Ok, first off i want to say sorry for no pics. I will be as descriptive as possible.
Also, if some of the sizes are off, i apologize, but its been a week since i did this so its a bit hazy on the sizes. i know the casle nut is 1 1/4" for a fact and other than that a 19mm is as big as you will need.

TOOLS NEEDED : 10mm to 19mm sockets and socket wrench. (1/2" drive preferably) with at least 9 inches of extensions. 1 1/4" end wrench. 10mm to 19mm end wrench set. Tire tool (lug-wrench). Medium to large needle0-nosed pliers. Large flat-head screwdriver. Large prybar (crowbar) Hydraulic jack and 4 jackstands. (better to do on a lift, but thats not always possible)

MATERIALS NEEDED : Replacement transfer case. New gear oil for transmission and transfer case. (consult owners manual for required type) RTV red high temp silicone.

DISCLAIMER : I hereby release myself from all liability of injury or damage to personal property by using this How-To. This task will be performed at your own risk.

NOTE : A second person will be needed to help with the final step.

Step 1: To start this task the first thing to do is get your car onto a lift, or at the very least, a good set of jackstands. After raising your car, go ahead and drain the tc and the transmission. Then remove the passenger side wheel.

Step 2: With the wheel removed and out of the way, you will want to take the brake caliper off by removing the two 19mm bolts from the back of the caliper. You will also need to use a screwdriver to spread the brake pads far enough out to slide the caliper off the rotor.

Step 3: The next thing to do is remove the castle nut from the c/v shaft. (its the large nut in the center of the rotor) It should have a cottle key going through the middle of the shaft. Straighten the key with needle nose pliers and remove it before attempting to remove the actual nut. The nut will be 1 1/4" standard size. (I didn't have the correct metric wrench but the standard works fine) The transmission will need to be in gear to remove the nut. It will be very tight. If an impact wrench is available, that is the best way to go.

Step 4: With the castle nut out of the way, go ahead and take the rotor off and set it aside. The brake dust cover can now be removed too by taking out the 10mm bolt in the left side of it. You are now ready to remove the c/v shaft. To do this, you will need to remove the two 19mm bolts that connects the strut to the lower suspension. With those out, the lower suspension should lean outwards and the shaft can be pulled out of the hub. At this point, you can pull the c/v shaft out of the transfer case. You may need to pry on it some to get it out, but usually not. (be prepared for some gear oil spillage if you havent drained the tc yet.)

Step 5: Now for the fun part... Under the car you go. The first thing you want to take off is the (for lack of a proper term) braces. They will be the tubular bars bolted at both sides of the car. One has only the two bolts, and the second has a third bolt in the center.

Step 6: With the bars out of the way, you can move on to the exhaust. To get this step started, you will need to remove the two bolts connecting your turbo to your exhaust pipe. (for those with upgraded exhaust and turbos, this may be different for you. I am referring to the stock turbo.) With those bolts out, you can move on to the brackets holding your exhaust pipe in place. The brackets will be located directly underneath the firewall. There should be a small 13mm bolt in each of the two brackets. After taking the bolts out of the front bracket, locate your o2 sensor (should be somewhere in the middle of the exaust behind the cat) Now you can remove the last bracket from the rear of the exhaust system and drop the entire system.

Step 7: Now for the driveshaft. You will only have to remove the front part of the driveshaft. This is done by removing the four bolts from the center of the driveshaft. The front half should now drop down and you can pull the driveshaft out of the transfer case.

Step 8: Having fun yet? I hope so, because now its going to get even better. You will now be lowering the suspension cradle. (again for lack of a more proper term) The cradle is two crossmembers underneath the engine and transmission. There will be one bolted at each side of the firewall, and another off-center running under the engine toward the front bumper. It is attached to the first crossmember. The crossmember under the firewall has 6 bolts holding it up. The first 4 of these are bolted to the chassis under the firewall. There should be a 17mm and a 15mm bolt on either side. The last 2 nuts are a bit tougher to reach. The A- frame ( lower suspension) should have a circular hole in it and if you look through the hole, you will see a 19mm nut directly above it about 6 inches up. There is one on both sides. The nut is holding the suspension to the chassis. After removing those 6 bolts/nuts, remove the one bolt that attaches the second crossmember (the one going toward the front bumper)

Step 9: Now you are ready to start getting the transfer case unbolted. There shoud be a total of 6 bolts attaching the tc to the transmission, all 17mm. After removing all of the bolts, you will need to take a screwdriver and ease the driver-side c/v shaft out of the transmission. ( you should be able to do this without taking anything off the driver-side. It only has to come out a couple inches, just enough to get it free from the transfer case) With all of the bolts now out of the cradle and the driver-side shaft out a bit, you will need a second person to use the prybar to push the lower suspension and cradle down and toward the rear of the car. this should give you enough room to wiggle the tranfer case off the shaft and lower it down to the ground.

Finally finished. Good work! To re-install your tc, simply reverse the steps, and don't forget to push the driver-side c/v shaft back into place after you get at least 2 bolts started in the tc. Also, there will be a round protrusion on the center of the tc where it mates to the transmission, be sure to put a bead of rtv around this to seal the two together and prevent leaks. I hope this helps guys.

If you have any questions about this how-to feel free to pm me and i will answer any question to the best of my knowledge.

 

Very helpful thread.

 

i really wish i didnt need this how-to

 

things the OP left out of this how-to:

in order to do this you must remove the output shafts from the tcase and on the transmission. there is a threded spot on the shaft you can put a bolt into and attach the slide hammer to. you MUST have a slide hammer (you can rent one from autozone). you must remove the driver side axel.

also you should remove the cross brace with the front engine mount. if you loosen the suspension cradle and remove this brace the transfercase will literally fall off the car

good luck


-kris

 

when I removed my TC, it took me hours prying it off from transmission. I was told that it has to be pried off perfectly even on both sides.

 

if you are talking about the shaft inside of the tc, i took it out after the removal, and yea, you have to take that out because the new one will not have it. sorry about that guys.

 

all i used was a hammer. nice write up tho

 

http://www.mytoolstore.com/wilmar/prod040.html W2015P threads right into the input shaft so you can pull it out.

 

I apreciate your time on this, wery helpful

 

Very helpful writeup

 

Great write up man!

 

Now this is cool and cheap!

 

How heavy is the TC?? Just want to know what to expect when it comes off

 

pretty heavy, around 70 lbs.

in case you missed it.
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...val-video.html

 

I did miss it - thanks. Mines ACD too so that will help. How many have done this without a lift?? Is it a monumental task? Any extra advice/tips for doing it on a garage floor? lol