Removing trans on jack stands?

[gqneon]

Hey folks - just curious. I don't have a lift but was curious how likely it is I can remove the MT82 from my car on jack stands in the garage to swap out my clutch. A lift is usually a given with jobs like headers, 18+ OPG/CS, etc, but I managed both on jack stands on mine in the garage. Has anyone dropped the manual trans on a 15-19 car on just jack stands and what can you tell me about it? How high did you have to get the car, would you do it again, etc. Anything's helpful - Im guessing since I didn't find any other posts on it most people are just taking it to a shop or are doing it on a lift.

Sponsored

 

[gqneon]

Crickets... the quiet probably says it all on this one.

 

[Witj85]

I've only done it on a 12 and it took 5hrs to drop it working very slowly.

 

[AlbertD]

I was able to drop my trans for a clutch swap within a day in my garage on jack stands. It has been almost a year now, but I don’t remember anything particularly difficult about it compared to other cars I’ve dropped the trans for. Obviously the higher you’ve can get the car lifted the easier it will be.

A transmission jack is handy to get the trans oriented properly for removal/installation.

If you have experience removing a transmission before and you have the appropriate tools than I would say give it a shot, otherwise take it to a shop. It is not an easy task and that is coming from someone who is mechanically inclined.

 

[Burkey]

I did a clutch replacement on a lift recently. In and out in a day easily.
I wouldn’t even attempt it on stands TBH.

 

[JOKER M1]

Here you go, it was a walk in the park but I had 2 other buddies and I used a trans jack from harbor freight. I wanna say it was right at 20”. I was able to leave the shifter on the trans, I also installed the new shifter while it was out and was able to get it back in with the shifter installed. I suggest the trans jack with at least one other person to help and at least 20” off the ground.

 

[JOKER M1]

Just realized you are in Westfield as am I’m sending you a PM now

 

[rtg]

If you have the funds you could get a Quickjack.

To me, getting the car up and down on the stands is the biggest safety issue.

Rob

 

[BmacIL]

If you have the funds you could get a Quickjack.

To me, getting the car up and down on the stands is the biggest safety issue.

Rob

If you have jacking rails it's pretty easy.

 

[Shifting_Gears]

I did my 2000 GT clutch on jackstands.

Other than making sure the car is secure as possible, I second the transmission jack. It’s not possible without it unless you have 1-2 other people helping. I bought the scissor style that allows you to adjust the angle the transmission is cradled at. Made things much easier.

If I recall, I had 4 jackstands and two floorjacks holding the car up and probably some spare tires underneath as a third fail safe.. lol.

 

[ArcsandSparks]

It's not fun but its doable. The higher you can get the car the better, and a transmission jack makes it much easier. Took me around 7 hours with beer

 

[jimmerheck]

I did the clutch myself on my last 5.0. One lesson I did learn though is you need the car high enough to get the tranny out from under the car, but if the car is TOO high, then you are reaching a lot up high with your arms and they will get tired. Dont get it too high in the air. And use a tranny jack. I was young and stubborn, and was able to pull the tranny out without a jack, but couldnt put it back up in by myself, couldnt get it lined up correctly, had to call a buddy over and we got it in in about 30 seconds. Was just too much weight for one guy.

 

[z06psi]

Did it on mine. All by myself.

 

[Kahboom]

Did my clutch and flywheel install on jack stands took about half a day. Used a trans jack I got from harbor freight for 99.00 which had 4 wheels on it and a ratchet strap it came with which was not long enough so I got a second strap which worked out fine. Replaced my shifter, piolet bearing, and hydraulic slave cylinder all at the same time since I was there. I considered replacing the pulse trigger ring with an MMR one but I didn't have any issues with the stock one.

 

[ckendri]

I concur with the others. I did mine in about 6-7 hours on jacks stands with a cheap harbor freight trans jack. I’ve done it on other cars with a floor jack, but it’s worth the $100 to avoid the frustration. It’s tight, but totally doable. I did mine by myself.

Sponsored