Removal and Replacement
REMOVAL1. Disconnect the battery.
Throttle Valve Cable:
2. Loosen throttle valve cable locknuts and remove cable from engine bracket.
3. Raise vehicle.
4. Remove front wheels.
Steering Knuckle Splined Bolt Locations:
5. Remove steering knuckle upper bolt but only loosen lower bolt. The steering knuckle bolts are splined. Do not turn bolts to loosen them. Hold each bolt head with a wrench and loosen/remove the nuts as needed. Then tap upper bolt out of strut and knuckle with mallet.
Tilting Steering Knuckle Outward:
6. Tilt steering knuckle outward.
Transaxle Splash Shield:
7. Remove splash shield.
8. Position drain pan under transmission oil pan.
9. Loosen nut attaching transmission fill tube to oil pan and drain transmission fluid.
10. Tighten fill tube attaching nut to 100 N.m (74 ft-lbs) torque after draining fluid.
Converter Housing Covers:
11. Remove converter housing side and bottom covers.
Converter Driveplate Location:
12. Remove bolts attaching converter to drive- plate.
13. Remove roll pins attaching driveshafts to differential output shafts.
14. Pull drive shafts off differential output shafts.
15. Support transaxle with jack stand. Take care to avoid damaging oil pan.
Crossmember To Side Sill Nuts:
16. Remove nuts attaching crossmember to side sills.
Crossmember And Cushion:
17. Remove bolt and nut attaching rear cushion to transaxle support bracket.
18. Remove bolts attaching exhaust pipe bracket to rear cushion.
19. Remove crossmember and rear cushion as assembly.
Support Bracket:
20. Remove support bracket bolts and remove bracket from transaxle.
Exhaust Pipe Connection:
21. Disconnect front exhaust pipes at manifolds.
Exhaust Bracket Nuts:
22. Remove nuts attaching exhaust pipe bracket to front Y-pipe.
Converter To Exhaust Pipe:
23. Remove nuts attaching catalytic converter to Y-pipe.
24. Disconnect oxygen sensor wires.
Lowering Engine Cradle:
25. Lower engine cradle for working clearance. Loosen engine cradle bolts until there is 1/2 to 7/8 inch space between cradle and side sill. Do not remove bolts completely and do not lower cradle any more than specified.
26. Remove front exhaust pipe assembly.
Starter Connections:
27. Disconnect cables and relay wire at starter.
Starter Removal:
28. Remove starter bolts and remove starter, plate and dowel.
Shift Cable Bracket And Brace Rod:
29. Disconnect shift cable at transmission shift lever.
30. Remove cable bracket bolts and remove bracket.
Brace Rod To Bracket Attachment:
31. Remove brace rod. After removing brace rod, reinstall rear bolt to hold neutral switch in place.
Shift Cable And Bracket:
32. Squeeze lock tabs on shift cable and remove cable from bracket.
Engine Speed Sensor:
33. Remove engine speed sensor.
Transmission Fluid Cooler And Hoses:
34. Disconnect transmission fluid cooler hoses. Then clamp-off, or plug hoses to prevent fluid loss.
Speedometer And Sensor:
35. Disconnect speedometer sensor wire and remove sensor.
Support Transaxle With Jack:
36. Support transaxle with transmission jack.
Converter Stud Nut Locations:
37. Remove engine-to-converter housing stud nuts.
38. Remove remaining engine-to-converter housing bolts.
39. Pull transaxle away from engine. Lower transmission jack and remove transaxle from under vehicle.
INSTALLATION
1. Inspect the converter drive plate. Replace the plate if warped, cracked, or damaged in any way.
Converter Pilot Hub Location:
2. Coat torque converter pilot hub with bearing grease.
3. Raise transaxle on transmission jack and position transaxle on engine.
4. Align converter housing with engine and seat transaxle on engine. Be sure transaxle is seated on the two engine alignment dowels.
