demigure

Hi everyone,

I scored a great deal on a good condition 2001 LS430, but that has a bad transmission. I've already acquired a replacement, but haven't begun the project just yet as I'm trying to find the most effective way to tackle it.

On my UCF20 Celsior, I did a bunch of work on all the common repair items like valve cover gaskets, alternator, tons of suspension work, etc so I'm pretty well versed in the UZ engines and the UCF platform.
Did a full engine out swap and rebuild on my work truck. Also did a full engine build and transmission swap on my E46 wagon, so I'm confident in my ability to get this UCF30 back on the road whatever route I end up on.

With all of that in mind, I haven't begun work yet because I'm weighing my options with all the other repairs I want to do including the transmission.

So the question is...
1. Do I drop the tranny and leave the engine alone for now. Not super ideal because doing this on my back in the garage with no lift is going to be tough, I think. And I want to do a lot of other things that might end up being easier in the long run with the engine and trans out.
or
2. Pull the entire engine and trans out as one unit. Much more work on the front-end, but many repairs will be made way easier. In particular, the oil pan gasket and oil filter housting are weeping, it would give me a chance to inspect/replace motor mounts, steering rack etc if necessary.

Any advice you guys have on which option might be more advisable would be awesome.
Either way I go, this will be documented on my YT channel if anyone is interested.

TIA!

TominPT

In one of the Car Care Nut 600,000 restoration videos he deals with a bad transmission and has to replace it. Maybe follow what he does. Its one of the earlier one of the videos in the series. IIRC he pulls just the transmission out and does all the engine work with the engine in the car. He has a lift which will make the job much much easier though.

demigure

I saw that video and agree that the lift is key to do it the way he did.

My fear is the bell housing bolts will be difficult to get out and then I'll be fighting on the ground on my back lol.
Vs pulling them as one unit saves a lot of headache, although it'll be more work initially.

I found a video of a guy pulling an engine from an SC430 which didn't look bad, but he left the transmission in.
He said in a comment that it wouldn't really be anymore difficult to pull the transmission out that way too.

I think I'm going to pull the engine and trans as one unit