DougB
Roll Me Over
Reged: 11/08/02
Posts: 4123
Loc: Terre Haute, IN
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What was I thinking?! (AW372L Swap)
11/24/05 11:40 PM
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For some reason, FrankR and I always seem to get involved in the same project at the same time. I think I took the high road this time and found an awesome junkyard donor for a slightly higher price than what Frank was willing to pay. Hopefully, the extra cost means that this will be a straight swap with no problems. Man, it feels good to get back in the garage!
Having found suitable AW372L (A44DL) back in October at a junkyard in Duluth, MN, I finally got some parts ordered and decided to perform the swap over the long Thanksgiving break.
I began this morning with a quick oil change and evacuation of the A/T and T/C fluids, unhooking wires, driveshafts, the throttle control cable, and removing bolts. Actually, half the job is just like a filter change. With almost everything unbolted, I ran 3 tie straps across the bottom of the A/T & T/C and began slowly lowering the whole assembly down as a unit. I do not recommend this for 4 reasons:
1. Whoever said that the transfer case on a 3.0L SWB could be removed without dropping the transmission crossmember was definately smoking crack! C'mon, fess up. I know it was someone here.
2. With the lenght of the assembly, I had to back everything up so the bell housing cleared the driveplate. This meant that the transfer case would eventually come to rest on the chassis crossmember. Before that, however, it got hung up on just about everything around. The biggest issue was the shifter. Taking it slow, I was able to gently rock the assembly around most obstacles until... wait, what was that?...
3. You'll have to remove the front exhaust if you know what's good for you. I don't know what's good for me, so I used a pry bar and brute strength instead. Don't ask me how I plan on getting the new transmission in there without removing the exhaust. I haven't figured that out yet.
4. Did I mention it was cold outside?
A couple hours of gently forcing everything around and the transmission touched down on the edge of the bell housing. I placed a block of wood under oil pan to support the transmission and wresled the T/C off the crossmember. Once everthing was on the ground I was able to seperate the T/C from the A/T and by jacking up one side of the truck, I was able to slide both of them out from underneath.
There, that's that. Oh wait, I still have to recondition my new A/T and T/C and install them and be ready to drive around by Monday! If I do happen to make it on the road by then, I'll be able to get to my computer to post pictures.
I hope this is worth it. And thank you FrankR for your writeup. It's definately making things easier for me and I plan on diving into my old AW372 once all is said and done.
Happy Thanksgiving!
-DougB 
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LOST ARK
'89 Raider 3.0L V6 (6G72) w/ AW372L (A44DL) A/T
"The Millennium Falcon of automobiles"
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