So I got the engine back in and found that the oil pump shaft doesn't just drop into place in a 351C. Ho-hum. I bought it that way off a couple of years ago and am a V8 rookie. So, then I pulled the engine this morning, took off the pan and the oil pump and then put the pan back on. So now I'm trying to get the engine back in place.

This the first V8 I've messed with and am wondering how to do it right. Have you folks found it easier to just pull and replace the engine or pull the transmission back or out, drop the engine down on the mounts and then get the trans in place? Oh, the trans is an automatic.

Craig in Campbell

 

I think I'd pull the tranny out and bolt it up to the engine, then stick it all in together, easier to get the TC seated and bolted to the flexplate when it's in the air, plus rotating the engine to get to all the TC bolts...just a bit easier IMO.

Just remember to drain the tranny first, so it doesn't spill all over the floor on the way back in.

GM V8's are a bit easier since you can drop the inspection cover and easily spin the TC to get to the bolts.

 

Notes from a rookie:

That transmission is HEAVY!! If the engine and tranny are already pulled, yeah, mate them in the air and stab them together. If the tranny is still in the rig, it is a pain in the a## to reach some of the bolts, but perhaps easier than trying to figure out how to drop the transmission while crawling on your back on the bare concrete.

If the engine is out, and transmission is in, you are in a lose/lose situation. It is a heck of a lot of work to hook up the tranny and engine while crawling under the truck. If they are both already out, I agree with what Mike said.

This comes from a rookie that has learned this the hard way.

 

Yeah, I know, I'm a loser. Tranny in and engine out. The tranny is an AOD though so I'm not a complete loser. I really don't want to get that box o gears out by itself as it's all in my '56 and it likes being where it is. I'm going to try to just slide it back a couple of inches and see if I can make them happy together while still in the truck. If not, it will come out... one way or another!

 

First, I am not up on the newer stuff, but with the older I always split the tranny and the engine by unbolting the flex plate from the torque converter. The torque converter stays with the tranny but the starter ring goes with the engine.

The top bell housing bolts can be bad - some trucks have a plate that you can remove from the floor boards for access to the bolts from inside the cab. Otherwise you need a flex joint for your socket set and several long extensions. Generally I can run a power ratchet to loosen the bolts.

You have to suspend the engine from the host, and mostly support the tranny. When you are ready a good shake will pull the engine from the guide posts located in the bell housing.

Just remember not to force anything when you go back - if things are lined up correctly they will fall into place. I do have a couple of extra long 3/8s bolts I sometimes screw in to help guide things back together - but you have to be very careful not to break the cornor off the bell housing.

Also, use a torque wrench on all the bell housing bolts to insure they are tight enough to stay in place - if I have a flex joint and a couple of extensions I add about 10 pounds extra torque to the recomended amount to make up for the give they add.


I do most of my work by myself with no helpers and this way has always worked best for me.

 

When you mate the trans to the motor just make sure that (If there is a slot in the converter) the keyway(slot) on the converter lines up and it should slide together. I just did one on the floor. If you line them up horizonally they seem to go together better. I jerked it around a bit until I remembered and got a flashlight out and looked at the crank, flexplate, and converter ..... then it dawned on me what I did last time. Lined them up bingo 5 seconds and she was together. Doh !!!!

It has to be lined up because the pins get in the way if you don't have everything just right.

 

The dogs power the oil pump of the tranny - if you force it without these being lined up you can damage the front seal, or do something even worst!

But you can spin the torque converter and feel them fall into place, and the converter will move maybe 3/4 of an inch closer to the tranny.

 

Yeah, that the technical term .... dawgs.... I mean dogs.
In my case, I couldn't spin the converter that easily for some reason and I hand cranked the motor to mate.

 

One time I put together a 289 and installed it into my '65 Falcon Ranchero. When I got done I found a special high strength bolt. The only place I could remember such a bolt being used was on the oil pump.

I let it set a week while I thought things over, and, in the end, decided I would never trust this motor unless I looked. I disconnected the front motor mounts and lifted the engine, dropped the pan down but there still was an oil pump bolt I couldn't see. It took some doing and I ruined the gasket, but I did get the engine up high enough to remove the pan. Of course, all the bolts were in place - my work totally wasted. I still think one of my brothers did it to me!

A couple of years ago I rebuilt a FE V8, and dropped the oil pump shaft down the engine and into the pan. I used some bailing wire to feel around inside the pan and insured the shaft was laying flat in the pan, and then went down to the parts house and bought a new one. No way was I going to remove the pan, even though the pickup had a lot more room under the engine than the one in the Ranchero!

Live and learn.

 

And like I've never done that before. I just hate redoing work. But, as my nephews always kid me about saying "Better safe than sorry".
Just wait until they are old enough to work on their own cars. I have a couple of jokes lined up for them. What's a muffler bearing anyways?

 

Yeah. So, I started to take things off of the tranny last night. It's just depressing to have had almost everything installed and be ready to fire the engine after two years of being apart and then have to pull it all out. I will disconnect the kickdown and drop the pan on the tranny to drain the fluid tonight and be ready to yank it out tomorrow or maybe tonight if it's early enough.

Someday I will have a garage big enough that I don't have to move 75% of my stuff out of the way to do anything. The Mini (LBC) is sitting outside until this gets done and that always bugs me as I can hear the rust creaping through it. "Rust?", you say. It's English, of course there's rust on it!

 

Good luck, let us know how it all turns out. We're pulling for ya !!!

 

Last fall, Dan and I were putting in new distributer into my FE so I could convert it to electronic ignition. Dan took out the old dizzy. I was removing the coil right beside the dizzy opening. I pulled the bolt and heard a little "clink... clink... plunk." There was a small washer on the coil bolt that went into the opening and down into the engine. We tried to rationalize that it will sit in the bottom of the oil pan forever. The washer was to big to try to fish out with a magnet and out the oil drain.

So, we made another trip to Napa and got a new oil filter, oil, and oil pan gasket. The only upside was that there is some pin that sits on the oil pump that the dizzy sits on. Dan was having a devil of a time trying to get it set and ready to install the Dizzy. Once I had the oil pan off, all he had to do was reach up and reseat it.

I was thankful that I have a 4X4. I think the 2wd bumpsides had a cross brace that went right under the oil pan. I don't have that.

Anyway. It changed a 3 hour job into 5 hour job. After it was done though, the electric ignition worked great.