Flexplate replacement tips...

88 XJ, 4.0 liter, obviously 4wd.

Have to replace my flexplate tonight considering I have to go to orlando tomorrow.

Never had the tranny out on either one of my 2 xj's, so any and all tips/tricks beforehand would be helpful!! thanks!

top bolts are an e-12 or e-13, weirdo. Make sure you have the right socket for those.
Easiest to drop the trans x-member so you can get at them easier.

e12 or e13? Do you mean metric? sae? or special? never heard of a socket beyond mm or sae, lol , except torx n stuff..

Also, was told i have to unbolt the torque converted... is that not part of the tranny/tcase unbolting?

Was also told Id have to unbolt my harmonic balancer.. is this true?

Re: Flex plate replacement tips...

Speed_racer said:

Also, was told i have to unbolt the torque converted... is that not part of the tranny/tcase unbolting?

Was also told Id have to unbolt my harmonic balancer.. is this true?

Click to expand...

Un-bolt the converter bolts first, then the bell housing bolts

here are the basic steps you need to do. I would not completely pull the tranny. You only need to pull it back a couple of inches.

Pull the dust shield on the lower bell housing.
Remove the torque converter bolts one at a time, rotating the flex plate to get access.
Put tranny jack under tranny.
Drop the driveshafts, front and rear.
Drop the cross member.
Lower the tranny to give you better access to top bolts
Disco and remove the CPS.
Unbolt the bell housing bolts.
Move the tranny back a few inches to allow access to the crank shaft bolts.
Hold the flex plate while removing crank shaft bolts.
Do a good visual inspection.
Replace new flex plate.
Install crankshaft bolts, use loctite, and torque them.
Reverse the rest of the process.

the top bolts are an external torx (i think it's 12, not positive though). there is a standard socket that will work usually, but not ideal and you may round them (3/8 6 point?).

a search for bellhousing bolts, external torx, etc should confirm the size on those.

Do i have to drain the fluid first?!?!

BrettM said:

the top bolts are an external torx (i think it's 12, not positive though). there is a standard socket that will work usually, but not ideal and you may round them (3/8 6 point?).

a search for bellhousing bolts, external torx, etc should confirm the size on those.

Click to expand...

e-12