I’m working on rebuilding a 1976 F100 Bicentennial with my son. We are pulling the engine but it is stuck to the transmission. All bolts are removed, starter removed, but still see the connection at the center of the bell housing where it meets the engine block. There is a full inch gap between the bell housing and the engine block otherwise, so I’m not sure what I am missing.
for reference, the engine is a 302 V8 and the tranny is a C4 automatic 3 speed.
thanks for any insights!!

 

Did you remove the bolts that connect the torque converter to the flywheel? With the motor unhooked from the motor mounts and bell housing you should be able to lift it up and then pull forward. Only thing that would stop it is the starter and the torque converter.

 

Thanks! We may have missed the torque converter bolts. Are there only two at the bottom of the flywheel?
Thanks again!

 

i cant recall how many on a c4 remove the access plate and loosen them, turn motor over and loosen more until all are off. Do not remove the torque converter from the trans. They are pain to rebleed and may burn it up after reinstall if it leaked out.

 

Got it. So I will remove the access plate (it may already be off) then loosen the bolt on the flywheel, turn and repeat. Should I not take the bolts off completely? I’ll check my Haynes too.

 

bolts are attached to the torque converter. They go thru the flexplate with a nut.

Access plate is on the bottom of the bell housing looking from the front back. Should be held on by 2 little bolts.

 

Converter will have four bolts.

 

it makes less mess leaving the converter in the trans, but the converter shouldn't be causing the engine and trans to not separate, unless you've gotten them in a heavy bind...the converter should just slide out of the trans...

 

It'll bind.

 

Yikes, theres four and you have to take one out at a time then turn the crank to access the next one, repeat, repeat and repeat. Hopefully the flex-plate isn't warped from yanking on it.

 

Yes, the TC has to be removed, just as the previous guys have written, you have to access the bolts that fasten the TC to the flexplate by removing the cover plate. Be sure you get the a good secure fit on the nuts if you're using a wrench or socket. These are the NOT the nuts to accidentally round. The starter usually has to come out too.

I'm sure someone will disagree, but having pulled a number of drive trains from different vehicles for various reasons over the years and read and learned it's usually easier to pull both the motor and tranny together. There are few exceptions (like a clutch job), but this doesn't sound like one of them. There isn't much more additional to remove / disconnect to do so. Also, iff you haven't figured out yet, it is considerably easier to pull the front clip off first. Another thing I wish I knew my first time, if you do pull the tranny too, be prepared to plug the end of the tranny's tail shaft. Once one pulls the slip yoke out (driveshaft), there is potential for LOTS of tranny fluid to spill out. A few disposable gloves and a tie on the end works wonders.

If you do pull the TC out read up on install. There are a few important things to pay careful attention to when re-assembling onto the tranny input shaft.

 

Thank you all for the input - it was a huge help. We got the engine out, separated from the tranny, and all because we made a little extra room. Thanks for the tip to remove the front clip first!

now we are on to the rebuild of the engine. It still runs, so should be relatively simple. Mostly clean out I think.
thanks again!