you can put the trans in nuteral with no fluid and driveshaft will turn. two ways to get the torque bar lose from the trans, you can drop the rear of the trans then the bolts will come outa the rear of the trans or you can take the rear of the torque bar lose and it should slide outa the trans mount.

 

Thanks again for all the help. I enjoy learning new things, and saving a few bucks at the same time.

I had to jam the button to get it into neutral, and still the drive shaft wouldn't turn, even with moving the wheels. I got it out though without turning it in the end. I tried lowering the trans and i still couldn't pull the last bolt in the rear out, even with dropping the trans all the way down. I guess the whole arm is being pushed to the rear of the car, enough that the last bolt wont move because the threads get snagged. At this point, I'm either going to tear the bushing up somehow to get it out and relieve the preasure, or cut the damn thing and replace it. Unless anyone else has any ideas :/

 

If you have your rear end on jackstands where the weight of the car is on the suspension then the torque arm bolts will not have enough room to clear the body. Lift the body of the car a few inches and you will be good here. Becareful once the torque arm is of since the rear end will be able to roll and it could be a safety issue if you are on ramps or jackstands under the rear end. I would put jack stands under the body at the lift points on the rockers.

As for the driveline not turning it should turn normally so long as the E-brake is off, the rear tires are off the ground (at least one) and nothing is binding the U-joints. If you have disconnected the linkage shifting inside the car would be useless. Also note that any gear other than park will allow the tailshaft to free spin. If it is a manual then yes you will need it in neutral. I hope this helps!

Massey

 

im sorta lost on why the torque bar is giving you a hard time. can you take a couple pictures and post? would help. once you drop the transmission crossmember and disconnect it from the trans the mount should slide off the torque bar on that end. then the pressure on the rearend should be relieved, like massey is saying the rearend needs to be dropped a little from its on the ground position to get the bolts to clear so they can be removed from the rearend.

 

I'm lost too. The back is on jackstands under the rear end, but yesterday I tried putting the weight on the frame instead, still nothing :/ I'll post pictures later today if I can't work any magic on it.

I thanks for the help so far everyone, I really appreciate it.

 

Due to my bad temper, I accidentally slipped while holding a sawzall and cut my torque arm in half :/ But now that I thought about it, I was probably was supposed to put the weight of the car on the frame and then put a jack on the rear diff until it moved. Never tried it. Oops. That's me, a terrible listner.

Gonna try to get it out tomorrow. I cant seam to find the bolt that keeps the dipstick in though. Or is there one?

 

IT is on the back of the passenger side head. IT is kinda a pain to remove.

Massey

 

SInce the torque arm is now off, you may want to remove the tires and get rid of some of that free weight which is hanging. taking a little strain by putting a jack under the diff housing is a good thing too. Just lift it a little bit so it's not hanging free

 

the sawsall slipped??? OK if it slips it would not just sheer off a thick piece of steel like that, what really happened?

Massey

 

Haha, I was joking about the slipping part It was intentional. Got the top 2 bolts after an hour, going to finish up hopefully tommorow. Still can't figure out how to get the dipstick tube off.