Transmission Skid Plate - Have I screwed up?

[Muley775]

This afternoon I set out to change Transmission (T-5 ) & Transfer Case (Dana 300 ) fluids.

Before dropping any fluids, I removed a large skid plate that is bolted into the frame on both sided with three 3/8" bolts, and in the middle (to the Transmission ?) with two 7/16" bolts, and a third in the middle shaded to the passenger side to a big rubber bumper assembly. I probably didn't need to remove the plate, but I wanted to clean up under there and have more access to inspect - this is a new vehicle to me. After cleaning, I went to move the CJ to sweep up before doing the fluid changes. I was rewarded for my all my clean-up efforts with the terrible sound of the fan blades hitting the shroud. After the initial shock wore off, I figured with the plate off I had changed (removed?) the support for the Transmission and the weight of the Transmission and Transfer Case have pivoted the engine on the motor mounts pushing the nose of the engine up causing the interference.

I was having difficulty getting the plate reinstalled. I have the bolts in the middle installed roughly finger tight, but can only get one side or the other of the plate bolted to frame. The other side is too far away from the frame. Again, I'm assuming the Transmission is too low, and I thought about using a floor jack to raise things up a bit.

I was running out of day light and also thought I should apply the first rule of holes (when you're in one, quick digging).

I've looked around here for hints, and found this:
https://www.jeep-cj.com/forums/f2/transmission-mounting-plate-14610/
and now realize I've stumbled into something more than I bargained for. Talk of a torque arm has me concerned. The loose washer laying in the top of the pan makes me wonder if something had worked loose/broke/wasn't installed properly. That big rubber bumper seemed to be loose on the top side.

So ....

What I have I gotten myself into? Any recommendations?

Am I ok putting a jack under there, lift up the Transmission to get the bolts back in where they were? Are there any special adjustments I need to make? If I go this route, get everything buttoned up and the fan/shroud interference goes away, is there anything else I need to be concerned about?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[hole]

Pics might help describe the condition of the Transmission mount and torque arm better for us, but lets assume they are fine. Just jack up the Transmission or Transfer Case where you can that wont interfere with the skid plate and bolt everything back up. You can also bolt the skid plate to the Transmission and then jack it up from the plate. If it wont line up, the engine mounts may be bad, so checking those as well might be a good idea anyways. Hopefully the radiator is ok. In case you didnt know the T-5 likes Synchromesh vs anything else you may have heard or read about.

 

[Muley775]

Pics might help describe the condition of the Transmission mount and torque arm better for us, but lets assume they are fine. Just jack up the Transmission or Transfer Case where you can that wont interfere with the skid plate and bolt everything back up. You can also bolt the skid plate to the Transmission and then jack it up from the plate. If it wont line up, the engine mounts may be bad, so checking those as well might be a good idea anyways. Hopefully the radiator is ok. In case you didnt know the T-5 likes Synchromesh vs anything else you may have heard or read about.

hole -

Thank you for the response.

OK, after searching this site for "Transmission mount" I see that I removed much more than a skid plate. I will go out and get some pictures to post here. I was just too covered in grime from 160k miles of accumulated oil/grease/dirt to touch my phone yesterday. Looking at other photos and diagrams, I think I'm missing some parts, but I'll look at it more closely and post the pictures. I'll include the motor mounts.

Thank you for the tip on the synchromesh fluid. That was the conclusion I had come to after reading about it on this site. I was really confused there for a while with all of the different info (gear oil/ATF/motor oil/same or different than what goes in the Dana 300 , etc). Before I dropped the old fluid, I couldn't touch oil with my little finger in the fill hole. Only a tad over a quart came out. It was pretty clean though, and looked like gear oil. I put in 2 qts of Penzoil Synchromesh. I could touch it with my little finger, but it didn't run out full as I would have liked. Is that normal or should I put in what it will take of another quart?

The Dana 300 had one and a third quarts come out, pretty clean as well, and looked like the same gear oil. I put in 2 quarts of Valvoline 80W90 and it ran out full just at the end, so I know I had it full.

Now if I can just get the Transmission mount back in

Thank you for the help. I really appreciate it.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

We really need to see pictures, or it's all SWAG.
You may have also damaged the fan blade as well as the radiator.
No need to remove skid plate to R&R tranny and t'case oil. There're drain holes in the s'plate for this.
I strongly urge you to get a FSM for your jeep.
https://collinsbrosjeep.com/84-86-jeep-service-manual-body-chassis/

HINT-Do NOT use ATF in your T-5 .
LG

 

[Muley775]

A couple of pics. Sorry for the delay, figuring out how to upload/post them.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Fill with oil till it runs out the fill hole.
If you are looking to replace your tranny and engine mounts(I would).
This outfit has great products-NOT CHEAP.
https://mountainoffroad.com/
Never/ever buy Omix or Crown brand. They are cheap China !
LG

 

[Muley775]

And a couple more from the other side.

 

[TnCJ]

Put a floor jack under your tranny to get the weight off the skid plate, loosen the bolts on the side you have installed so you will have a little wiggle room and you should be able to get everything bolted back up.

 

[hole]

As Lumpy said, fill it until it is coming back out of the hole. The left (drivers side) engine mount is the one that takes the biggest beating and will generally fail first because its the torque side. Now is a good time to replace the Transmission mount and torque arm bushing at the very least. The MORE mounts Lumpy recommended are top of the line but may be overkill if all you do is little/light wheeling. If you have plans to upgrade the Transfer Case to 4-1 or wheel her hard, get the MORE mounts, otherwise the poly ones are an upgrade to stock rubber mounts. Also as advised, try and avoid Omix-Ada stuff

 

[mriplaybass]

When you put the torque arm assembly back in, don't over tighten the 2 nuts that sandwich the rubber bushings together. Make sure that the fixed nut on the rod is tight against the skid plate, and tighten the very bottom nut. Then, run the nut that contacts the bottom bushing against the washer until the bushing is snug against the torque arm. Next, install the top bushing, washer and nut. Tighten the nut only until the bushings slightly compress. If you over tighten this nut, you defeat the purpose of the bushings from allowing some movement of the Transmission /Transfer Case under load, and will bend the torque arm.

 

[Tectron]

When you put the torque arm assembly back in, don't over tighten the 2 nuts that sandwich the rubber bushings together. Make sure that the fixed nut on the rod is tight against the skid plate, and tighten the very bottom nut. Then, run the nut that contacts the bottom bushing against the washer until the bushing is snug against the torque arm. Next, install the top bushing, washer and nut. Tighten the nut only until the bushings slightly compress. If you over tighten this nut, you defeat the purpose of the bushings from allowing some movement of the Transmission /Transfer Case under load, and will bend the torque arm.

Thanks for that info, going to try and get to that point today if the new driveline install goes good.

 

[yellow85cj]

Torque arm bushings seem to come in different sizes (thickness). The first pic they are not thick enough. The pic also shows the way the washer should sit on the shoulder of the bolt.
The shoulder bolt is used to keep the bushings from being over compressed.
Since you found a washer, might want to see if it is the top washer that the PO "lost" when doing some work.
I have had the most luck with putting the skid plate back on by raising the Transmission , putting on the skid and then lowering the Transmission down. A little side to side pushing /pulling was necessary.

I say easier because after taking the skid off, the frame moved a little and required a ratchet strap to bring the frame back to alignment with the holes in the frame.

When helping a friend with his frame off, found that putting the skid back on required a bottle jack and 2x4 to spread the frame to get the skid back on.