Installation:
- Remove the inspection plate on the bottom of the bell housing where it meets the engine block.
- Remove the torque converter bolt access cover on the front of the bell housing (fig. 17). You'll need a flex plate rotation tool to manually turn the flex plate and access all of the torque converter bolts through the hole.
- Remove the six torque converter bolts (fig. 18). Use an extension and a wobble to remove the converter bolts from the front side of the front axle (fig. 19).
- Disconnect the safety-neutral switch and PCM wiring harness from the transmission.
- Remove the skid plate (fig. 20).
- Remove the rear drive shaft.
- Remove the cross member and front drive shaft (fig. 21).
- Unbolt the transfer case from the transmission and remove it (fig. 22).
- Disconnect the transmission cooling lines from the transmission.
- Support the transmission with a transmission jack (Safety first! These suckers are heavy.)
- Unbolt the transmission bell housing from the engine block and lower the transmission and torque converter from the truck, being careful not to let the converter fall from the front of the transmission (fig. 23).
- Unbolt the OEM flex plate and remove it from the crank shaft.
- Install the new flex plate. Use red Loctite on the bolts and torque to spec (fig. 24).
- Place the new torque converter in the transmission and bolt the transmission back into place (fig. 25).
- Reinstall the transfer case, drive shafts, crossmember, transmission cooler lines, shift linkage, TTVA motor and safety-neutral switch in the reverse order they were removed.
On the road and around town, this transmission engages earlier under light throttle and feels much more responsive. Under heavy acceleration, it locks up 1st and 2nd gear, which feels much different than the stock transmission because now the engine is forced to hook up to the rear end early on in the power and put it to the ground. This transmission feels rock solid. We are now equipped to start adding some more power to the LBMC.