The Jeep Guru – Page 51 – Jeep Performance Improvement Ideas

December 23, 2011March 26, 2012

How to Replace the Transmission in a Cadillac Catera.

The Cadillac Catera was designed a sport grand touring car. It is actually an Opel Omega built in Germany. When it was introduced, the automotive magazines sang its praises loudly. The car drives and handles well. However, they have proven to be rather high maintenance and unreliable. Also, parts are hard to get and they are expensive.

The transmission is a GM 4L30E. This same transmission is used in BMW’s and Isuzu Troopers. I found some useful information in some of the Trooper forums.

The owner of this particular Catera found a replacement transmission on ebay. I had it delivered to my office parking lot. We swapped it on to my little utility trailer in the parking lot rather than having the truck negotiate the long gravel driveway to my shop.

With the car on the lift and the battery disconnected, I began by draining the fluid. Fluid is added through a hole in the side of the pan. There is no dipstick or filler tube like on other GM transmissions. I only drained the amount that comes out when the engine is off. The level in the pan is lower when the transmission pump is running. For this reason, the transmission fluid level must be checked with the engine running. Which is interesting considering the exhaust pipe runs just a couple of inches from the fill hole.

To release the torque converter from the pressure plate, I removed the rubber plug from the bottom of the bell housing. I used a long screwdriver to slowly rotate the flex plate until a bolt was visible through the front hole. An assistant with small fingers was helpful in removing the bolts through the access hole. There are six bolts that hold the torque converter to the flex plate. They all had 15mm heads.

**See update below on turning the crank by the damper pulley bolt instead.

I next disconnected the drive shaft at the coupling. I should have dropped the exhaust pipes at this point. It would have made removing the oil cooling lines much easier. Next I disconnected the electrical connectors and the oxygen sensors and removed the exhaust pipes. Be careful with the sealing rings at the front as they are very expensive from the GM dealer if you damage one. You can likely get them cheaper at a muffler shop but I was able to reuse the ones on this car.

Note: I was later able to find the sealing rings at Advance Auto but they are marked as discontinued by Fel Pro. They we still over $20 each which seems a lot for a simple gasket.

With the pipes out of the way, disconnect the shift linkage and anything else that might be connected. You may have to cut some wire ties on the wiring harness. Next, support the transmission on a jack and remove the cross member. The transmission mount was broken on this car so the cross member fell off when the bolts to the body were removed. The body bolts had locktite on them and were very difficult to remove.

Two of the main transmission bolts come in from the front of the engine and the rest come in from the transmission side. They all had 19mm heads. There are also four small bolts that hold the bottom of the bell housing.

I removed all the bolts and carefully slid the transmission back off the dowels and let the converter nose slip out of the crank. Then I lowered it out form under the car.

I set the two transmissions side by side on the floor and made sure everything was a match. All the sensors were in place on the replacement transmission so I did not have to move any over.

I then secured the transmission on the jack and set it level as that was how the engine was sitting. The sticker on the replacement transmission warned that the front seal needed to be replaced. I did not see any evidence of leakage but I pulled the torque converter any way to see how the seal looked. Sure enough, there was a visible worn spot on the seal.

The owner picked up one at Auto Zone that did not fit. He tried to get one form the Cadillac dealer but it was going to take two weeks. We found one on ebay but I decided to try one from Advance auto. That seal was made different but fit fine. The original seal has three bolts that hold it in place. The instructions say not to drive the seal in but to use the bolts to pull it down to a seat. The replacement seal from Advance did not have the three bolt holes so I had no choice but to drive it in. I did so carefully.

[Important Update! About three months later, the pump seal popped out of place. The transmission had to be removed from the car and a new seal fitted. This time I took the time to order the correct seal form a supplier on Ebay. This seal had the correct three retaining bolt tangs on it. It may be possible to fabricate some retaining clips for the Advance Auto seal, but I think it would be better to just use the correct seal. Note: do not use a seal without some means of mechanically fastening it in place!]

I had a lot of trouble getting the torque converter indexed back on the pump drive splines. I thought I had it once but when I went to set the transmission in place, it contacted the flex plate way too soon. I had to set it back down and try again. After much spinning of the torque converter, it finally dropped into place on the cogs and then there was plenty of room.

I made sure the transmission was lined up with the engine and carefully slid it into place. Everything slid into place easily. However I took my time and made sure that the bolts drew the transmission up evenly.

