[The_Jerbel]

Thanks guys. This was definitely the most complicated thing I have ever done on a car. Rocker arms and cam swap in my old American V8 was cake compared to this. I would do it again if I had to though. Just hopefully not for a while. I have to say that I now have a much greater understanding and appreciation for how the 01E works. One of the many rewards of DIY. Huge thanks to JHM for making this kit available and producing the video. I didn't need the Bentley manual to do this.

One question: Is there a way to know if you put in enough gear oil? I bought 3 qts of Castrol 75w90 synthetic and proceeded to fill it from the rear drain hole while standing it upright. Then I discovered that there is a fill hole on top of the front case with a flimsy plastic cap over it... made a small puddle on the floor. Couldn't measure how much spilled, so I just used all 3 bottles.

Yikes. That is probably a little too much. The tranny should take 2.4 quarts, and after rebuilding it, you probably have 0.1-0.2 quarts left in the front diff.
The good news is that you can check to make sure you have the correct amount. With the tranny sitting level, take out the fill plug. Use a coat hanger, allen key, or other bent object, and stick it inside the hole and face it downward. The oil level should be 7mm +- 1mm from the bottom of the hole. Use the bent object as a dipstick and measure how far down the oil level is from the bend.

[The_Jerbel]

damn i cant believe people are DIYing tranny rebuilds ...

if you are DIYing, u might as well get a shorter 3rd gear, and a taller 6th gear, and cryo-rem the gears too

LOL, the synchro, 1-2 shift collar kit is ~$1000 depending on where you get it. Replacing 2 gears and cryo treating all the gears would be at least another $2000 or more (but I would replace 3 gears, 3rd, 5th, and 6th if I was going to go that far).

[DefiantS4]

Awesome, I figured there was some "dipstick" method of measuring it. Thanks!

[DefiantS4]

Monday night:
Got all of the trans bolts in and torqued to spec. The downpipe was not an issue, space was plenty with the rear of the subframe dropped down. I really had to fight with the slave cylinder, but not from lack of space. I waited till after bolting up the transmission to plug in all the electrical stuff, speed sensor, and slave cylinder. The cylinder would not go in all the way without being compressed. Popping open the hydraulic fluid reservoir helped, but it still took some force and patience. I believe that it's a pain either way... if you install it before mounting the transmission, it simply pushes against the pressure plate as you attempt to slide the transmission on. Maybe there's some trick that I don't know of? With luck the car should be drivable by Thursday.

[ATKS4]

LOL, the synchro, 1-2 shift collar kit is ~$1000 depending on where you get it. Replacing 2 gears and cryo treating all the gears would be at least another $2000 or more (but I would replace 3 gears, 3rd, 5th, and 6th if I was going to go that far).

I replaced the output shaft too when mine was rebuilt. ~900 just for that part alone.

Thanks guys. This was definitely the most complicated thing I have ever done on a car. Rocker arms and cam swap in my old American V8 was cake compared to this. I would do it again if I had to though. Just hopefully not for a while. I have to say that I now have a much greater understanding and appreciation for how the 01E works. One of the many rewards of DIY. Huge thanks to JHM for making this kit available and producing the video.

Curious as if you acquired any special tools (other than the press) to do this. Certain shims and what not for spacing, etc.?

Either way, I commend you for doing a rebuild on your own, and, if it makes you feel any better, the guy at my trans shop repeatedly told me how awesome of a transmission the 01E is and how well engineered it was. Especially compared to the Chryslers I used to drive.

[DxC]

haha i love the harbor freight orange all over your garage. i have the same jackstands.

how much was the hydraulic press?

[The_Jerbel]

Monday night:
Got all of the trans bolts in and torqued to spec. The downpipe was not an issue, space was plenty with the rear of the subframe dropped down. I really had to fight with the slave cylinder, but not from lack of space. I waited till after bolting up the transmission to plug in all the electrical stuff, speed sensor, and slave cylinder. The cylinder would not go in all the way without being compressed. Popping open the hydraulic fluid reservoir helped, but it still took some force and patience. I believe that it's a pain either way... if you install it before mounting the transmission, it simply pushes against the pressure plate as you attempt to slide the transmission on. Maybe there's some trick that I don't know of? With luck the car should be drivable by Thursday.

Yeah the clutch slave is a bit of a biotch no matter how you look at it. Taking the fluid res. cap off does help a bit, as you found out. Putting the slave cylinder in from below is way easier than getting it in from above (when doing the engine/trans pull method).

[DefiantS4]

Didn't really need any special tools aside from the press. I used a bearing splitter and a short piece of 1.5" diameter PVC pipe with it to remove and reinstall a few gears. No extra shims needed.

The press was ~$120. Not the most rugged press one can buy, but it did its job. I love my 6-ton Harbor Freight jackstands. I use a set of 3-ton stands for most of the work I do, but I wouldn't even think of putting the car up this high on them.

