Well, after posting my truck here and in the Thrifty Nickel with no serious takers, I decided to replace the ring gear myself and continue with the renovation of the truck. I think I might have gotten in over my head on this one....

I pulled the truck into our garage and put it up on jack stands. This of course gave me plenty of room and some to spare since the truck already sits high enough for me to lay under it anyway. So much the better.

Next, I pulled the floor mat back (well, ripped it actually since I believe it is the original and is well beyond rotten) and uncovered the removable floor pan. I pulled the shifter ***, boot, pan and shifter lever off of the transmission. So far so good.

Then I got ready to have an afternoon snack of 39 year old dirt and rust chips. I deliberately ate a light lunch so I wouldn't be too stuffed from all the snacking. The driveshaft was a breeze (two piece) and it came out fairly easily. Also the backup lights and the speedo cable were no big issue, except I had to dig the accumulated dirt/grease/oil from around the cable base to realize it wasn't a screw in piece but had a retaining clip held in place by a hex bolt.

Lastly (I say lastly because this is the last step I took this weekend) I prepared to pull the transmission from the bell housing. I couldn't for the life of me find a transmission jack, so I decided in my infinite wisdom that I would just unbolt the rear transmission crossmember/mount from the frame, leaving it attached to the transmission, and slide the whole kit and kaboodle back toward the rear end enough to clear the bell housing. Nope, wasn't happening. I would have had to pull the exhaust pipe to make that happen. So, I supported the transmission with a 2 ton floor jack that wasn't tall enough by supplimenting the lack of height with wood 2x4 blocks. This of course was precarious, but beggars can't be choosers, right? I lifted it with the front transmission shaft still partially inside the bell housing and removed the rear crossmember/support. This of course worked wonderfully until I moved the transmission back further and the front shaft cleared the bell housing. Needless to say the transmission is now safely on the floor next to the scattered pile of wood blocks. Luckily I did not provide any cushioning for the transmission's downward decent personally. The concrete did that for me. The bonus is it was only about a 12" descent. It impacted on the rear yolk and upon inspection I found that the transmission casing wasn't cracked and I pray that shaft wasn't bent. I don't *think* the impact was great enough to bend it, but then again I wasn't really *thinking* when I pulled it, so take that with a grain of salt.

I now have the task of pulling the clutch 'equalizer'(? not sure if this is what the z shaped bar is called, but I seem to have read that in a chilton's manual) off and then the bell housing/clutch assembly/flywheel so I can have the new ring gear put on. I purchased a new clutch assembly from LMC at what I think is a good price. I figured, since it is out and the throwout bearing feels like it has unlubricated sand in it, might as well replace it and not have to do this again any time soon.

My big concern is putting the transmission back in. I have called around and no one seems to rent tall enough floor jacks or transmission jacks (not that one would fit, as I saw a picture of one for $650 today and it is really tall), and I am looking at myself and my brother in law underneath the truck lifting the transmission back into place with someone up in the cab to help us guide it back into the clutch. Does anyone have any brighter ideas than a 2-ton floor jack with supplimental wood blocks or two 200lb wannabe mechanics holding this transmission over their heads under said truck? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

I've been wondering about that truck. Sadly, the Mrs won't allow me to have a truck farm.

Honestly, the few times I've had a tranny on a jack, it has come off for the final line up and shove. Most of my experience has been in gravel, or the weeds; not places where a jack is handy. Most of the time I've done this without help.

A couple of shade tree strategies have helped in situations like this:

Remove the mount from between the tranny and crossmember, you'll see why in a moment. Cut a piece of wood or steel to fit inside the frame rails. By shoving the tranny back as far as possible, and supporting it with the cut piece, I've had my NP435 off without dropping it. However, I did leave the bell housing attached to the tranny.

Now for the lifting part: If my 8th grade science teacher didn't lie about it, lifting one end and leaving the other on the ground divides the weight. Of course there are a few variables, like where you support the load, but you should be able to effectively divide the weight by half. If you can lift the thing high enough to hook the tailshaft on the crossmember, Bubba 1 and Bubba 2 should have no problem getting a support under the front. I think I've seen helpers in the cab with a strap out at pull-n-save.

Getting the tranny to slide home is the difficult part, especially with a clutch. To make it easy take one of the bolts to the hardware and get 2 more the same size, except 8 inches long. Take them home, cut the heads off (cut screwdriver slots in the end if you like) and screw them in by hand. You now have pilot studs to orient the tranny, hold the front, and help align the input shaft. With a clutch you will probably have to work the throw-out to get the tranny fully seated. Once the tranny is seated you can run the rest of the bolts in, then remove the pilot studs and run the last 2 bolts.
One bit of wisdom I've heard from line mechanics and shade-trees alike: Never use the bolts to pull the tranny the rest of the way in. You might have your alingment right 100 times, you might get away with it 100 times, but the one time you break something, it's an automatic do-over.

Keep us posted, Mike

 

Well, as an update I finally got the clutch out and found that the engine did not have enough compression to keep me from turning the motor over trying to get the flywheel off. In comes the brother-in-law. I had him on a breaker bar on the front of the motor at the bolt that holds the front pulley on the crankshaft. Of course four bolts into it I finally loosen the front bolt by putting too much torque on the 5th bolt on the flywheel. At that point I had to counter my brother-in-law as he tried to tighten it back up. Luckily it held for the last two bolts after that.