Ideally you would spin the torque converter a few times to make sure it is centered in the crank before bolting it to the flex plate. However, due to the design of the bell housing, all I could do was rock it back and forth a few times. I was glad I had pre aligned one of the tabs on the converter with a hole in the flex plate because it is very difficult to turn the torque converter through the tiny access hole.

I use a magnet and a small fingered assistant to work the bolts into place. Between bolts, I again used my long screwdriver to slowly rotate the flex plate to the next position. Once they were all in, I spun it all around one more time and torqued each one down tight.

Update: I found a 16 mm 12 point socket would fit the reverse torx crank bolt and allow me to rotate the engine form the front rather than awkwardly using the screwdriver on the starter ring.

Next I reconnected the wires and the shift linkage. I then reconnected the cooling lines being careful with copper washers on the rear banjo fitting. I fitted a new mount and reattached the cross member and exhaust hanger. There is a helpful arrow on the cross member to show which way is the front.

With all the bolts in place, I then reconnected the drive shaft. I had to use a soft hammer to get the shaft to slip over the output shaft of the transmission. I did not want to try to pull it down with the coupler. The local dealer wanted $220 for the coupler, so don’t damage it.

I set the left side exhaust pipe in place and reconnected the oxygen sensors. I then dropped the oil pan and installed a new filter and gasket. It was much easier to do this job under the car than with the transmission on the floor. I reinstalled the pan and filled it with fluid. I then put up the other exhaust pipe which limits access to the fill hole.

To fill the entire transmission, the pump must be turning. That means that the engine must be running.

Based on advice from a friend, I built a device to quickly put fluid in the transmission. I used a length of ½ inch clear tubing and a gallon transmission fluid jug. I drilled a ½ hole in the cap of the bottle and slipped the hose inside and down to the bottom. I used my heat gun to help straighten the hose. I then drilled a 3/8 hole near the handle of the jug. I put fluid in the jug and slipped the hose in the fill hole. I then used my air blow gun to pressurize the jug and force the fluid up into the transmission. A quart of fluid will transfer in seconds so be careful if you use this method.

Once the transmission was filled, I plugged the hole and lowered the car. I shifted it into all the gears and drove it forward and backwards. I could hear the pump whining so I knew it still needed more fluid. I picked it back up and filled it again. It seemed to stay full after having moved all the solenoids by selecting all the gears and moving the car.

I gave it a test drive and brought it back and checked for leaks. Finding none, I drove it back to the happy owner.

See update on pump seal here

December 20, 2011

Hacking with Sugru

I have been reading about Sugru on several websites. I finally decided to order some and see what all the fuss is about.

I looked through the various bright colors and decided that black was really the only color I could see my self using for the projects I had in mind. It took some looking but I finally found where to order single color packs on the website. I entered my info and waited. My envelope arrived a few days alter and I was anxious to try out a packet.

I was at first surprised at how small the packets were. Somehow I had expected more volume for $15 but if it lives up to its reputation, it will be worth the price of admission.

For my first hack, as they call it, I decided to repair my broken key chain flash drive. It get s a lot of use and abuse and the case has been held together with tape for a while. More and more bits of plastic crumble off it each day. The exposed circuit board was beginning to worry me so it was an ideal test for my first Sugru hack.

I realized that about half a pack was all I was going to need for the repair. I did not want to waste the rest of the pack so I looked around for something else to test it on. I found a 2M radio that had an exposed wire at the power cord. Electrical tape keeps coming of the joint so I decided to try the Sugru.

For the thumb drive, I had to do a little prep work. The drive slips into a cover that is the key chain part. I needed to make sure the Sugru covered the damaged area but did not interfere with slipping it into the case. I read in the instructions that soap is a release agent. So I coated the case with dish soap and then molded the repair blob around the broken end of the drive. While it was still moldable, I slipped it into the cover. This made the Sugur form around the cover edge. I molded it in to the shape I wanted and let it set hoping it would really release for the cover.

The remaining Sugru, I molded into a blob around the wire side of the connector on the radio. I had a lot more confidence in this repair as I was able to work the putty between the wires and give it some mechanical grip as well as its adhesive powers.

After letting both tests set overnight I am pleased with the results in both cases. The thumb drive stuck a little in the cover but I was able to pull it out with a little force. It looks much better than the tape and exposed circuits. I think it is well protected now and should last a while.

