I just bought a 1983 F-150 4x4 with the 300 six and I need to put a clutch in it. Is it possible to slide the tranny and transfer case back far enough to make the change or will I have to remove the transfer case. Thanks,

Scott

 

Both the tranny & x-fer case have to be removed to do the clutch. I wouldn't recommend trying to ballance the pair on the cross brace.

 

If the t-case is married to the trans, it's possible. Not sure on these newer trucks, but my old 69 had a floor pan that you could un-bolt just above the transmission itself. I used to pull 4 of the top cover bolts off the trans, and then use them to bolt a chain to it, and shoved a long metal bar through the chain to hold the front of the trans up, while it rested on the the cross member. I wouldn't recommend just letting it balance there, as either the t-case or the trans(never mind combined) would be heavy enough to pin you under the truck if they were to fall and land on you, never mind the possibility of serious injury.

 

Even if you can I'm sure it would be easier in the long run to just take it out. Spend all that time just getting it to sit there then you have to mess with moving around it without knocking it over. You should be able to take it out with a floor jack and not even having to lift the truck, thats what me and a friend did.

I've had a ranger trany fall on me that we had dropped and left on two beams over the pit when I hit my head on one it brought the trany down on my back. If it where from a full size it would have probably been a fair amount worse, as it was all I got was a bruse but I had a trany sitting on my back as I was hunched over in a pit.