Cant get tranny to line up!!
06-09-2012, 03:35 PM
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Cant get tranny to line up!! cars been on jackstands for 4 days now, I cant get the tranny to line up, I have it less than an inch away but it seems like the bolt holes arent lining up. I can get it to where the alignment pin touches but doesnt line up... WTF this is frustrating? Any tips or advice would be great;y appreciated.
06-09-2012, 04:44 PM
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Is there a way I could've screwed something up and the bellhousing is misaligned? I figured with that dow pin that goes into the bell housing there was nothing I could f**k up, I'm literally about half an inch from mating the tranny to the bell housing and then it stops and it seems the holes arent lining up perfectly. Im using jack stands working under it, kind of a PITA, no tranny jack. Anybody else been stuck in this situation??
***If youre in the AUSTIN or San Marcos TEXAS area and are willing to help, I would be more than happy to compensate***
***If youre in the AUSTIN or San Marcos TEXAS area and are willing to help, I would be more than happy to compensate***
06-09-2012, 06:05 PM
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Well to help me get my auto installed, I bought 2, 1in longer bolts cut and rounded the heads off to make 2 additional dowls. Install them just hand tight in the bottom most 2 trans attachment holes, once the trans is in place over the factory dowls install a couple of the trans attachment bolts and replace the home made dowls with the real trans mount bolts..
DO NOT USE THE TRANS MOUNT BOLTS TO PULL THE TRANS TO THE ENGINE!!! The trans should slide right in if not somthing is off (did you use a clutch aligment tool for the assembly?). I also would clean and put some anti-seiz on the factory dowls. Good luck
DO NOT USE THE TRANS MOUNT BOLTS TO PULL THE TRANS TO THE ENGINE!!! The trans should slide right in if not somthing is off (did you use a clutch aligment tool for the assembly?). I also would clean and put some anti-seiz on the factory dowls. Good luck
06-09-2012, 07:16 PM
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Thanks for the advice man, I used a clutch alignment tool. I'm still stuck, I'm about to just pull it off again and re-grease the dowels and input shaft again.... Hopefully that does it
06-09-2012, 08:47 PM
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I had my whole engine on the floor with my k member. I couldnt get mine 6 speed on either, had an inch to go. I ended up putting the bolts in and using them to pull it together.
06-09-2012, 09:04 PM
#6
Everytime u set trans up your clutch disc is sliding down my buddys car did same thing break it down and tighten pressure plate bolts again really really tight and slide it in
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06-09-2012, 09:24 PM
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Trans is in neutral, wondering if I need to break it down again though, I torqued the f**k outta the pressure plate bolts. I hate getting to those right side bell housing bolts. I'm gonna give it a go tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for the help guys.
06-13-2012, 05:22 AM
#10
First off when using the pilot it must slide in and out very easily. One mistake people make is to let the clutch disc hang on the pilot then tighten the clutch cover(pressure plate). That is incorrect. Because it puts the clutch disc and pilot bearing on an angle. Most likely your pins are LOW. That indicates you let the disc hang and tightened the cover bolts up. Normally i feel the top and bottom of the disc to the plate clearance with my fingers. This can be dun at the top and bottom of the pressure plate that is open and you can feel the clutch disc with your fingers. It has to be even and centered in the cover. This way the clutch can be centered and in line with the pilot bearing. Always push the pilot up a bit before tightening the cover. Also i always PRE-FIT the bell on the engine and tranny and dress the pilot holes as they are always to tight. The bell has to slip on those pilots. On the block and on the tranny to bell. If not they need to be cleaned up till they do. Never draw a transmission in with the BOLTS. That is a NO NO plain and simple!!
Also dont over tighten the cover bolts. That has nothing to do with centering the DISC with the PILOT. All you will do is break a bolt and that is another story!!
Note you can use a home made dowel setup by cutting long bolts and make pilots as explained above. Cut the heads off 2 bolts gring them to make a taper and install them in opposite sides as a guide. Then when the tranny is in install bolts and remove the dowels you made. That does make it easier. Good luck
Also dont over tighten the cover bolts. That has nothing to do with centering the DISC with the PILOT. All you will do is break a bolt and that is another story!!
Note you can use a home made dowel setup by cutting long bolts and make pilots as explained above. Cut the heads off 2 bolts gring them to make a taper and install them in opposite sides as a guide. Then when the tranny is in install bolts and remove the dowels you made. That does make it easier. Good luck
Last edited by tom falco; 06-13-2012 at 05:35 AM.
06-13-2012, 06:47 AM
#11
Here is an example of a bad designed bell housing. This MC LEOD bell was supplied by a customer to be installed with a new clutch. It'S quality was very poor and the dowel holes were to small and not deep enough. As we finished the instillation to our HORROR their was no provision to bleed the CLUTCH. This is typical of aftermarket stuff that is design and never installed or tested by the manufacturer. We now do not use Mc Leod products in our shop. We contacted them and they could care LESS
We had to cut the bell housing up to get access to the bleeder. WHAT A NIGHTMARE. This is why the aftermarket stuff SUCKS BIG TIME
Below is the chunk of mettal i had to cut out of this BELL HOUSING. Talk about a bad design
We had to cut the bell housing up to get access to the bleeder. WHAT A NIGHTMARE. This is why the aftermarket stuff SUCKS BIG TIME
Below is the chunk of mettal i had to cut out of this BELL HOUSING. Talk about a bad design
Last edited by tom falco; 06-13-2012 at 06:55 AM.
