Page Next, you need to remove the crossmember. Remove the nuts connecting the transmission (rubber) mount to the xmember. Then, move the jack to the rear and support the rear of the xmission. I used a section of 4x4 between the tcase and jack. You only have to touch it. Then remove the huge nuts on the left and right bolting the xmember to the frame. What a pain. They were really torqued on there. Of course, I did not have an impact wrench handy, so I just used a 1/2 drive with a breaker bar. The driver side bolt is really wierd b/c it is integrated with the guide cable. You can't really get a wrench on top to hold it still. However, the cable prevents it from rotating too much.
After you get the bolts free, curse and yell alot as you wiggle the crossmember free. I swear these things must get longer after they are built because they are really stuck up in there. Note now the the jack is keeping the tcase and transmission from tilting down. Remove the rubber mount from the xmission to expose all the pan bolts.
I am one of the lucky few who have a drainplug on my pan so I don't take a bath with the stuff. Then remove the pan bolts except from one on the left and right centers (loosen them of course). The tricky part is that there is a bracket for the shift linkage that uses two of the pan bolts. While supporting the pan, remove the final two bolts. The exhaust crossover pipe prevents the pan from being lowered straight down. You have to lower it, and then slide it rearward to clear the exhaust. While doing this, you have to somehow get the pan lip out from under the shift bracket. This is the most annoying part. You just try different things until it comes out. You have to be very careful to not hurt anything in the transmission. There are wires right near the front that control the TCC and pressure solenoids that just beg to be hurt. I was forewarned of this by a friend who watched a mechanic do it (thanks Everett!!).
With the pan off, the filter is exposed. Pull down and twist left and right to work the filter free. It will pop out and start to shoot fluid down. Be sure to leave the pan under the xmission to catch the stuff. There is a rubber or hard plastic bushing (delrin?) that the filter plugs into. Just be sure it is in good condition or else replace it. The filter should have come with a new one if you need it (I did not). It is called a multi-lip seal. Discard the filter. Insert a new one. Be sure to seat it fully. There is a recess on the back that fits over the control valve. It is pretty obvious.
Drain the pan. Clean and check the magnet stuck on the bottom of the pan. It just peels off the bottom. There should not be any big pieces or anything like that. You should just have the stuff that looks like sludge. Your fluid should have come out pretty red and clear. It should not be milky, bubbly, etc. Clean the gasket (just wipe it with paper towels) and the mounting flange. Ditto for the flange on the xmission too. The gasket is reusuable assuming it was not damaged.
Double check the filter and put the gasket on the pan. Once again, it is tricky trying to get the pan over the shift bracket, behind the exhaust, and keep the filter in place. Get some bolts in both sides before removing your hand from the pan. Don't overtorque the bolts. They should be at 12 lbs-ft.
Everything else is just the reverse of the removal proceedure.
I could not get my crossmember in. I had to grind the edges down just a tad. I then got it in far enough to engage the nuts to the bolts. I then moved the jack to under the xmember and helped it the rest of the way in. BTW, grinding the xmember does not seem too uncommon. The dealer had to do it to my friend's truck.
I measured how much fluid I took out so I put in the same amount (6 qt). Check the dipstick to be sure you are in the ball park (like on the stick someplace). Start engine, shift through gears, and check the stick. Since the xmission is obviously cold, the level should be between the two circles near the bottom (just a sanity check). Drive until hot, and check at an idle.
The drain plug should be magnetic so check for big particles stuck to it. It should be pretty clean. The fluid, however, will look pretty brown instead of read b/c there is no filter in the tcase. So don't be too surprised about the color. Clean the gasket and mating surface and reinstall the drain plug.
The tcase takes Dexron III, just like the tranny. Once again, I measured how much I took out so I have an idea about how much to put back in. Took me about 2.25 qts. Note that you will need a pump to get the fluid up into the tcase. It's full when the fluid is about 1/4" from the bottom of the openning when cold. However, most people just fill until it starts to run out of the openning.