Removing 4ag. Also transmission drain plug?

[Nyriks]

Hi I am getting ready to swap out my engine and I can't locate the drain plug for my transmission. Yes I am new physically working with cars and this is my first big project if you will. Any write ups with photos on what I should do to remove the engine would be fantastic along with a good place to source another one or write up on how to rebuild one. I have a 16v 4ag with power steering and a working AC if those info are needed.

So far I have removed the radiator, fan, and part of the air intake along with multiple wires.

Thanks,
-Tim

[Nyriks]

Ok so After more researching I found this link. I guess there are two plugs to drain from?

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/843/ ... aseof1.jpg

-Tim

[Grant]

There is an upper and lower plug. The lower hole is for draining the fluid. The upper hole is the "fill line." When you refill the transmission you want to fill it until the fluid starts coming out of the upper drain hole.

[Nyriks]

Thanks! Just got the fluid out and was wondering what the top was for.

-Tim

[Illegal_Garage]

Invest in a Factory Service Manual
all kinds of great info in there

Max

[Red]

Actually the upper hole is the FILL hole, and fill level hole. The lower hole is the DRAIN hole. It really is possible to fill by the upper hole, easy if you put a $2 vinyl tube on the bottle and hold the bottle to the side of the car, above the level of the fill hole. That way you can't spill tranny fluid inside the car.

While you are doing that, change the rear end fluid. The gearbox and differential take the same fluid (you can use LSD hypoid in both if you have an LSD rear) and about 3.5 liters between the two of them, so you just buy 4 bottles and get both done at once.

[Nyriks]

OK update on removing the engine. Got just about 95% of the wires labled and removed. Main thing in my way right now is the AC compressor, some other pulley above it, and power steering.

My questions now are...

1) Can I remove the compressor from the block and still pull out the engine to not let out any freon and such? Or is there another way to remove the piping and such from the compressor and condenser(?) for the AC

2) what is the other pulley system above the compressor?

3) correct way to undo the power steering?

Thank you so much for any information

-Tim

[gotzoom?]

The easiest thing to do is to tie a rope around the refrigerant hard line on the ac compressor where it connects to the top. Tie that rope off somewhere on the car so that it can suspend the compressor. Remove the four bolts that hold it into the bracket and it will drop away. It's a pain to get the engine in and out doing it this way, so you'll defintely want a buddy to help make sure you get the bracket past the compressor. Be sure and slide the bolts back into the compressor before dropping the engine back in. There is not enough clearance to get the bolts back in once you have the engine installed. Take your time and don't get frustrated with it. That's how you break a hardline and release the R12.

To remove the power steering pump, you need to remove the pulley first. That will expose both bolts that mount it to the bracket. You can use the rope trick on the ps pump too. If there is a big mess of ps fluid everywhere, you might want to use this oppotunity to rebuild the ps pump. I wouldn't bother trying to find a remanufactured one, since no one seems to have the correct pump with the speed sensor vacuum bung. The rebuild kit is pretty cheap and easy to do if you follow the directions in the service manual.

The simplest way to refill the trans is to tighten the drain and fill plugs both to spec, then remove the shift lever and pour the new oil in from the cabin. Be sure and use GL5 gear oil or you'll have trouble shifting. 85w90 should work well.

And, what Max said. Get a service manual. There are exploded view diagrams that make it easier to see how things come apart.

[Nyriks]

For the ac compressor I just unbolted it from the block and it seems to hang just fine with the tubing it came with. Just going to move it to the side and out of the way when I pull the engine out. Power steering I just undid the line going to the pulley and drained the fluid out.

Right now I am all ready to pull out the engine. Actually as of right now I am attempting to pull it out but things aren't going smoothly. When I attempt to lift the engine out anymore I am lifting the car up off the jack stands they are on. My guess would be to remove the rear brace by the end of the transmission by the yoke to give a better upwards angle. Which brings me to my next question... should I have removed the yoke from the transmission before hand or not? My friend was saying there was no need.

-Tim

[carbd7age]

Yes you need to remove the drive shaft from the transmission. Also remove the shifter if you haven't already, it'll get hung up against the floor of the car. Also remove the transmission crossmember. It helps to have a load leveler, too, so you can change the angle of everything as you pull it out.

[Red]

Tim, if you can't tie the compresor off, at least try duct tape. The tubing really isn't meant to hold up the weight, and if that pops something, purging and repairing the AC is damned expensive on these cars. And they're worth a lot more when it works.<G>

[Nyriks]

Ok thanks for all the info. Hopefully tonight it will come out willingly

[Nyriks]

crossmember is out, drive shaft is out, engine is coming out smoothly until I noticed two tubes in the back of head connected to something by the firewall. Can't seem to pry them off so should I just cut the tubes? They are flexible.

[Nyriks]

I just cut them. Didn't want to bend anything. With that being said... It is out. Finally. Phew

[Red]

About finger-thick? Those would have been coolant lines to/from the heater. If you cut those, you'll have to fix something or else you can't run the engine (no coolant flow now) and there will be no cabin heat. They would connect to the heater control valve on the firewall, which has a wire cable leading inside to control it. If you cut rubber hose, that's easy enough to replace. if you cut metal hardlines, that's going to be harder to replace.

Obviously this is a good time to replace all the rubber hoses and rubber vacuum lines. And the engine mounts as well. They all harden and fail with old age.

[Nyriks]

Yea they were coolant lines and yea they were just the rubber hose. Me and my friend took apart the engine and concluded to go with the 20v engine. Pretty much I'm not the genius one here and I am taking his word that it is easier to just swap the engine than to rebuild it but before that while I have the engine out I plan to transfer to manual steering. Any info and links to guides for 20v swaps and manual steering conversion would be most appreciated. Video of the damage. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3OaFqMM ... gw&index=1

-Tim

[Red]

" it is easier to just swap the engine than to rebuild it "

Easier, yes. But unless that 20v engine was just rebuilt, and rebuilt properly? You would be missing a great opportunity here.

A junkyard or donor engine almost always needs something. 40,000 miles? time for a timing belt. 100k? Time to check the valve lash. More tome on the block? Bearings, crank, seals...There's nothing like a nice dry engine that doesn't weep at all.

But even a new factory crate engine, is not built to the same standards as one that has been blueprinted by a good shop. And before a block goes in, it is fairly cheap & easy to port, polish, cc the head. Which will buy you extra speed and ecomony (both!) and a quieter smoother engine.

By all means, drop in a block, but please don't miss the chance to make that a really fine engine before you drop it in. Whether you keep the car or sell it, it should pay off.

[Nyriks]

Will definitely look into that. Thank you for the heads up.

For clarification... is this 20v blacktop ecu part number ok? 89661-1A860
It doesn't match any of the numbers here on this web page http://club4ag.com/tech-specs/4a-ge-20v ... ification/