The radio wire repair looks nice too. The joint is flexible and is much neater than having electrical tape wrapped around it. I am looking forward to hacking more things with Sugru.

December 16, 2011

A Trip to Mississippi

I made my annual trip to Pontotoc, Mississippi to pay my land taxes this week. The reason I pay the taxes in person instead of just mailing them in reads like a John Grisham novel. He lives just up the road between Pontotoc and Oxford. It is easy to see where he gets his story ideas from. I have not read any of them but having lived the situations, I know all too well what they must be about.

I took my Jeep Cherokee this trip instead of Dad’s more fuel efficient Mazda so that I could do some exploring. I had also hoped I could drive to the lake on our property.

I arrived in Pontotoc late Monday afternoon and the majestic old courthouse was still open. I paid the land taxes without incident and made sure my receipt was printed from the computer and signed by the clerk. We found a few years ago that is important to have both along with the cancelled check when someone alters the computer data base to make it appear that you have not paid your taxes.

I then made my way down to the farm. It was not as could this trip as it often is in December. The little space heaters warmed the bath room up right away while I went outside and turned on the water.

I considered meeting my cousin at the Masonic Lodge but I decided to go for a drive instead. I drove south to the Chickasaw Wildlife refuge. There is a maze of very well maintained gravel roads in the woods there. I went in across the levee of Davis Lake. I love the way the road comes up on to the levee and then disappears into the woods here.

I enjoyed the roads as it began to get dark. I made a pass by Witch Dance Hill. Supposedly this is where Indian Witch Doctors danced rituals in some distant past. All I saw was a lookout tower and a cell phone tower. I made a big loop and came back out of the woods across the levee.

The next morning, I decided to hike to the lake and see how the road was. I had decided not to bring my canoe since I was not sure the road was passable.

I took a short cut through the woods and intersected the field road about a third of the way in. It was in great shape there. At the bottom of the hill there were two quicksand mud holes. They would have been no problem for Scuffy but I was a little concerned about my street Jeep.

The rest of the road was in great shape. I will defiantly bring the canoe next trip. I hiked out to the edge of the lake and enjoyed the silence and the still water. There were deer, raccoon and beaver signs everywhere. In fact the beavers had cleared a spot on the bluff that made a nice scenic overlook of their expansion of the lake.

I hiked back to the house and took another long look at the big muddy spot. Being alone and with minimal recovery gear I decided not to try it with the Jeep this trip. When I bring the canoe, I will have sufficient reason to tackle it.

Later in the morning, I met with my cousin Millicent who lives next door. She told me about the attempted theft of some equipment down the road.

Luckily for the owner, someone was staying at the farm that night. The caretaker heard a noise and grabbed his shotgun. When he went outside he found that two young men had already moved the goose neck trailer from the farm’s truck to their truck and were attempting to load the skid loader onto it. He held them at gun point until the sheriff’s deputy arrived.

They told the deputy that they were give information about equipment along the road by a truck driver who ran that route daily. He would place his order and they would go pick it up for him. I hope our tractor is not on his list. That is part of why my family makes random visits to the farm to check on things there.

After taking with Millicent, I headed south to see what had changed in Aberdeen. I had not been there in a while. The Tennessee Tombigbee canals have really changed the area from what is was like when I grew up there. And the recent rerouting of the highway made it even more different. I drove around and found most things I remembered.

I stopped by the old shop in Gibson. Most of the equipment abandoned there after my grand father died is long gone. The shop building has collapsed but the welding jigs for the bulldozer blades he built are still visible in the floor.

In the vines and underbrush I found out old winch truck. I called it Rackety Boom as a kid and the name stuck. It was made from a Ford Hay truck. I am not sure what rear axle is in it. It looks larger than the Ford axle. It had road grader wheels on it so it may have come from a grader. It is mounted solid to the frame with no springs. The driver seat and steering wheel are reversed sop that the rear of the truck it the front.

A cable winch was drive off he truck PTO but it looks like some one had scavenged it. The boom was a truss made by my grandfather apparently out of scrap steel since it has some odd shapes in it. The hood and fenders are all that remain of the original truck body work. I would have loved to rescue it but there are trees growing up through the frame and I have no idea who even owns it now.

