Hello forum. My '97 Blazer 2WD has rounded teeth on the flexplate which has gotten to the point of needing replaced (causing grinding and sometimes lack of starting.) I've looked into the tranny removal process and figure it is what i am looking at but is there any chance that the 4L60E tranny can be lowered enough to get the top bell housing bolts out with long extensions and then raised back level and slid back enough on long guide bolts to access the flexplate-to-crank bolts without removing the exhaust? Just hoping against hope to maybe not have to battle the exhaust and remove the tranny completely as I have no helper Thanks! -BP

 

Well just got done trying and can confirm that YES the flexplate can be easily accessed without removing the exhaust (at least on a 97 2WD). Just enough room to slide tranny back before the bell housing hits the exhaust crossover.

Had to remove crossmember, fuel line bracket, starter + the tiny shield, cooler lines, dipstick tube, and passenger side O2 sensor (to help get to the cooler lines easier). Will post a couple pics later just in case it helps somebody else in the future.

And no helper required...so time for a cold beer

 

Congrats on getting the work done. I'm curious to see your pics.

Thanks for confirming how you were able to do the work.

 

Wish I could say I'm done getting the flexplate removed. Jacking the rear of the tranny as high as possible and sliding it back until the bell housing is against the exhaust crossover gives pretty generous room and I'd be done if these dang flexplate-to-crank bolts weren't seemingly welded in..lol. I am able to get a fairly long 3/8 ratchet in quite well and can get a nice pull on the 3 I've tried so far but gonna have to borrow a longer breaker bar or cheater pipe and likely even a torch this afternoon I do believe. So technically it should be possible but in my particular case I am starting to fear that I may have had that cold beer too soon. But if no luck at least I'll have the torch in case I do need to attempt to pull the exhaust after all and pull the tranny back even more for better access. Those damn exhaust flange bolts are in rough shape hence the hope of not having to go there if possible.

 

Flexplate is swapped but my shortcut was abandoned as I just went ahead and removed the damn exhaust and of course it wasn't quite as bad as I'd convinced myself it would be (though the nuts were screaming demons the whole way out even with PB blaster...lol). So I just pulled the tranny back a bit further to go to battle with those damn thin head flexplate bolts and just none of them felt very good with a 14mm hex or 12 point.. Just giving it everything with a cheater to to the point of the sockets wanting to roll off. My buddy came by with a longer 1/2" drive strong arm ratchet and tried his sockets too plus a couple of universal sockets as well but to no avail. Everything wanted to roll off and 2 were even starting to round. So just bummed a ride from him and got a Irwin Bolt-Grip extractor kit, tapped on the 14 mm extractor all the way flush and it took all I had in me but that thing dug in nice and deep and pulled those 2 out great and so just went ahead with it on the remaining 4 'good' bolts too instead of messing around anymore. I had never tried one before and was skeptical but I'm a believer for sure now. All were crazy tight too but all successful. And no evidence of threadlock on the bolts or any previous wear...just factory snug it seems So at the end of the day I guess if you'd like to go for the shortcut and you're just lucky enough to not have such tight bolts on the plate to deal with you can get away with a swap out leaving the exhaust untouched. With the gap that opened up you could get your hand in plenty good enough to get the plate off and on and finger bolts in and out from the bottom. But of course not have room to effectively hammer on an extractor if so needed...lol. I went with 12 point flexplate bolts instead of hex and they felt great going in so they're worth checking out. They were a bit longer with even thinner heads which had me kind of spooked of course but they felt great torqueing down and would no doubt come out easier if ever need be. These take a 16mm 12 point socket and there is the perfect amount of space for your socket to squeeze against the center hub giving it a good secure bite.