Transmission jacks rule

ajbirkennewaccount

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
Location
Raleigh
I just bought an 86 Cj7 that has a t-18 swapped in, but the PO did not properly grind the clutch fork (http://www.offroaders.com/info/tech-corner/project-cj7/project-cj7-clutch.htm) so it was binding.

I was so dreading pulling the heavy transmission, that I was going to pay someone to do it, until I got the $500.00+ quotes on the labor.

So went to harbor freight, bought the 60 dollar tranny jack and knocked it out last night after work and now it engages smooth as silk and there was a brand new LUK clutch in there.

Anyway, just wan to give my props to the transmission jack. I did the sm420 laying on my back holding it up with my knees and it sucked. I didn't even separate the transfercase with the jack. :bounce2:
 
As many times as i pulled my T18 tranny i havnet gotten a tranny jack. 2 motnhs ago i had to pull and reinstall the tranny, but forunately this time i used my cheryy picker and it worked soooo muchbetter :) The T18 is a PIG of a transmission
 
I put my NV4500 in the other night by hand by myself. Its a beast. But then I pulled it back out to put the gears in it and finish the rebuild.

How high does the $60 jack reach? Got a link?
 
Ya, I might have to get one next time to pull my NV4500. Man that thing it heavy, 200 pounds dry. I tried Harbor Freight's transmission adapter that goes on the top of a normal floor jack and it's crap, at least with a transmission that heavy. When I need to replace the clutch I'll get the jack as well.
 
Does it tilt forward/back? I might have to get one of these if it does. Thanks for the link.

Edit: Read the manual, 5 degrees of tilt. COOL!
 
I used the harbor freight jack (NOT the one that you put on a floor jack) and had the entire auto tranny out from start to finish in under an hour by myself.
 
I was thinking more along the lines of intentional adjustability...
 
Anyone have a range of what typical transmissions weigh? What capacity jack should I be looking for? 1000 lbs? or will 450 lbs pretty much cover all typical transmissions like the AW4, SM465, NV4500, 4L60E, 4L80E?
 
I did get the 2 year replacement warranty for 9 bucks. I can supposedly have it replaced no questions asked for the next two years.

They said just bring in back in when the warranty is running out and they'll give me a new one for the hell of it.
 
ajbirken said:
I knew what you mean, but I was just letting you know that it's still a harbor freight piece of equipment and not perfect before you spend your own hard earned money.
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Yeah, that goes without saying. I don't expect safety, precision, or durability from anything at Harbor Freight.
 
I've had the same jack for 2 years, used it 6 times to pull transmissions. Works good, just don't over tighten the strap, it will bend the side up. I added some reinforcement to keep it from doing it so easily this last time.
 
I went with the hydraulic HF version and made it a bit taller and wider myself. But I would also like to build a version of yager's (very clever) engine hoist jack. I don't know why he's never posted it here, but it's on pbb.
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I bought that same Harbor Freight tranny jack about 8 years ago way back when the 5 speed in my Nissan pick up needed to be rebuilt. I wasn't all that into wrenching at that point, and frankly I figured I'd never use it again, but for $60 it was a lot cheaper than having the tranny shop pull & reinstall. I can't say that the construction of that jack is the most impressive thing I've ever seen, but it has proven to be one of the best tools I've purchased from HF. Fast forward to today and that cheap jack has pulled over a dozen trannys and half a dozen t-cases. The last tranny it pulled was a very heavy Ford E40D. I highly recommend it. One word of caution though, one of my buddy's with the same jack dropped a tranny one day because he was operating it with an impact wrench instead of by hand. I suppose it's fairly obvious that's not really a safe practice.
 
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