I've got a 79 F150 2wd 400/C6 with long tube headers. The transmission has to come out (again!) and it's lots of work. I can't just drop the transmission with the engine in the truck because there isn't enough clearance between the crossmember and the cab/firewall. Maybe new body mounts would give me the clearance because it's really close, but I need to fix my tranny before spending money on other things......you know how one thing always leads to another.

I'm wondering if anyone has unbolted their engine perches along with the engine mounts to get them out of the way when the engine/trans is going in and out so theirs no interference with headers. Was it worth it?

I usually unbolt the engine mounts from the perches, but with headers, it's a real hassle.

Thanks for any input!

 

I'm about to drop the tranny out of my 77 here later this week maybe ill try that for the hell of it. One of my tower bolts is broke off anyway & I planned on taking that tower off either way

 

Last week i did remove all of the bolts and slide everything forward 2" so i could mark where to drill new mount tower holes in the crossmember. Then i pulled engine and trany out so i could drill those holes , but i did have the radiator support out of the way. With the towers hanging down off of the engine they will probably hit the radiator support if they are not removed from the engine.
They reason i moved them ahead was so the AOD trany would drop in place and keep the drive shaft i had with the three speed.

 

Have you thought of removing the crossmember to allow the trans to come out under the truck?
I have seen some crossmembers riveted in place and others bolted. A sawzall can make short order of the rivets. I bolt the crossmember back in using grade 8 hardware.
It's a lot less work than pulling the engine.

Roger CArter

 

Good information , i was thinking that might be the way i would do it the next time, but was unsure if any body had done it. The reason i had the engine out i was going from a 360 to a 302, thanks.

 

Glad I could help.

A word of advice if you do remove the crossmember. I have found the fit to be extremely tight. The crossmember typically won't come out, or go back in without a little "persuasion".
I have also had to pull the frame rails together and/or spread the rails apart to allow everything to fit back where it belongs.

Roger

 

a light tap with a hammer will knock the trans crossmember out. I would take the tranny off from under the truck. fastest and easiest.

 

I thought we were talking about the cross member under the front of the auto trany for a 2wheel drive , not the rear one it's bolted to. The rear one comes out real easy. I don't know any thing about the 4/4 chassis.

 

Sorry I wasn't clear. Yes I'm talking about the front crossmember on a 2wd.

I'm hoping to find a way to remove the engine and trans with the headers bolted up without removing the radiator support. If I can get it out, I wonder how much more challenging it will be to put it back the same way.

 

[quote=73 fourxfour;12623298]Sorry I wasn't clear. Yes I'm talking about the front crossmember on a 2wd.

I'm hoping to find a way to remove the engine and trans with the headers bolted up without removing the radiator support. If I can get it out, I wonder how much more challenging it will be to put it back the same way.[/quote

If you remove the cross member like Roger said it's still going to put that engine at a steep angle. Then if you have the big factory air cond. box there ,it's going to be tight for the headers between it and the power brake unit if you have that. Going back in will be harder i believe unless you have some body to help with a jack underneath to guide it in place. My self, now that i have thought it over, i believe there is as much if not more work if you remove the cross member , depending if it's bolted in or not. I do understand why you don't want to remove the headers , big job there .

 

So, I've hadthe engine and transmission out twice since I last posted because the rebuilt transmission I bought blew up, so I had to fix mine. Anyways, it's very close but I removed the engine and transmission along with leaving the passenger side header and starter still bolted in place. I only unbolted the drivers side header, engine mounts from the perches, and removed the transmission support crossmember, supporting it with the jack as it moved forward. Not having to remove the passenger side header and starter with my set up saves hours. It was nice to replace the blown header gasket and torque the header bolts while the engine was out. The rear bolt is almost impossible to torque when in the truck.

Make sure you remove the crank pulley and the radiator and it will just clear. I ran into clearance problems with the rafters putting the engine back in one time, and let air out of the front tires to lower the radiator support, then pumped them back up as needed.

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Low ceiling rafters is another reason i just pull the radiator support out, then it's straight out with every thing . You got that engine and trany looking good, i may have to pull mine again if so i believe i will paint it.

 

Pulling the front clip is just sooo easy on these trucks, and it makes doing everything under the hood a million times easier... bolts are easy to torque properly, you can get 2 hands on everything, don't have to use extensions, etc. It can be difficult to get the 2 big bolts that hold the core in the first time out, but if you replace them with new hardware coated with anti seize its cake from then on.

 

Awsome job!. Glad you figured it out and made it all work. Someone always has an idea or a way to do something when it comes things like this.