Bellhousing

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BlackMark8

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Ok i got the transmission 98% removed. I did everything to unhook and get everything out of the way... First off... Will the transmission come off of the torque converter if i leave it bolted to the fly wheel ? I tried getting one of the TC bolts off and it stripped... and it does not look like its coming off... so hopefully i can leave it on the fly wheel until i get the transmission off.

Even though thats staying on I cant seem to get the top two bellhousing bolts off.... any tips ? Last time I had the same problem and I ended up having someone else do it.... He had it unbolted and the new one bolted in half an hour and fifty bucks. I spent about 2 hours now ON THESE TWO BOLTS !! So far I broke a swivel , it helped the most lining it up so i can turn the bolts, but it broke and I cant even get the socket on the bolt now. I have a swivel 1/2 inch socket on a bunch of extensions now and it just wont line up. Anyone have any tips on this part?? Im getting really really frustrated , I cant imagine how im going to get them in, not to mention back on that tight....

Any tips would help... Id like to have her out by tonight...
 
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Do you have the rear transmission mount off? This HAS to be off so the tranny can drop down a bit so you can get the extensions and socket forward to the top bolts....BTW, a CHEAP swivel WILL break....get one with the CRAFTSMAN name on it...at least if you break that one, you can exchange it for a new one!
 
True, And yes, Like I said its ALL taken apart. Crossmember, all of the exhaust, starter, driveshaft, gas tank, everything is off except the last two bolts... grrr im so irritated. BTW that was a Snap - On Swivel - Hopefully craftsman makes a better one

I will get another one, hopefully this one wont smash in half and break my other finger... LOL
 
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its also a 13 mm not 1/2 and if you have the tranny unmounted from the cross member and have the cross member removed, the back of the motor will tilt down making it easy to get the bolts out of the top. i had the tranny out of my 97 in 30 minutes once i got all the crap out from around it, also, the torque convertot nuts are 14 mm, you only want to use a 14 six point on them, they round off very easy.
 
A 1/2" swivel socket might not give you the right angle on the extensions because it's too short.

I've always used a 1/2" socket connected to a 1/2" U joint and it lines up fine. This brings the connection to the swivel (U joint) back, so the extensions can be at a lower angle to clear the floor pan.
 
The U joint trick worked. Got her almost out. She's hung up on the TC spline. What size and thread type is the TC bolts for the fly wheel? ill need at least one more, since one is stripped, I hope I can get it off.

Can the transmission come off without taking the TC off? I think it will, its barely hanging on by a thread on the spline right now. Im done working for the night, but i bet she will come off in 5 minutes when i start tomorrow morning.
 
This Torque Converter is stuck. One of the bolts is stripped and does NOT want to come off. Its completely rounded off and the best vice-grips just slide off of it. Do I have to breakout my acetylene torches?? I really dont like having it that close to the oil pan.... Theres no room to work with.. Im SO PISSED OFF. I wanna just set the car on fire and leave it
 
this is absolutely why i always say drop the motor and trans out the bottom.

The one time I tried to swap a trans IN the car the top bellhousing to engine bolt broke.

the 4-5 times we've had them "out on the ground" we never had any problems with bolts being seized.

I think it's the fact the weight of the trans is hanging on the bolts, coupled with they are small 10MM shanks, coupled with the extreme angle loading that takes place when you try to get them loose while "in the car".

Out on the ground you can get straight on the bolt and not put a bunch of side loading which is probably why the bolt stripped in teh first place.

Of course when I say "drop it out the bottom" there are always people that say "it can be done"..blah blah blah.

well.. welcome to blah blah blah!

At this point you might consider dropping everything out the bottom so you can properly address the issues you now face.

P.S. this process does NOT require an blue fire wrench.. you'll probably damage the aluminum block long before anything happens to that hardened trans bolt.

If you drop it out the bottom your 4-5 hours from being finished with this job.
 
BlackMark8 said:
Got her almost out. She's hung up on the TC spline. .
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honestly your making this far more difficult and painful than it needs to be.

But.. you are correct.. when you wake up and get a fresh start you'll probably make alot more/better progress.

when it becomes frustrating, walk away.. the job never gets better when you "work thru frustration".. bad things happen, like broken/stripped/seized bolts.. and stuff.

