Iv been in the process of trying to get my transmission "C6" for the last 2 weeks, bolted up to my 428.

When I give the bell-housing bolts their last few turns the torque-converter gets tight on the flex plate. I have measured everything I can think of... I have come up with the conclusion that my bell-housing spacer plate is not thick enough or my current flex plate sits too far toward the converter.

Could someone lay a regular FE flex plate on the ground "without the externally balanced weight"converter side down/crank side up.

If you could give me the measurement from the ground to the crank mating surface please??????


My factory 428 plate measures about 13/16"



Thanks
Nick

 

The torque converter is not completely seated in the tranny. Push it in and rotate it until in seats all the way into the transmission.

 

x2 - Been there done that.

 

Was the engine connected to a straight drive before? There could be a thrust bushing or bearing in the end of the crank that is stopping it from bolting up also, if the TC is fully seated.



John

 

I have seated the converter in my 385 series C6 I have roughly 1.125" between the converter pads and the outside of the bell-housing.

Its the second clunk going in and I pinched my fingers pretty bad when it seated. I seated the converter on my FE C6 and got the same results. Just a little bit more that 1.125"

I have had the trans out of this thing about 4 times and seated the converter about 30 times.. I have polished the paint of the feet and studs, along with the bell-housing and made sure the plate wasn't warped or bent.

I measured the bell-housing to the ring gear on my 351M its considerable less than that of my 428 with flex plate attached.

I have another old 352 flex plate that but its the old 164 tooth style and no weight. after a few measurements it looks as if this flex plate would allow the proper clearance for the converter/pump.

This old 352 flex plate measures about 1/2" from the ground to the crank mounting surface.

I have been seating the converter all day..I even had my buddy do it also...The converter is new out of the box so it would be hard to imagine that it would be off.

My converter also has the large snout on it...larger than one that would be on 302 or 351M....

 

I removed it before it went to the machine shop

 

I found out the problem!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The 28 oz flex plate I had has a larger dish in it causing the converter to bind up on the pump when tightening the bolts up.

I found a 70s 390 flex plate and bolted it up and everything fit as it should.. Except the fact that the 390 does not have 28 oz of imbalance.

I called the machine shop and they told me they could balance a regular 390 flex plate to match my old one of 28oz imbalance.

I do not understand why there would be a difference in the flex plates regarding converter to pump clearance... But I found the problem

So as soon as I get my new flex plate its off to the machine shop one last time and I should have this thing on the road to getting finished. I have spent 4 years on the restoration and another 1 year getting this motor together.

Thanks for all the replies and info I have gathered on FTE

Nick

 

The correct 428 flexplate is identical to the 390 or any other FE unit except for the weight. All the blocks are the same and so are all the C6 cases so either the flexplate you had is not for the FE or some thing else is really screwy.

 

I was told the flex plate came off from the motor years ago...probably like 20 years... it was marked as a 428 ford when it was removed, and hung on the wall in my grandfathers parts room.

I'm baffled and to not understand why this is, but the converter is seated properly, I have the right bell-housing spacer plate, along with the correct converter. I spent the last 6 hours making measurements a have not come up with any other answer than that the flex plate is different.

I even went as far as smearing a bead of silicon on to the snout of the converter and installing the trans to see if it was bottoming out in the crank.