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Cradle
The plan is to weld up a cradle to remove the LT95 with a trolley jack. Thanks to ScottW for his post on balancing the LT95 at http://www.aulro.com/afvb/isuzu-land...cing-lt95.html
This gives me a starting point on where the trolley jack should be positioned within the cradle. So here is the result:-
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...12/10/1357.jpg
This picks up 3 points of contact on the gearbox, one near the rear output shaft, one under the left hand gear box mount and a support under the bell housing - with a couple of vertical braces for good luck that stradle the gearbox. With a bit of trial and error it fitted very nicely.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...12/10/1358.jpg
At the balance point is a plate that mates up with the plate of a trolley jack that I have drilled and tapped some mating holes to fit.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...12/10/1359.jpg
And this is the cradle mated up. A bit of ajustment was required to get the cradle level but it all seems pretty good.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...12/10/1360.jpg
As a precaution I removed the cowling around the radiator fan and dropped in a panel of wood, just in case the motor decides to do anything funny. No idea if this is necessary but better to be safe than sorry.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...12/10/1361.jpg
And then I jacked the motor slightly and fitted the cross member and some wood packing between the springs and the sump to hold the rear of the motor in place. The engine mounts are brand new so that adds a bit of confidence.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...12/10/1362.jpg
Next up I'll remove the mounts and bell housing bolts and see what happens...
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Loving the thread mate, very interesting to follow
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We're on the home straight now. Everything is disconnected except the gearbox mounts and the bellhousing. The gearbox mounts have two bolts at the top that go all the way through the chassis and a single bolt at the bottom. I removed both the top bolts and left the bottom bolt attached but loose.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...12/10/1284.jpg
With a bit of support under the engine (just in case) and a strap around the bellhousing I loosened all the bellhousing bolts (and found one missing??). Then started removing the bolts from the top - getting towards the bottom bolts and the housing started separating at the top so I removed the extra jack from under the engine and it settled down.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...12/10/1285.jpg
Now comes the fun bit. I removed the remaining gearbox mount bolts and with a bit of a push and a shove the whole assembly pulled back beautifully - what a relief :banana: The balance and level was good. You'll see from the photo that the assembly had to be pulled back at least 150mm to clear the clutch.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...12/10/1286.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...12/10/1287.jpg
I dropped the box onto a couple of pieces of wood and extracted the trolley jack from under it - because I needed the trolley jack to lift the front of the car to get the box out from under. With the trolley jack at full reach I could just slide the gearbox out the side of the car. Hey, this is one seriously heavy piece of gear! With the brake and overdrive still fitted its a 4 person lift. But anyway, here it is in all its glory...
Note the oil from the oil pump
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...12/10/1288.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...12/10/1289.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...12/10/1290.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...12/10/1291.jpg
So thus ends the lesson. Yes, I know, getting it out is only half the battle. Getting it back in will be just as much fun - but I have confidence that the cradle will make it relatively painless.
So now I've got to - replace the rear main seal, replace the clutch, overhaul the oil pump, overhaul the transfer case and replace the front and rear oil seals - and the list goes on...
Couldn't have done this without all the gurus on this forum (you know who you are) :TakeABow:
And if anyone in the West wants to borrow an LT95 cradle I'm your man
Cheers
Pete
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Thanks Pete
Your cradle works.
Thanks for the opportunity to replicate it.
Mine is for a V8, so the bellhousing transverse strap is different.
Can't wait to give it a go, when the final adjustments are made and all that's required for parts is to hand.
The balance point is the critical part and without the link to the other post a bloke would be lost.
Cheers,
Richard
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Great thread. Thanks for taking the time to post photos. Keep it up.