06-13-2012, 08:18 AM
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One thing I did make sure of was that the alignment tool didn't fall when tightening down the pressure plate. The tranny slides in nice but it hits a wall about 1/4-1/2 inch away from the 2 mating surfaces contacting. I figured by then the front of the input shaft should be in the pilot bearing. But maybe the clutch is off a little??? I am using a quick time bell housing btw.
06-13-2012, 11:08 AM
#13
Did you try it on the tranny before instillation. This is important as the BELL from Mc Leod i had had the dowel holes to small. Try installing 2 bolts on the top and snug them a bit (JUST SNUG) then try and wiggle the trans in. Sometimes that is all it takes. Remember always pre- fit everything on the bench before installing it in the car. I found this stuff out many many years ago in my dads shop. Dont trust any of these so called aftermarket parts. Basically 90% of them are garbage. I found it out the other day with the Mc Leod bell housing.
06-13-2012, 11:13 AM
#14
One thing I did make sure of was that the alignment tool didn't fall when tightening down the pressure plate. The tranny slides in nice but it hits a wall about 1/4-1/2 inch away from the 2 mating surfaces contacting. I figured by then the front of the input shaft should be in the pilot bearing. But maybe the clutch is off a little??? I am using a quick time bell housing btw.
Also is the pilot bearing seated all the way?? When you installed it did you drive it in all the way???
Also when using a block plate scatter shield you may need a throw out bearing spacer. Did you check for that???
Last edited by tom falco; 06-13-2012 at 11:19 AM.
06-13-2012, 01:18 PM
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The pilot bearing is drove in all the way flush with the crank. And the only spacers I installed were 2 shims behind the slave cylinder to move it out a little.
I had everything together when the motor and tranny was out of the car and it did the same thing. I had to use some longer bolts to bring the tranny to the bell housing. It didn't seem right at the time and it's doing the same thing again this time around. I just recently pulled out the tranny because I pulled a rookie mistake and forgot to install the tick speeder bleeder with it out of the car and I installed the pilot bearing facing the wrong way so I replaced it with a new one...fail on my part.
Now everything is brand new, slave, tranny, clutch, master cylinder etc. if that matters.
I had everything together when the motor and tranny was out of the car and it did the same thing. I had to use some longer bolts to bring the tranny to the bell housing. It didn't seem right at the time and it's doing the same thing again this time around. I just recently pulled out the tranny because I pulled a rookie mistake and forgot to install the tick speeder bleeder with it out of the car and I installed the pilot bearing facing the wrong way so I replaced it with a new one...fail on my part.
Now everything is brand new, slave, tranny, clutch, master cylinder etc. if that matters.
06-13-2012, 06:19 PM
#18
06-14-2012, 02:10 AM
#19
First off when using the pilot it must slide in and out very easily. One mistake people make is to let the clutch disc hang on the pilot then tighten the clutch cover(pressure plate). That is incorrect. Because it puts the clutch disc and pilot bearing on an angle. Most likely your pins are LOW. That indicates you let the disc hang and tightened the cover bolts up. Normally i feel the top and bottom of the disc to the plate clearance with my fingers. This can be dun at the top and bottom of the pressure plate that is open and you can feel the clutch disc with your fingers. It has to be even and centered in the cover. This way the clutch can be centered and in line with the pilot bearing.
Always push the pilot up a bit before tightening the cover. Also i always PRE-FIT the bell on the engine and tranny and dress the pilot holes as they are always to tight. The bell has to slip on those pilots. On the block and on the tranny to bell. If not they need to be cleaned up till they do. Never draw a transmission in with the BOLTS. That is a NO NO plain and simple!!
Here is an example of a bad designed bell housing. This MC LEOD bell was supplied by a customer to be installed with a new clutch. It'S quality was very poor and the dowel holes were to small and not deep enough. As we finished the instillation to our HORROR their was no provision to bleed the CLUTCH. This is typical of aftermarket stuff that is design and never installed or tested by the manufacturer. We now do not use Mc Leod products in our shop. We contacted them and they could care LESS
We had to cut the bell housing up to get access to the bleeder. WHAT A NIGHTMARE. This is why the aftermarket stuff SUCKS BIG TIME
We had to cut the bell housing up to get access to the bleeder. WHAT A NIGHTMARE. This is why the aftermarket stuff SUCKS BIG TIME
Below is the chunk of mettal i had to cut out of this BELL HOUSING. Talk about a bad design
Thats impressive. Seems like that would push the trans away from the clutch & bellhousing.
Last edited by flintwrench69; 06-14-2012 at 02:30 AM.
06-14-2012, 07:09 AM
#20
Not withstanding manufacturing errors, if the pilot is flush in crank, and the alignment tool is smooth in and out your fine. I tend to see many people run into the issue of getting the trans to go fully flush with the block to bell housing.
Ran into that when I did my clutch and other people's car multiple times. If you get the trans close where you have like a 1/2" gap you can use the bell houseing to block bolts to draw on the trans. I woudl rather not if I had a choice but man power and no matter what angle, just seems to be enough bind to be a pain in the ***.
Some may say that if it does not go on easy, your doing it wrong, well thats fine and good but the last 4 F bodies (including my own) had that issue and my Textraila is working great so go fig.
Ran into that when I did my clutch and other people's car multiple times. If you get the trans close where you have like a 1/2" gap you can use the bell houseing to block bolts to draw on the trans. I woudl rather not if I had a choice but man power and no matter what angle, just seems to be enough bind to be a pain in the ***.
Some may say that if it does not go on easy, your doing it wrong, well thats fine and good but the last 4 F bodies (including my own) had that issue and my Textraila is working great so go fig.