Good luck, I hope you have a better day than yesterday...lol
 
haha ! Thank you so much ! I finally got her out, along with all the Torque Converter bolts, I had to use an air chizzell to break all the bolts off.. and it worked. Got the TC off and the tranny out. Now, the fun part.

I have the new tranny under the car on two jacks, i spent 45 minutes squeezing her in there, ofcoure the bellhousing bolt mounts got hung up on the EGR multiple times, but i got past it. Now i cant get the darn thing to line up ! I tried pushing as far as i can towards the engine since the transmission is jacked up in there, and the flywheel keeps hitting the bellhousing, almost looks like the transmission is too small !!! But when i had them both on the ground next to each other, they were identical in shape.

So now its just a matter of lining it up and getting the torque converter bolts to line up on the flywheel, this has been proven very very difficult and frustration. Alot of words were said like " im done !" and " GD it" - haha this is comical now.

Maybe i need some vaseline !! haha, So yea, once i get the bolts on the TC lined up i can start threading in the bellhousing and cross member. It should be all downhill from there. Oh, and when i took all the bolts out i noticed two are longer than the rest, i guess these are the top two bellhousing bolts?

Hopefully another full day of manual labor and frustrating work I can have my lincoln back. Thanks again to everyone for all the help you have given me.
 
Be VERY careful alligning the TC....When I installed mine, I got it all the way in (almost), got all the tranny bolts in, but once in, I couldn't get the TC bolts in....had to bring it all the way back out to find out the TC wasn't seated all the way in the tranny. 2nd time was a charm....live and learn!
 
budpytko said:
Be VERY careful alligning the TC....When I installed mine, I got it all the way in (almost), got all the tranny bolts in, but once in, I couldn't get the TC bolts in....had to bring it all the way back out to find out the TC wasn't seated all the way in the tranny. 2nd time was a charm....live and learn!
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x2!

You should feel 2 splines engaging when putting the TC on the tranny. It helps to hold the entire weight of the TC and rotate to engage the splines.
 
Ok, heres where im at. The transmission (new one) has the TC already in it. It appears to be on all the way... But now, I cant get anything to line up, the bellhousing bolts, or the TC bolts. When I try to slide her forward it wont go, and often gets caught on the pesty EGR. So, I was thinking.... Since I took the old transmission off WITHOUT unbolting the TC, which wasnt fun but it worked. Can I just bolt the new TC on the fly wheel first ?? Because then, when I line up the transmission, it should be alot easier to bolt it and over all line up the bolts. This sound like it might work?

As of right now its on two jacks stuffed up in there, but nothing will line up and I cant seem to finess it in a way to line up.
 
BlackMark8 said:
.... Since I took the old transmission off WITHOUT unbolting the TC, which wasnt fun but it worked. Can I just bolt the new TC on the fly wheel first ?? ...
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Nope. You may have a 1 in 1000 chance but I'd bet heavily against it.

A tranny jack is awful handy because you can adjust the tilt and lift but I realize you have limitations.

Can you tip the motor some so the front is up and the rear is down?

Stupid question... did you pull the starter?
 
No. You can not put the converter on the flexplate/flywheel first. The converter must be in the transmission and "set in". It was described earlier, the converter must be spun by hand and pushed back until two splines are engaged. You can feel the converter set back into the transmission as you do this.
 
That is weird. I didnt have to "disengage" it when I took the old transmission off (I left the converter on the flywheel). And I guess I wont have to engage the new one since it came with a TC in it already. And I haven't taken it out, only turned it a 1/4 turn or so each way to confirm it moved before I purchased it.

Ok, so that idea is gone, ill just do my best on lining her up tomorrow.I will concentrate on lining up and bolting up the TC , since I think thats where im at now.

Thanks again guys, and yea driller I am limited to alot right now. If you saw where I was changing this thing you would laugh.
 
I've always cut off that "ear" on the bellhousing that interferes with the EGR tube. I just use a hacksaw and cut right through the hole in it.
 
BlackMark8 said:
Thanks again guys, and yea driller I am limited to alot right now. If you saw where I was changing this thing you would laugh.
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LOL, YOU would laugh if you saw where I have changed transmissions before!

Here's a hint....

1121195167747_Dozer-03.jpg
 
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