5. Install and tighten engine-to-transaxle attaching bolts to 43 N.m (31 ft-lbs) torque.
Converter Stud Nut Locations:
6. Install and tighten the two mounting stud nuts. Tighten nuts to 43 N.m (31 ft-lbs) torque.
Speedometer And Sensor:
7. Install speedometer sensor. Tighten sensor bracket bolt to 10 N.m (90 in-lbs) torque.
Transmission Fluid Cooler And Hoses:
8. Install hoses on transmission cooler and tighten hose clamps.
Engine Speed Sensor:
9. Install engine speed sensor. Tighten sensor mounting bolts to 8 N.m (72 in-lbs) torque.
Shift Cable Bracket And Brace Rod:
10. Position shift cable bracket on transaxle.
11. Install and tighten shaft cable bracket bolts to 14 N.m (125 in-lbs) torque.
12. Install shift cable in bracket and connect cable to transmission shift lever.
13. Temporarily remove bolt securing neutral switch in case.
14. Attach brace rod to shift cable bracket and to case. Tighten bolt attaching brace rod to shift bracket to 10 N.m (90 in-lbs) torque.
15. Install bolt that attaches brace rod to transmission case to 10 N.m (90 in-lbs) torque. This bolt is also used to secure neutral switch in case.
16. Install starter, starter plate and dowel. Tighten starter bolts to 42 N.m (31 ft-lbs) torque.
Starter Connections:
17. Connect starter cables and relay wire.
18. Connect exhaust pipes to engine exhaust manifolds. Tighten exhaust pipe attaching nuts to 31 N.m (23 ft-lbs) torque.
Support Bracket:
19. Install support bracket on transaxle. Tighten bracket bolts to 40 N.m (30 ft-lbs) torque.
Crossmember And Cushion:
20. Position exhaust bracket on rear cushion.
Crossmember To Side Sill Nuts:
21. Install rear cushion and crossmember. Align cushion in support bracket and install cushion-to-bracket bolt and nut. Do not tighten bolt at this time.
22. Install but do not tighten exhaust bracket bolts.
23. Install new gasket on catalytic converter flange and connect converter to front pipe.
24. Tighten the converter-to-front pipe attaching nuts to 34 N.m (25 ft-lbs) torque.
25. Connect oxygen sensor harness connector to sensor.
26. Tighten rear cushion-to-support bracket bolt and nut to 67 N.m (49 ft-lbs) torque.
27. Tighten bolts that attach exhaust pipe bracket to rear cushion to 31 N.m (23 ft-lbs) torque.
Engine To Crossmember Bolts:
28. Install bolts and nuts attaching crossmember to studs on engine cradle. Tighten bolts/nuts to 60 N.m (44 ft-lbs) torque.
Engine Cradle Bolts:
29. Tighten engine cradle-to-side sill bolts to 125 N.m (92 ft-lbs) torque.
30. Remove jack stand used to support transaxle.
31. Connect driveshafts to differential output shafts. Install shaft roll pins with pin punch.
32. Apply Loctite 271 to driveplate-to-converter bolts and install bolts. Tighten bolts to 33 N.m (24 ft-lbs) torque.
33. Install converter housing covers.
34. Tilt steering knuckles inward and into struts. Tap splined steering knuckle bolts into place and install nuts on bolts. Tighten nuts to 200 N.m (148 ft-lbs) torque.
CAUTION: The steering knuckle bolts are splined. Hold the bolt head stationary with a wrench while tightening the nut. Do not attempt to turn the bolt head.
35. Install front wheels. Tighten lug nuts to 85 N.m (63 ft-lbs) torque.
36. If necessary, add synthetic-type 75W-140 gear lubricant to differential.
37. Install splash shield. Tighten shield bolts to 28 N.m (21 ft-lbs) torque.
38. Lower the vehicle.
39. Attach throttle valve cable to engine bracket.
40. Connect the battery.
41. Fill the transmission with Mopar Mercon transmission fluid. Do not use any other type of fluid in the ZF transmission.
42. Adjust the throttle valve cable.
43. Adjust shift cable.