Any tips or tricks to getting the tranny lined up and mounted to the engine? I had a bitch of a time putting the engine into the tranny and ended up cheating it on by using the bolts...yeah I know bad idea, but it wouldn't go on.



To make a long story short my rebuilt engine didn't have a rear main seal and I had to drop the tranny. I've tried to remove the crossmember hoping that might help but I rounded one of the rusted bolts trying to get it on.



Basically I have about an inch of gap between the engine and the tranny and can't get it all the way on. I've tried using the bolts but for some reason the passenger side will not close. The drivers side wants to close just fine. I'm getting tired of dicking with it and just want to enjoy all the work I've put into this damn car. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. And yes it should go right on and should be simple but it's not. I've tried turning the flywheel and twistin the tranny and all kinds of ****. Anyway, probably wont get much help but I thought I'd ask if there's some trick

 

If I can't get the tranny to get close enough to the motor to bolt up, I just use some longer bolts. Tighten them slowly and evenly untill the motor and tranny pulls together. I usually just have to use one or two longer bolts on the top. Once it is pulled together, take out the long bolts and put in the regular ones. Just make sure everything is lined up when you do this. I see no problem with it. You could also put in the driveshaft and try rotating it to get the splines to line up.

 

Make sure the shifter isn't hitting anything, and that the splines into the clutch are aligned. I've found that just getting under the car and pressing the tranny by hand is the easiest way...if you can hold it up.

 

Driveshaft idea might not be too bad an idea. It's rather difficult to put the top bolts in or use longer bolts when there's an engine up there as well.

The shifter, or the area where the shifter goes is pretty much in the hole so that's not a problem. I've been using a jack and been trying to push it in by hand. Been working at it for hours now with no luck.



But thanks for the suggestions

 

I have no problems getting the longer bolts in. You just need them to be a little longer. Maybe half an inch to an inch longer. You could also try jacking or prying the motor so the back tilts down. This should give you more room.

 

Get a friend to help if necessary, and lose the jack. It's so much easier just to bench press the tranny into place.

 

I have never really had a huge issue doing it and let me tell you I've done it more times then I care to think about.



What I always do is lay on my back, put the tranny on my chest then go up with it, if you got a low profile dolly you could lay on that as well.

 

Thats basically what I do, but it sucks if the trans has a small leak and you get gear oil all over your clothes, that stink never goes away. But the wifey gets turned on when she witnesses working on the car becoming a full body contact acrobatic sport for me, and that's all good.



Regarding the bolts and tightening them to pull the trans in, bad idea. It shouldnt require much force at all to get in, should slip in easily. If you need the torque muliplication of a screw, you likely have problems and may just damage something like a clutch disc, pilot bearing, or tweak the input shaft of the trans possibly causing the seal to leak or maybe damage something else. If you ever read formal instructions on doing this, they tend to explicitly say never use the bolts to pull the trans against the engine.



Think of forcing the trans in with bolts as being similar to trying to have sex without any lube, natural or unnatural, it's just a bad idea.

 

lol I know it's a bad idea, but this tranny will not easily slip right on. I actually had to put weight on the engine to get it pushed back far enough to get the tranny where it is right now.

 

seam like you pilot bearing isn't in good shape.. when I drop mine, I just put a new pilot bearing (6 $ at mazda) and put some lube at the end of the trans. shaft. just line up the tranny and push it. and POP she's in !



my 2 cents



chicoutimi