75 Big Bumper

iTrader: (10)

Hi, I'm currently trying to mate my t56 and ls1 together but they absolutely WILL NOT go anywhere. I can get the transmission and bell up to the engine and slide on the splines, but anything after that is completely pointless. Can someone please tell me what I'm doing wrong? I'm about to pop a few blood vessels trying to do this, and I really don't want to break anything out of anger. Any help would be extremely appreciated.

2000Hawk#317

iTrader: (3)

Well if your doing this kind of work in a garage, you should have the tools I am about to talk about. I would hook the front of the motor up to a cherry picker and tilt it back a few inches. A ratchet strap and something tall will also work. Or a jack and block of wood under the crank pulley. Shouldnt have to unbolt the motor mounts. Rubber will flex enough. If your getting pissed though, take a break. I had the same issue and it would hit the top of the firewall/ trans tunnel. Did this and ran a rachet strap through the trans hole in the floor board, strap was around a large pry bar for saftey since I was by myself.

1994z

iTrader: (48)

check and make sure you are not hitting the trans tunnel, if good there how much does it like seating to the block. if you can check your pilot bearing to make sure everything is good there.

tsheehan

iTrader: (1)

You have an alignment tool in and it slides in and out free before you Started?
A picture might help. I am visualizing you cant get the Bell housing to w/in 2-3" of the case. You are stuck like 5-6" back and the spline of the T-56 is bound up a little?
are you on your back under a car or under a lift?
Once you got to clamping leather in your Jaw You did the correct thing. You stopped to evaluate. Don't grab a bigger hammer (Yet)
Hawks, got a good work smarter not harder trick. The satisfaction of doing it in your shop is worth it. The busted knuckle's heal. The part we all dread is a back sprain or we bust an ear of a casting. that stuff can leave a mark.

J_O_E

Little lube never hurts, jack, rubber mallet.

2000Hawk#317

iTrader: (3)

I do everything myself. Not bragging! I just dont trust the stealership with my car. And with good people on here to ask questions, theres no reason not to save money in labor. And the classifieds help for the parts. Its a win win situation. LOL

brigade24

i had the same issue...i ended up installing the bell housing first then the transmission. it sounds a little counter intuitive but i found easier to lineup the input shaft and pilot bearing because i could see a little more...if you can get access to a transmission jack with a platform that tilts it will definitely simplify your life...

75 Big Bumper

iTrader: (10)

I forgot to mention that the engine isn't in the car. It's going in a 75 camaro and both the engine, trans, and bell were bought separately. The farthest I've gotten is fitting the engine into the mounts by itself. The spline tool goes in as smooth as could possibly be. I'm stuck with a half inch gap and the dowel pins WILL NOT GO IN. I tried to put the bell on the engine and bring up the transmission before this, but it did the same. Wouldn't go in all the way no matter what I did. So I tried pulling it up with the bolts even though I read I shouldn't, and ended up cracking the piece of metal between the two clutch lines almost completely off and breaking the threads to one of the holes in the block. I should also mention one of the bolt holes on my bellhousing is mismatched and can't be used. The engine is on the ground tilted back slightly and the trans/bell are on my engine hoist with the splines almost all the way in. I'll throw some pictures in.

TheOneHodgepodge

iTrader: (4)

almost sounds like the pilot bearing is the wrong size. if you are taking it back apart take your alignment tool and put it up to the input shaft end and see if they are the same size. sometimes its two steps forward six back but better than breaking something.

fspeedster

iTrader: (6)

Make sure the bleeder screw on the slave cylinder is open, if not, your working against the hydraulics.

75 Big Bumper

iTrader: (10)

Hodgepodge, you hit the nail on the head. I took off the clutch and tried to push the input shaft into the pilot bearing, but it bottoms out, leaving me with the same 1/2 gap even with the input flush against the pilot. I'm a little upset that there's more than 1 pilot bearing size. I figured when I bought an ls1 pilot that there was only one size, but I guess I should've checked again like I did with everything else. Thank you hodge for the help, and to everyone else that posted as well. I'll post a pic of the pilot so ya'll can see.

75 Big Bumper

iTrader: (10)

Or not. The website won't let me post a picture. I'm pretty sure I bought the bigger size bearing. The bearing I have sits in the bigger groove of the flywheel hole, and I'm pretty sure I need the bearing that sits inside the smaller hole on the inside. I'll be checking back here regularly if anyone has any input. Thanks again for the help guys.

stevo92z28

iTrader: (22)

I can't give you the part # for a bearing because it was included with my clutch kit but the correct bushing is at advance auto PB-656-HD.

It goes on the smaller hole. There is a plug all the way inside the crankshaft so you'll know. I normally use photobucket to upload pics then paste the link here.

Jeremy@RPMTransmissions

iTrader: (12)

Here is a Dorman Part # 690-057 for the correct pilot bearing. Avoid using a bushing with a T56.

75 Big Bumper

iTrader: (10)

Thanks RPM, but I actually just ordered a bearing a few hours ago. It looks like the exact same one that you posted, but it's part number 14061685 from summit. I read that it was specifically for ls1 vettes, fbodys and gtos. Hoping it fits, I put it on next day shipping because I'm in a bit of a rush to get this together.

Fosnot

iTrader: (15)

I remember doing my T56 swap, I had to lower the K-member to get to the top bolt of the belt housing. I stilled the bell housing seperate from the transmission, torqued all the bolts to spec, then I slid the transmission input shaft into the pilot bearing and got it all squared away, torqued the bell housing to the transmission case and called it a day.

75 Big Bumper

iTrader: (10)

Mine should be going like that after I get that new bearing in! I even filed down the dowel pins a tiny bit on the block whenever I was working on it, so it should slide in like butter once it has the new bearing to sit on. I got the roller type hoping that it would be less harsh on my trans input shaft. Does anyone know if the roller types are a good improvement over the solid types in terms of wear?

garys 68

iTrader: (1)

If the pilot bearing sits in the outside crank flange, it's for a corvette with torque tube. The f body style fits in the inner flange.
However, your statement:
"I should also mention one of the bolt holes on my bellhousing is mismatched and can't be used. "
Makes me think yoou have an LT1 bellhousing. You might want to check n that too.

75 Big Bumper

iTrader: (10)

Man I really wouldn't doubt it. I tend to have some pretty bad luck >.< I did get it off ebay so that's probably a pretty high possibility. Only reason I got it from ebay is because it's just a hunk of aluminum, not a working mechanical part. All other bolt holes are matched perfectly though and it should do me just fine until I decide to get a QT bellhousing. (Should've gotten the Quick Time bell instead, but I was being a cheap bastard.)

SinisterWS6

I'd have to agree with a couple of the above posters, it is much easier to install the bellhousing by itself, then bolt the transmission up to it.

Put a little bit of anti-seize on the dowel pins as well.

If you need to raise and lower the back of the engine, a small piece of 2x4 and a bottle jack on the back of the oil pan to raise and lower the rear of the engine works wonders if doing it in your garage on jack stands.