1990 Chrysler New Yorker Transmission Removal Instructions

Dandy looking car! I have a '93 Dynasty with 4,000 miles.

Hi JohnSharpie. Welcome to the forum. Removing the transmission is not fun without the car on a hoist. How did you determine it needs to be replaced? There seems to be more sensor failures now and fewer transmission failures although at the mileage listed, it's about time.

If it's been banging down into second gear and staying there, it could be due to a sensor failure but if it occurs right about the time an upshift occurs, suspect clutch plate slippage. A mechanic with a scanner that can access the transmission computer can read out any stored diagnostic fault codes but more importantly, they can read the clutch volume index (CVI). That's a set of four numbers indicating how many ccs of fluid it takes to apply each clutch pack. I don't know what normal is, but an experienced transmission expert will be able to tell how much life is left in each clutch. The computer uses these numbers to modify shift points to maintain a solid crisp shift over the life of the transmission until it reaches the point it can't update any further because there's no clutch material left.

If you're sure the transmission has to come out, both half shafts will have to be removed. Jack the car up by the frame, not by the lower control arms. The control arms will have to be pried down with a long bar after the pinch bolts are removed for the ball joint studs. One thing that's really important is to never have the axle nuts loosened when the vehicle's weight is supported by the wheels. The outer cv joint / axle nut holds the wheel bearing together. If that bearing holds up the car's weight when the nut is loose, the bearing will instantly become noisy and make a loud buzzing noize, similar to an airplane engine.

The engine will have to be supported by either a bar across the top of the engine bay and a hanging chain, or by a floor jack under the oil pan. Look for "witness marks" where you remove the nuts from the front engine mount. The holes in the bracket are slotted for adjustment. Be sure to reinstall the mount the same as it came out.

You'll have to roll the transmission forward a little to clear the cross member. Before you reinstall the new transmission, consider flushing the cooler and hoses with a cleaning chemical. The professionals are finding out doing so reduces repeat failures a lot. In fact, it's a procedure Chrysler requires for warranty repairs. The dealers use a motorized pump that circulates a cleaning solution.

You'll have to remove the crankshaft position sensor if you have a 3.3L engine. It's on the rear of the bell housing next to the rear of the engine block. When you reinstall it, the air gap is critical. If you shove it all the way in, the rotating flywheel will break it. Visit the dealer's parts department for a paper spacer that sticks on the end to set the gap. It just slides off the first time the engine is started. If you are removing a replacement sensor, there might be what's left of a plastic rib that served the same function. The remainder of that rib is to be cut off, then the paper spacer is used.

When you reinstall the half shafts and pry the control arms down to pop the ball joint studs back into the knuckles, notice that there is a cutout in one side of the studs. That's where the pinch bolts go through. Be sure that notch is facing the center of the car, otherwise the pinch bolt won't go in past that stud. Lining up the studs is not easy if you're trying to also do the prying on the control arm. Having a helper makes this part real easy. That bar should ideally be about four feet long for plenty of leverage. Once you get the stud right under the hole in the knuckle, use the brake rotor to push the knuckle in against the spring pressure of the inner cv joint until the stud is straight up and down. When it lines up, have your helper slowly ease up on the pry bar. Wiggle the rotor and knuckle to help the control arm come up forcing the stud up into the hole. It is possible for the stud to go too high. You might have to pry the control arm back down just a little until the notch in the stud lines up with the hole so the bolt will go through.

The new transmission can be expected to shift strangely at first until the computer relearns the CVI. That can take as much as two to five miles of driving and perhaps a dozen shift cycles although you may not even notice the relearning taking place. A quick-learn procedure can be done without even driving the car if that function is supported by the scanner. I use Chrysler's DRB3 scanner. A lot of aftermarket scanners can read fault codes but they don't perform actuator tests.

Caradiodoc

What you have is codes 12, 31, and 55. The dandy video stops us from going down the wrong road. 12 just means the ignition switch was turned off. They all have that code but not all cars display it. Code 31 is related to the emissions system, and 55 just means it's done. All codes displayed by the Check Engine light are stored in the Engine Computer. You have to use a scanner to retrieve transmission codes from that computer. Since it went into "limp-in" mode, there will be at least one code in the tranny computer, (EATX - electronic automatic transmission controller).

Caradiodoc

I only use the DRB3 because it does everything possible on Chrysler products and with a plug-in card, it does emissions-related stuff on all brands of cars after 1996. There are a lot of good aftermarket scanners that I'm not real familiar with, but they are always playing catchup. Most will read codes now but they might not be able to do actuator tests.

The transmissions have been getting better over the years so now the two speed sensors are responsible for a bigger percentage of problems.

Caradiodoc

I don't think it's a good deal. I'd give you that for it just for parts for my cars. I bought a Dynasty with the transmission out a couple of years ago for $250.00. Haven't had a chance to work on it yet. Still building my workshop.

What's the condition of the rest of the car? If you live in a state where they throw a ton of salt on an ounce of snow, the rocker boxes rust away real fast. You can't see or tell unless you look underneath by the doors.

Caradiodoc

That car does not deserve to be in a junkyard. There is nothing that old in as good of shape up here is Wisconsin.

Caradiodoc

Metal shavings are not desirable but are somewhat common. I would suggest taking the pieces you found to a transmission specialist for an opinion.

Caradiodoc