Pulling tranny out!

I have replaced a few tranny's..Best done in the air ..But if your on the ground use a rolling hydraulic jack to put it in place ....I have had 2 of the biggest MF around that couldn't hold it in place while i started the bolts..I have done it alone with a hydraulic jack ..Make sure all area's with gaskets are properly cleaned and sanded if needed..Goodluck..It can be a royal Pain in the a--...

Good luck. I don’t know many car mechanics who would attempt that.

Not that big of a deal, you just need a floor jack, then you can put a piece of plywood on it about the size of the tranny pan so you don't dent the pan. If this is a used tranny that you are putting in it is not a bad idea to replace the seals before installing it, especially the front seal where the torque converter goes in as they can fail from time to time. You should pull the torque out of the used usn0it and leave it upside down over a bucket to drain over nite, then you should put a liter of fresh ATF in it and put it back in the tranny, their are 2 notches in the snout of it that line up with the pump so you have to be sure you have them line up and the torque is pushed all the way in. Also it is a really good idea to either flush or replace you rad and if you have one your external tranny cooler to make sur e their is not metal in the system from the old tranny, you can buy aresol cans of tranny flush from your local auto parts store. I worked in a tranny shop for 1 year and have R&R'ed around 200 tranny's in my life, plus I just did 2 of my own in my driveway recently, unfortunatly I have never doine an Aerostar. I can tell you it has 14mm/9/16 nut on the torque converter, you need to disconnect battery before starting, you most likely have to remove the starter, you will need a large screw driver or small pry bar to spin the torque so you can access all the torque nuts, you have to drain the tranny pan before you start, remo0ve all the bolts from it except 2 on one side,, then break the seal loose and the one side of the pan will drop, you catch it with a drain pan, slowly unscrew the 2 bolts to allow the pan to tilt and dump moist the fluid, then completely remove it, dump it and replace it, you will need the drain pane again when you pull the driveshaft as the ATF will come out when you pull out the slip yoke. Be sure you have almost everything disconnect before you remove the bell housing bolts, then you will probably have to pull and push on the tail to break it loose from the dowels. When you put the new one in you should grease the dowels and the center of the crank shaft so it slides in easy and will be easy to remove later if ever needed. When putting the new one in on a Ford the hardest part is lining up the studs on the torque converter to the holes in the flex plate before you start bolting up the bell house, line these up, as your starting the first 2 bolts (one on each side) in the bell housing and then keep check them and insure the torque can still rock side to side freely in the holes (it should have 1/8-1/4 inch clearance to the flex plate when the bellhousing is bolted up tight), be sure to tighten only a little bit, just a few turns on each bell housing bolt at a time and alternate from side to side, check everything as you go,s you suck the tranny up to the engine, also be sure the dip stick tube is in first as you can't always get it in after the tranny, be sure to pay attention to wires, lines, linkage as you raise and lower the trannys and also as you tighten everything up that they are not pinched anywhere and they are routed correctly. Check you U-joins well the driveshaft is out, they should move freely but not have any play, if they are stiff or have play they need replacement. When you get everything 0in place and you are ready to start the van, first add about 4-5 liters of ATF, this will fill the pan, when you start it cycle it through the gears once, then add another 3liters or so and cycle it through the gears again, now check it and top it up to the lower part of the safe or to the cold line, then you check for leaks and test drive it about 5miles and then check it again (idling in park or neutral), on an Aerostar it is important to have it at least at the full mark, about 1/8-1/4 over is best because the fluid tends to slush bad on corners on that tranny, then just recheck for leaks and you should be good. Hope this helps, I know it is not well written, I'm not feeling well as I write this but just PM me with any questions and I will try to help.

Why not? It is not that hard, I don't know many mechanics that wouldn't do it.

So did you get it out yet Tim?

I hear you, family really is the most important thing and to many take it for granted. Life is too short and we can't waste it all working.