Thanks Guys,

Good suggestions. I'll get my son to help this weekend and see where this goes. I'll update once this job is finished.

Thanks again,
George

 

Hey Guys,

Wanted to say thanks. I finally got the transmission installed. I couldn't have done it without all the suggestions. Here is what I had to do...

First... the most important thing was to completely remove the black metal bracket that holds the wiring harness and mounts through the top 2 bolts of the bell housing. This kept getting in the way and would get jammed between the top of the bell housing and the engine. I tried to wire it up out of the way but there just isn't enough room up there. This one component was probably causing me 90% of my problems. Once I removed it things just started to fit.

I started by threading 2 guide bolts to the bottom 2 locations on the engine. I kept these loose and insured they stayed loose at all times. My thinking is that while these guide bolts are loose I'm probably pretty centered with the jack stand to the engine. Since the slave cylinder was putting so much tension on the clutch fingers I basically had to pull the transmission against the slave spring to compress. Once I got what felt like a good seat with the spline, I loosely installed the side bolts through the bell housing (2 on each side). I then started to tighten very slowly, and evenly. I switched from side to side until the guide posts started to seat. I then removed the bottom guide bolts and installed the 2 bottom bolts and started to slowly tighten everything. As long as I could, I kept a finger between the bell housing and the engine to make sure that the transmission was drawing closer and wasn't binding up anywhere. And I never really had to force turning any of the bolts. Finally everything tighten up. I finished by installing the top 2 bolts through the black bracket. These are a lot easier to put back in then to take out.

Everything I had read up to this point said not to use the bolts to draw the transmission to the engine. The risk is a broken bell housing / transmission case, engine damage, etc. I couldn't find a better way to do this by myself. I took as many precautions as I could to avoid serious damage. I would suggest that anyone who wants to copy what I did use the same cautions and understand the risks.

I still have the clutch master cylinder, drive shaft and transmission cross member to install. But that should be a piece of cake (I hope) ;o|

I'll post once this is complete, or until I run into the next big problem. ;o)

Thanks again everyone.
Just George

 

Thanks Just George, that's exactly the kind of information that this site needs more of.

Pictures would be a great help too, but this site doesn't show pictures well.

 

So did it work? Been a great post so far but where is the closure? Inquiring minds want to know...

 

Hi Guys,

Actually I did post in a new thread... sorry, I'm kinda new to rules of posting.

Yes, the rest of the install went well. Everything went back together a lot easier then it came off. I drained the transmission fluid and refilled. The truck seems to be running great now. I haven't put it under a lot of stress yet, but I've driven it 3 times for about 5 miles each (need to get plates so I can't do too much yet). I've had it up to about 50 mph with no difficulties.

Next winter is the timing belt so I'm sure I'll have lots of posts for that.

Thanks for all the help everyone. This site is the best and I'm a loyal fan.

Just George

 

Great!, Thanks for the closure! It's stuff like this that makes this site so useful. A shade tree mechanic, such as myself, needing to replace an M5OD tranny or clutch will find this all quite helpful.