In the process, I have found a couple of things. First, contrary to two chilton's manuals, the engine side of the z-bar (clutch equalizer?) is not bolted to the bell housing but to the engine block itself. I found this out AFTER I managed to completely break the cotter pin off that holds the rod attached to the clutch pedal to this 'z bar'. Now I have to find a way to push the remaining pieces of said cotter pin out in a confined space. Second, it was mentioned at some point in the same manuals that I should take the dust cover off before the bell housing. This thing won't come off prior to the flywheel removal and serves no purpose to be removed after the flywheel is removed. So much for the manuals.

I found a machine shop here in Colorado Springs that would put the new ring gear I bought on for about $15. Of course when I got there I realized I had bought the wrong one. The place I bought it from had two listed for my year/engine/model and I took a crap shoot. One was 184 teeth and the other 164. Of course I bought the 184 tooth one.....but alas they had the correct one in stock and after having them resurface the flywheel I am no worse for having spent the $46. The place I bought the ring gear from will take it back, so I will only be out shipping.

That is what I have for now. Coming this weekend....the reinstall....

 

Cfisher, sorry late on this post. I have a transmission jack! I take it you've hopefully got it done by now.....?

Dude, why'd you buy from LMC for clutch parts??? I've found never to buy drivetrain stuff from a mag!! You can get locally with a warranty, nice return policy, and parts in hand same day.

 

Will that jack fit under a truck on jack stands? I don't have a pit to work out of, so my height is about 2-3 feet.


As far as LMC goes, I haven't found a local parts distributor that will handle parts that old.

 

Yes the jack should fit under the truck. It raises and lowers with a half in chuck with an impact wrench. It should raise 3ft..... I'm not sure. It's only like $50 on sale at Harbor Freight.

Part's that old?!? ANY Autozone, Checker, NAPA, will have any replaceable engine/drivetrain parts. Have you even checked?!? The 300-6 and trans stuff is really easy to get parts for as was used for decades.

 

napaonline has a reman kit for $125. NAPA will cost more, but it's not as likely you'll be making any returns for quality or fit. If the budget is paramount, take the lowball price to Checkers, they'll beat it by 5%.

 

Ok, I know it took a little longer than I said to do this, but the clutch alignment tool was not in the kit I bought and I made FMC ship me one.


I put the clutch back in today along with the bellhousing. After two hours of trying to get the transmission back in (my brother-in-law had a jack with a wide tray that would hold the transmission nicely), I have decided that while I may have been a mechanic when I was young, I am neither young nor a mechanic anymore. I just don't have the patience. The truck has a new clutch assembly but no transmission. It is on the ground and about to be put in the back of the truck.

Here is where I stand. I know there is a way to do it, but I am tired of fooling with this old truck. I would rather at this point look for the right truck that is in one piece rather than start a restore on this one. My hope is to start looking for a 1977 Ford Explorer. Don't ask why, I just always liked the blue with the white stripes.

Right now the truck is sitting nose out in my garage. I have supported the rear of the motor and am putting the tranny, drive shafts, starter, loose parts in the bed. I have put a new ring gear on the flywheel and had it resurfaced. The clutch disk, clutch pressure plate and throw-out bearing are new and installed. The steering column has a new flex coupler. According to the previous owner, the front end is out of a '71. It has front disk brakes so I believe this to be true since I don't think '67s came with anything other than drum brakes. The rear end and the steering linkeage seem to be in good shape. I believe I have determined by the HP rating on the door plate that it is actually a 240ci six cylinder motor with approximately 229,000 miles on it. Smokes a little on startup, but appears to hold a tune-up well and never stutters.

I am going to sell the truck. It can go for parts or it can go to someone who has the expertise and the patience to put the tranny back in. I am not giving up on a truck, just this one. When I pulled the transmission, it damn near fell on me, and then putting it back in it nearly did the same even though I had help, so I am done with it. Period.

Since this isn't the "selling" thread, I will post a new for sale for it in that thread. Anyone interested please look there.

Thanks for all who have followed and those that offered feedback. I assure you I am not out of it, just changing vehicles.

 

I've been there....frustrated.... You're truck is an f100 right? Those front disks are from a '73 if so. Nice touch, I'd love to do that swap on mine in the future. Sounds like you've got some of the important road worthy stuff done. Those trannys can be a B lining them up! But I've found making some alignment bolts make it SO much easier to get it all put back together underneth of the truck.

 

I am curious about one thing Chris, did you compare the clutch aligning tool to the tranny input shaft and friction disc? Ford was pretty consistent about using a 19 spline input shaft. That does not rule out any mistakes or exceptions.

OK, I'm taking a DEEEEEEP breath.

The argument for a newer truck has one valid point: You like them. Everything else is moot, you would just be trading one set of headaches for another. The only way around that problem is to spend mega-bucks for one that has already been restored. Even those can be dubious if you don't do your homework on the builder and the methods they use.

With that said, I wish I had the cash to fill the tank and come down. For some reason I can't resist the tough nut, must be the german in me. Hell, I wish I could throw down the $250 and drive it home! It'll take a lot more to put my truck back on the road.

The big advantage to the '67 is that the emmission requirements are really lax. IIRC the only requirements in '67 were a thermal air cleaner, positive crankcase ventilation, and maybe a fuel evap system (sealed tank). That leaves a whole-lotta lee way for a whole-lotta hot rod engine. A '77 will have more smog equipment issues to haggle over, depends on the inspector when you go.