[The_Jerbel]

BTW, what was the oil level like in the trans after adding the full 3 quarts?

[DefiantS4]

Haven't checked yet, but it's on the to-do list. Will report findings once it's done.

[The_Jerbel]

That would have been easier to do while the tranny was out of the car. Oh well

[DefiantS4]

Yup, I realized that right after putting 65N-m on the last bolt

I still can't believe that you were able to do all this and be back on the road in a single weekend! I would pay for a time-lapsed video of that.

[ChriS4]

very informative DIY. the pics are promising. have you had a chance to drive the car yet?

[slow ride]

Congrats on the good job. I've built many transmissions over time and if you have a reference/manual to follow and are good with tools it shouldn't be a problem. I know it would cost a lot, but I probably would have replaced that pitted gearset on 1st. That point will eventually break a tooth off and take out a lot of other gears in the process. I do understand you not wanting to though as parts for these cars are way over priced. Somebody needs to find a way to get this stuff at less of a markup.

[The_Jerbel]

Yup, I realized that right after putting 65N-m on the last bolt

I still can't believe that you were able to do all this and be back on the road in a single weekend! I would pay for a time-lapsed video of that.

LOL, that sucks!

Well if I had known that I could be making some money, I would have made a video of it and sold it to you! haha

[DefiantS4]

Tuesday night:
Got just about everything under the car buttoned up. The torque specs on the subframe bolts are a joke. Specs call for 75N-m on the 4 little 13mm bolts. Just 50N-m nearly stripped out the bolt holes. I used an allen wrench as a dipstick on the transmission fluid fill hole. It was actually easy to access from the engine bay, reaching behind the motor. Fluid covered only 2-3mm of the tip. Guess I should add a little more? All that's left to do is an oil change, reinstall the Y-pipe, align the shifter, and bolt in the test pipes. Thinking about going a day with open downpipes just to see what it's like. In hindsight, I should have just unbolted the shift linkages from the transmission. They were a pain to get back into the boot and hooked up to the shifter. Not to mention that I now have to realign the shifter. I am able to get into 1st and 2nd now, so that's good. I can get the shifter into the reverse gate, but it won't go all the way in. Probably the short shifter being out of alignment? I remember reading that reverse is very picky about the shifter alignment.

[jaredsogn]

Tuesday night:
Got just about everything under the car buttoned up. The torque specs on the subframe bolts are a joke. Specs call for 75N-m on the 4 little 13mm bolts. Just 50N-m nearly stripped out the bolt holes. I used an allen wrench as a dipstick on the transmission fluid fill hole. It was actually easy to access from the engine bay, reaching behind the motor. Fluid covered only 2-3mm of the tip. Guess I should add a little more? All that's left to do is an oil change, reinstall the Y-pipe, align the shifter, and bolt in the test pipes. Thinking about going a day with open downpipes just to see what it's like. In hindsight, I should have just unbolted the shift linkages from the transmission. They were a pain to get back into the boot and hooked up to the shifter. Not to mention that I now have to realign the shifter. I am able to get into 1st and 2nd now, so that's good. I can get the shifter into the reverse gate, but it won't go all the way in. Probably the short shifter being out of alignment? I remember reading that reverse is very picky about the shifter alignment.

FYI, it is easier to just drop the whole shifter with the trans. Requires removing the shift cover plate, and about 6 nuts, then the whole thing drops on top of the trans.

[The_Jerbel]

Tuesday night:
Got just about everything under the car buttoned up. The torque specs on the subframe bolts are a joke. Specs call for 75N-m on the 4 little 13mm bolts. Just 50N-m nearly stripped out the bolt holes. I used an allen wrench as a dipstick on the transmission fluid fill hole. It was actually easy to access from the engine bay, reaching behind the motor. Fluid covered only 2-3mm of the tip. Guess I should add a little more? All that's left to do is an oil change, reinstall the Y-pipe, align the shifter, and bolt in the test pipes. Thinking about going a day with open downpipes just to see what it's like. In hindsight, I should have just unbolted the shift linkages from the transmission. They were a pain to get back into the boot and hooked up to the shifter. Not to mention that I now have to realign the shifter. I am able to get into 1st and 2nd now, so that's good. I can get the shifter into the reverse gate, but it won't go all the way in. Probably the short shifter being out of alignment? I remember reading that reverse is very picky about the shifter alignment.

IIRC, the 13mm bolts are supposed to be 55Nm. I'll check the bentley...

With the allen key, measure how far the fluid level is from the bend in the allen key. That should tell you how far below the fill hole the fluid level is. Should be ~7mm.

Reverse is a little tricky. Get the shifter to the point where you can get into all the other gears. Then feel which way the shifter needs to move based on the resistance you feel in the shifter. Move the shifter rod in the direction that it needs to go (not the shifter clamp with slotted groove, this will go the opposite direction). Now I remember why I unbolt the linkage from the tranny instead of screwing with the shifter box or rods.