Ok, guys...If you've been paying attention to Capedcadaver's swap thread you know we've been going back and forth about the carrier bracket removal - this thing:




FACT: the brackets meant for manual transaxles (pictured) vs. auto trannys have different part numbers and have slightly different offsets to them.

You MAY have leakage to the passenger-side axle seal if you don't swap them when you do a 5-speed swap. I never did on my car and 3 axle seals later it still leaks gear oil (recently found out about them being different).

So, if you've done the swap (only a handful of people on here these days) did you or did you not swap the bracket and do you or do you not have a leak?

I am about to replace my VG M/T with a VLSD unit from a VE and have obtained a M/T bracket to install to remedy my leakage problem. I am interested in the method(s) people have used to remove the bracket that's in place. It sounds like most people have difficulty with it and (most) give up and deal with the potential problem of a leaky tranny.

It it best to unbolt the crossmember, unbolt the lower mount bolts and/or upper mount bolt, is there a trick to sliding it out, etc???

If you have any helpful info on the topic let's hear it!

 

Probably explains all this mess..

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=405426

And maybe this one..

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=404630

 

The difficulty is getting a tool in there which has enough length to crack the bolt loose, but also fits in the narrow space. I bought a short 12mm 6-pt 3/8"-drive socket specifically for one of the bolts on it, and after that it came loose.

If you're changing the tranny at the same time, you might as well hang the engine on a chain and get rid of the crossmember, then have easy access. I assume of course that you would lower the engine later anyway to align the replacement tranny.

 

The cross member/rear mount need to be out of the way for this part to be removed without issues..

 

I would be doing this job separate of the tranny...Lift time in his garage in at a premium so I need to get in, change it, and get out.

I don't have the capacity to suspend the engine in my garage, where I would be swapping trannys.

I don't see what you mean by lowering the engine to align the tranny...When I did it last time I used a normal hydraulic jack to lift it and just aligned and wiggled it into place by hand.

 

Well I was working with the VE auto, which I think might be bigger (never seen the 5-sp), so there was not enough room to get it to the side of the engine and then fit it on, I had to do it with the engine being lower.

Can you put a jack under the oil pan where you'll be doing this, and then remove the crossmember?

 

i would say to use a pair of scissor jacks w/ wood blocks under the oilpan on both sides of the crossmember, if the tranny is not installed, and just one on the belt-end if the tranny is installed. i'd have to use 2 jacks on my parts car, as there is no tranny in the car at all.

 

Ben, you should be able to support the engine with a floor jack or jack stand and some wood, and remove the rear mount, then get to the axle bracket. It really shouldn't be that big a deal...

~Alex

 

I don't see either of those threads as having any relation to my problem other than the fact his tranny was leaking oil (from the other side.)

 

im having the same problem with my swap that i did 2 years ago. And while using the automatic's carrier support bearing bracket after about a couple of months i notice gear oil around that area but nevertheless leakage. Then after a couple weeks after noticing that it started leaking gear oil. So i figured i change the output shaft seal and go on about my business and see what happens after that. Then after a day at the racetrack i notice that next day i was leaking again. So by now im fuc_ing pissed off ready to place a 20lb mallet to the car and beat the sh_t out of it to releaf some tension and fustration. Then after a day on the couch and my hands in my paints i figured i give it another shot. Went back to the auto part store purchased another seal re-did it all over again. Then this time it lasted about a week and then started leaking. By now again im not as mad so i parked the car in the garage and its been sitting there about a year 1/2 now while my attention has been focused on my z31 turbo.

I wish i was informed of this when i was swapping out my auto for an 5 speed then some of us would'nt of had this problems

 

Well now we both know, although it is wierd that no one knew about this before...

 

bah another part I threw away on the parts car I needed....great.

~Alex

 

i'd offer to find you one at the JY but a) there are no 5spd maximas in any local JYs that i know of and b) you don't seem to like the prices my local JY charges haha

tho somehow i gotta get the one out of my parts car. MAN i wish i had an engine hoist. the engine is held in by 2 jacks and a rear mount atm... i'll reinstall my bum-crap front mount and then take off the rear. joy. rear is harder iirc.

 

I'll grab one from the local yard at some point. The only reason why I wanted you to grab some stuff is because A im busy and b its been bad weather untill lately. I can get my own parts soon enough now...

~Alex

 

yea i have been following with the 4th gens and there problems! i figured since the trans are somewhat identical in contrast that they are probley have the same problems as ours. They have the input shaft issues, And then there's the infamous leaky output shafts seals. Well since someone has finally descided to in-form many of us who has already done this swap and was not aware of this problem in the first place thanks. I figured since i was all ready and commited to buy a reman or a semi new low mileage one and swap it in then stummbled across this threat im kinda glad more money for me. So i guess it all worked out for the better.


By the way has anyone actually done this swap? If so shed the light On us.

 

Whenever I get around to it I will take pictures of whatever is in the way (engine mount) and do a write-up on it. Maybe then I'll throw it in with the 5-speed swap info...

 

I got my Bracket Today Too, for manual trannies. You guys are right its clearly an offset from the auto trannies. thats why my trans has'nt been completely in hopefully this clear's things up under there. Besides i dont want to ruin my polyurenthene bushings for my st sway bar.

 

I am now wondering if the y-pipe should be removed while doing this. Guess I'll find out soon enough.

 

nope! when i change mine out i left it in tacked but the crossmenber has to be removed along with the motormounts tho.

