TURBO's L52 (rebuild in progress)

TURBO · October 13, 2011, 12:11:38 AM

well, it's time...
my poor truck needs a trans rebuild. it's pop'n outa gear, and it grinds in 3rd everytime... beter to do it now before something really bad happends...

TURBO · October 13, 2011, 01:38:12 AM

FIRST THINGS FIRST

TURBO · October 13, 2011, 01:39:04 AM

SECOND THINGS SECOND

TURBO · October 13, 2011, 02:29:39 AM

so in order to do this job, I knew I was gonna have to buy a shop press... because there is absolutely no way to do this without one.
I hate the crap Harbor Freight sells, but I broke down and bought this one mainly because of this transmission build and also because I have needed a press sense forever.

-$129.00

oh by the way this is a 20 ton..... i seriously recommend you pony up the dough for this one it's way better than the 12 ton

TURBO · October 13, 2011, 02:50:52 AM

i also had this 3 jaw puller lying around and stumbled across it just today. a quick spritz of WD-40 and i cycled the threads all the way out and back in by hand and it's almost as good as new. if you dont have one of these Ive looked online just briefly, and they run any where from $25 to $200+ dollars, and are available at an Autozone, Kragens, Pep Boys...

this one might have to be modifyed, or might not even work, we'll have to see...

TURBO · October 13, 2011, 04:00:25 AM

PART 1: REMOVAL

first thing i did, was remove the shifter knobs. it's not necessary, but makes it a little easier to get the shifter boot off and the shifters out.

TURBO · October 13, 2011, 04:17:46 AM

To remove the trans shifter, use both thumbs, or a pair of plyers to push down and rotate counter clockwise

TURBO · October 13, 2011, 04:26:27 AM

Check both sides for signs of wear. this one's not bad. if it was bad it would take a shape like shown in RED or even just a big "Y" shape

TURBO · October 13, 2011, 04:34:06 AM

also check the shifter bases for worn/lose or wobbly pins. A lot of times they will be lose or flat sided. These ones don't look too bad.

TURBO · October 13, 2011, 05:00:12 AM

Remove t-case shifter boot to expose the c-clip. remove with pliers or calloused finger, and pull out t-case shifter and inspect both sides for wear as mentioned above. It's also nice to have a few boxes lying around so things don't get lost

TURBO · October 13, 2011, 05:16:24 PM

looks like I'll be doing a front and rear main seal before this is all over

TURBO · October 13, 2011, 05:32:00 PM

first thing i did was remove the four (4) 12mm head bolts of the rear propeller shaft and set it on the ground.
then i took out the speedometer cable, and unplugged the 4WD light and reverse light switch plugs.

TURBO · October 13, 2011, 07:02:40 PM

next thing I did was I got a 12mm wrench and removed the 2 clutch slave cylinder bolts and let it hang on the mount.
Then I drained the oil. The t-case drain plug is 17mm and the trans. is a 24mm, or a 15/16 will work.

TURBO · October 13, 2011, 07:59:07 PM

The next thing is to grab a 17mm socket and take out these 8 crossmember bolts (4 per side).
I sprayed some WD-40 on the bolts, hoping it would help them on the way out

TURBO · October 14, 2011, 01:09:21 AM

next is to take the crossmember off

TURBO · October 14, 2011, 02:04:19 AM

now the driveline... it's soooo much easier to do AFTER the cross member is off

TURBO · October 14, 2011, 11:12:06 AM

I decided to take it easy on myself and pull the t-case and trans separately. there are 6 bolts.
Tools i used
^o 14mm deep socket on a 3/8 drive ratchet
^o 14mm wrench
^o 14mm short socket on a 1/4 drive ratchet

used the wrench to break'em lose, and for the middle ones
the 1/4 drive to spin the bolt out
and the 3/8 drive ratchet for the bottom two

TURBO · October 14, 2011, 11:16:45 AM

I recommend taking this bolt out first. just to make it a little easier.
just break it lose with a 14mm wrench and use your 1/4" ratchet to spin the rest of the way out

TURBO · October 14, 2011, 11:22:56 AM

TURBO · October 15, 2011, 05:49:47 PM

Here is a pic with the approximate location of all the bell housing bolts

Also, don't forget to disconnect the battery before removing the starter

TURBO · October 15, 2011, 06:27:52 PM

Here is another pic of the front

*the hole on the right above the 17mm and 14mm bolt hole is for the exhaust clamp bracket bolt... mine was missing... i belive it's a 12mm head

TURBO · October 15, 2011, 08:45:46 PM

next i took the clutch fork out

TURBO · October 15, 2011, 08:49:56 PM

there is a clip on the back so just pull it strait out the hole in the bellhousing

TURBO · October 15, 2011, 10:37:08 PM

here is a better look at the clip

TURBO · October 16, 2011, 01:10:36 AM

PART 2: DISASSEMBLY

TURBO · October 16, 2011, 01:17:32 AM

There are 13 bolts to take the top cover off.
They are all 12mm head, and the 4 holding the shifter base on are shorter than the others.

TURBO · October 16, 2011, 01:21:54 AM

TURBO · October 16, 2011, 09:26:59 PM

There are eight ( 8 ) 14mm head bolts holding the tail housing on.
Use a dead blow hammer to remove the housing as shown.
Next thing I did was remove the t-case coupler from the main shaft.

TURBO · October 17, 2011, 01:23:20 AM

remove the 30mm nut from the counter 5th gear

TURBO · October 17, 2011, 02:01:08 AM

Then I used a 3/16 pin punch to drive out the fifth gear shift fork roll pin

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TURBO's L52 (rebuild in progress)