Back in Pontotoc, I made an attempt to find a WiFi spot. I normally use the one at Hardees. I first tried to connect from the parking lot but I could not get a signal. Next I packed up the laptop and charger since my battery is shot and went in side. I found a table by an outlet but the outlet did not work. There was a Christmas tree there but I was surprised to see the tree was plugged into an outlet in the ceiling.

When my food arrived I asked the girl about the outlets and she suggested that I plug in to the ceiling as well. Rather than climb on the tables, I fished around in the tree for the end of the strand of lights and plugged in my charger there.

I enjoyed my Chicken sandwich as the computer booted up. I had no trouble linking to their router form inside. However I was never able to get on the internet. I just got DNS errors for every site I tried to visit. I gave up and headed back to the farm.

I returned to my study of Napoleon Hill’s success course and enjoyed the quit of the old farm house. Well except for the trucks on the highway outside.

The next morning I headed home. I took a detour through Greenwood Springs, Ms to check on our family’s other piece of property there. I hiked up to where our house trailer had been. I used to find some of my old toys there but all that was left this time was some of the porch rails and some bricks. I explored the woods until I found the old well house and then headed up the road. I stopped at the other end of the property and explored the power line cut that looked freshly trimmed. There is a new fire station that was not there when I lived there.

I slowed to take a look at the old haunted house that we had lived in for a time. I did not see any ghosts so I continued on up the road.

I cut through Hamilton, Alabama drove toward Russellville. I was shocked by the devastation in Hacklelburg due to the spring tornadoes. There were downed trees for miles and plenty of foundations where homes had been. It appeared that the entire Wrangler jeans factory was gone as well. Maybe that was the source of all the new pairs of jeans found downwind.

December 10, 2011

Saving on Propane costs

I recently noticed that our propane costs have gone up a huge amount. I know the cost of propane has increased, but our usage is up as well. We use propane only for the stove and the water heater so we really should not use very much propane at all. In fact over the 15 plus years we have lived in this house I have pretty much ignored the propane bills and just let the truck driver stay on top of keeping my tank filled.

However I am paying the price for my inattention right now.

I started by setting back the thermostat on the hot water heater. There is no use heating the utility room any more than necessary. The clothes dryer does a good enough job with that.

Next I started checking for leaks. I mixed up a batch of soap and water and put it in spray bottle. I went around outside spraying joints. I started at the tank and worked my way back to the house. I checked the regulator vent as well because a broken diaphragm could be a big leak.

I finally found a joint that bubbled where the line entered the house for the stove. It had been repaired a few years ago and one of the fittings made a few bubbles. Snugging up the nut made the bubbles quit.

Next I checked around the hot water heater. It was relocated a couple of years ago when the floor was redone. Sure enough there was a leak where the copper pipe joined the shut off valve. I had to tighten the nut twice to get it to completely stop.

I had thought the smell around the hot water heater was just the kitty litter box but I guess it was the mercaptane in the propane after all. A couple of hours after I tightened the fitting, the air was much fresher smelling in the laundry room. I hope this will also translate in to lower propane bills as well.

December 6, 2011

Squeaking drive belt on a Jeep Cherokee

When we rebuilt Sandy’s XJ after the engine bay fire, we installed a new Gates serpentine belt. The old belt was completely burned up so a new belt was needed no matter what.

When we started it up, there was a squeak in the belt. I took the belt off and spun all the pulleys. The idler pulley had a nasty sounding bearing, so we got a new pulley and bearing. The squeak came back after a few days.

On a return trip to the shop, I listened to all the pulleys with a stethoscope and noticed a noise in the AC clutch. Since she has not yet bought an AC condenser, I simply swapped her compressor with one I had in the shop. The compressor was bad but the clutch was still good. I had planned to install a new clutch bearing on her at a later date when she was ready to have the AC repaired.

The squeak came back the next day. I let her drive it for a while to see if it would get worse or go away. It got worse.

Back at the shop, I again removed the belt and spun all the pulleys. I even briefly ran the engine with no belt to make sure it was not the damper rubbing the cover. All the pulleys sounded fine on the stethoscope but the squeak was quite annoying. Jennifer asked if it might be the belt.

I found a used but still good belt in the shop and slipped it on for a test. The squeak was completely gone. I drove it for a day to make sure it did not return as it has in the past. On the second day, it is still quiet.

I am not sure why the new belt squeaks. I plan to try it on another XJ sometime to see if it squeaks there. But for now she has a quiet engine again.