No worries, I don't take any suggestions as being mean. I'm definitely looking for help! There have been many great suggestions both for now as well as for when I have this thing out. I'll be following many of them I imagine.

I hear what you are saying about taking the bell with the motor. I have just been following other ideas so far. Right now I have a 1" gap where I finally got it to separate. I want to put the engine on a stand for a while is why I was taking it out this way.

I think I have everything cleared out of the way, so I should be nearly there...but I may need to realign the bell, bolt it back in and grab those four.

 

Let me offer an alternative. Removing an engine with a manual trans in place is a pain in the a$$ whether you leave the bellhousing on the block or on the trans. Putting it back is even worse. No matter how you look at it the engine has to lift up at least an inch to get the mount studs out of the perches then slide forward off the input shaft which is 7 1/2" long. It is much easier to pull the shifter, the driveshaft and the three bolts on the rear trans mount and crossmember then slide the gearbox straight back. You could even leave it hanging from a pair of straps between the framerails if you wanted. If you are determined the leave the trans in the truck you need to jack it up as much as you lift the engine and support them individually. If you don't the trans will lifted up by the input shaft as you raise the engine which is bad for the shaft, the seal, the bearing, the clutch, the pilot bushing, and everything else that is binding. Prying the two apart in this case will only make it worse and get you no where. Realise that the weight of the engine and transmission must be supported seperately so they can slide apart freely, and no, the rear trans mount won't cut it. Also, there are two 1/2" alignment dowels in the back of the block that go into holes in the bellhousing that are near the lower bolt holes. These dowels are a tight fit on puspose often get rusted in their holes. This is where a small ammount or prying may be needed to seperate the engine and bellhousing after they are supported.

 

After 2 days of labor I finally delivered this 600 lb, 360ci baby:



Your tips & suggestions were beyond helpful. My old man always talked about "learning by doing," and I must say I learned a lot this weekend. Turns out I was pretty close all along and just needed to make the correct moves in the proper order. I bet this is a lot easier with an extra set of hands helping out?

Now that this is out I will get it on a stand, clean it up, and get into the guts. I will also follow the above advice and pull the trans via my floor jack with tranny adapter. It sure looks like it will go back in easier with the tranny mated to the motor.

For now here's the method I have to support the tranny: a webbed strap strung through the top fender rails and down around the bell:



Sure looks like it an use a serious scrubbing, huh?

 

Thats about as dirty as my f-100 was about two months ago. I removed the front clip back to the firewall . Made it easy to clean and repair so P.O.s screw ups. The engine and tranny were real easy to do. I was changing it from a standard to an automatic . I changed the steering column to a auto column, changed out the pedaL assembly ,replaced the 6/cy with a 302. Yes it is good to have help ,but I have done all most all of mine by myself. I did my first change helping a older cousin when I was 14 years old, that was a long time ago as I am 68 now. Never to old to learn something new. You have a good day and do it safe. JIM

 

Glad to see you made some progress!! It is always better to have some help when you pull one out or putting it back in. I cleaned my engine bay up before I put my 300 back in, and I am glad I did. Here are a few pictures to show you the difference.

BEFORE:




AFTER:





I wasn't going to get so involved, but the motor looked so good, I just couldn't stand to see it setting in a hawged up engine bay like that. It didn't take the much work to do either.

PS: good luck, and don't cut corners, and check yout torque twice and don't skimp on the gasket sealer!!! Also keep the pictures flowing, we like to see the progress too!

PSII: I replaced all my belts hoses, vacuum lines hose clamps, thermostat etc, so it was all fresh and a new start with a fresh rebuild. I also replaced the starter, alternator, water pump etc,etc not by choice, but now that I did its nice everything is new and in good working order. It runs like a new truck now except for the shocks, and radius arm bushings! But thats next on the list here real soon.

 

I read through all the posts and don't recall anyone mentioning a clutch alignment tool.

They're just a few bucks and are basically a plastic transmission input shaft section. You use this tool to get the clutch disc properly centered (under the clutch pressure plate) with respect to the pilot bushing in the crankshaft.

My recommendation is to replace everything (clutch disc, pressure plate, throw-out bearing) and definitely get the flywheel re-surfaced. You can spend a little, or spend a lot on new parts. Replacing a clutch is "so much fun" I recommend you purchase high quality parts so you won't be doing it again for a long while.

Don't handle the new clutch disc with greasy fingers. You want the disc, pressure plate and flywheel to be absolutely free of grease or oil. If you do get any of those greasy, use brake cleaner to remove the contamination.

I think your truck is really sharp. This is an opportunity to give the engine and engine compartment a thorough cleaning/ "mini restoration".

Others may ridicule this, but with the engine out you can tape up the exhaust ports and cover the carburetor intake and then haul the engine to a high pressure car wash. You can blast away decades of accumulated grease/oil/crud.

Even without repainting the engine it will look 100% better.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

I meant to ask you, again, keeping in mind that I am in new territory here: once I've got the motor set to go does it seem sensible to move it to the hoist and then drop the bell off the trans and reattach the bell to the motor before reinstalling?

I spent some time under there yesterday poking around and it does seem like that may be easier to line it up there than it will messing around with the input shaft. Again, I expect to be doing this solo, so that's a big factor.

 

You're kidding right? Am I understanding you correctly that you got that result by cleaning only? No way!

As suggested above I am planning to pressure wash it (fortunately I have a good one here at home so I can spare the trip to the car wash. More clean-up but less hassle getting it to & from) and get in there with a good degreaser but I had no hopes it would come out half as nice as yours. If what you have is within reach I need to reset and raise my expectation!

 

I would put the whole transmission on the motor. They sell a engine leveler that is very helpful when working by yourself. You have more control and can really put a tilt to the motor and transmission.
this is a link to one Arcan Engine Load Leveler — 2 Way, 1250-Lb. Capacity, Model# CL1250 | Hoisting Accessories | Northern Tool + Equipment Harbor freight or ebay could be a better choice.

 

That engine and compartment look great. Use a putty knife to scrape the heavy stuff and then spray down with unscented easy off oven cleaner. do not let it dry, keep it wet, and pressure wash. Repeat as needed. Oven cleaner will take paint, it is best to cover your fenders and cowl/roof to prevent splatter from getting on your exterior.

 

No, that was using a few rattle cans of paint, sorry for the confusion.


Ford dark blue, Silver hammered finish paint, and semi gloss black