 

what causes the need to remove the whole crossmember? so the ratchet can go in at an angle to where you can actually unbolt the mount from the block? and with the crossmember out how did you support the whole engine? my parts car has no tranny at all for support, so with the crossmember (and thus engine mounts) out it would be totally free-suspended in the engine bay. i have 2 jacks under the front end of the engine, maybe a ratchet strap or ratcheted chain to hold the something-on-the-back-of-the-engine to a strap/chain wrapped under the bumper to a tow hook on the bottom? tryin to remove the bracket and live to tell of it, if yaknow what i mean.

this is what it looks like under the parts car right now:



maybe not the best choice in jacks, but it's stayed sturdy that way since the last week of february.

 

cuz there are two hidden bolt inside of the rear mount bracket and, there's no way in hell that you can get them off easily. i thought so my self when i started this and then i figured that theres no way possible for me to do so. And besides you cant get the carrier bracket out without these bolts being removed.

 

I did an axle replacement on my maxi a week ago, and my auto axle bracket was loose! It was from the previous owners messing with the car (tranny was bad and they dropped it at least once so they messed with alot of stuff). I could move the bracket about 1/4in. I just tightened the two 14mm's I could get too, so that'll have to hold it untill I can grab one from the junkyard. Its not going to be fun...

Oh well at least my new axle seal isnt weeping as bad as it was last time. And it was like that for 20K miles....

~Alex

 

Bracket got swapped in with the new tranny. It was a miserable experience I hope to never repeat...3+ hours involved (using a hoist, no less!)

 

k so i'm in the middle of doing this job on-car. i just had so much **** fall in my left eye it ain't funny. and i bruised one of the bones on my right forearm. and i got sliced by the ypipe. and my shirt got caught on my jackstand.

what a pita haha.

i'll see if i can offer any tips to those doing it on-car when i'm done and have my engine stable for overnight sitting

 

Good luck! You'll need it...

 

Eh. Yea, Right eye, no problim... all would be ok if it wasnt for the officer taking all fun out of the enjoyment of u works.

 

haha. actually bolting the lil sucker back up was a piece of cake. putting the member back on the mounts, and then back onto the frame however....

..... <- there'd be more but i ran out of suitable smileys!


maybe you didn't remove the member on yours? but i found that since i was doing the oilpan re-seal already, i might as well just take advantage of the engine being suspended by the hoist. i REALLY hope i didn't overstretch the high pressure PS hose....

 

Its only a few bolts to remove the PS pump, move it behind the strut mount then you dont have to worry about its hoses.

And another tip: spend friggin $6 and be much happier

 

T hose makes u look like ah_mad_in_jehad during his maniac nuke boast inspection = unhappy, ugly, nosight with dirty glasses

But yes, use em ... with white gloves ... while dreaming on your back on the wet lawn under u max.

 

No wonder the factory manual shop does not talk about removing this support bracket when performing a transmission removal.

So it is really about swears and tears heu?
I was really hoping there was an easier way of doing it...

 

well now that i've had time to think about it, the easiest way to do it on-car is to go ahead and bolt the tranny in and have it fully mounted, rather than trying to do it with the tranny out. that way you've still got 3 mounts holding the engine. then just jack up the oilpan to relieve tension on the mount, which allows you do to all the swapwork on that bracket without having the engine suspended over your face by a hoist... and you won't have to spend half as much time as I did getting the bloody mounts to line back up to the member, and member to frame.

 

Hummm.... Do you mean i could get the tranny out without removing that F***** bracket?

Note that i have a 5th gen. But i figured if you guys are complaining about it, it must be the same thing....

 

i mean if you're doing an auto-to-manual swap, pull the axles, then either swap the bracket before you pull the tranny out, or after you put the new tranny in. the tranny mounts help support everything as well, so it won't require use of a hoist. but on your VQ, the upper side-mount should take care of that for you I think... are your front and rear mounts on the tranny or on the engine block? if they're on the tranny then the axle bracket will not be constrained by the mounts anyways. if they are on the block then you will still have to pull the mount off to get it out.

 

Front and rear mounts on the VQ are on the block itself, then there's the front cover mount, and the trans mount. No need to remove really anything to get that carrier bracket off (actually I think the Y has to be removed to make it a lot easier), but certainly no motor mounts.

The axle being in place makes it a tad more difficult because of space constraints, but it's still very doable with the axle in.

 

oh ok, so then the VQ isn't nearly the headache as the VG/VE. Our rear engine mounts are 2/3 of the way to the timing cover (between cyl 2/4 and 1/3) and we have two transmission mounts, 1 in the back of the tranny and 1 in the front. So we have a 'rectangle' pattern and you VQ guys have a 'diamond' pattern with 2 on the sides and then front/back. Our rear mount goes OVER the axle carrier bracket.

 

DAMN ... I am in the middle of doing a 5 speed swap. Jus when I thought I had EVERYTHING !?!?!... It took me 5 months to finally find a 5 speed VE car too..

My question ...is this bracket needed reguardless of VE or VG engine ????... I have a VE auto and I assume you guys have VG`s...

 

http://www.courtesyparts.com/kb_sear....php?keywords=[39781]+\(j30&cPath=1610_1611_1677_1699

yep you still got to swap it

 

yeah .. that`s confirmed.. just got home from the dealer and they have 2 different part numbers... the auto one is an 85E10 and the manual is 85E00. Off to the junkyard again... the dealer priced that part at 200 bucks !?!?!...." F-THAT".

I take it this is a new discovery because nobody ever mentioned this as part of the 5 speed swap

 

i think it's a fairly recent discovery... I don't know that it was mentioned back during the older stickies and stuff.

 

thank god the car that I pulled the trans from is still in the yard. Unfortunately... it`s true that u have to drop the x-member to get it out. I had all the bolts out and loose and it was not comming out !!! The bracket acts as a spacer for the engine mount. Gonna go back tomorrow w/ a jack to get it out.