Tranny install-school me (1 Viewer)

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Cruiserdrew

On the way there
Joined
Mar 15, 2003
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219
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Location
Sacramento, CA
I wasted the better part of 2 hours trying to get my new tranny back into the truck today. It's a taxing environment and I couldn't get the input shaft through the throw out bearing and through the clutch. When it was clear things wern't going well, I gave up to try later. I was working with a tranny attachment on my floor jack, but that pretty much sucks in that application.

My current plan is to use an engine hoist from above, with the hoist positioned in the door. I did remove the sheet metal part of the tranny hump as well hoping that will give me more room to manuver. I also got some long and appropriately threaded bolts that I cut the heads off to serve as guides for the two lower tranny bolt holes.

Anyone have any words of wisdom for this? Especially getting the shaft in place to go cleanly through the clutch. All of the components are new, so there isn't any dirt or crud holding up the operation. All suggestions are welcome.
 
I've done it by myself three or four times, always from below. I use a scissors-type "transmission jack" from harbor freight, but I'm not sure that it helps much. I think it's all about the angle, getting the transmission input shaft lined up at the same angle as the engine. I think once the transmission is removed, the rear of the engine must rebound up a little, and the transmission has to go in higher and flatter than it came out. I remember having to remove some heat shields to get a little more clearance to get the transmission high enough. I also think I busted one of the muffler mounts because I didin't disconnect the tail pipe from the exhaust manifold per the FSM. If you replaced the clutch, did you use an alignement tool when you installed it? You need to rotate the input shaft a little to get the splilnes lined up with those on the friction disk, therefore, it helps to have the transmission in gear. Good Luck.
 
When I did mine, getting the clutch aligned right was the key. I did notice that I had to come in high like 2mbb mentioned. Good luck!
 
Thanks guys-clutch was aligned with the alignment tool, and looking down the bore it looks perfectly centered. I have to work the next few days and I'll hit it again. I'm really hoping the engine hoist thing will do it-it looks like it should. Keep the suggestions coming.
 
Screw-type transmission jacks are way better than hydraulic - you can make fine adjustments. Cherry picker poses same problems as an hydraulic tranny jack, only worse. Might help to have a buddy on top doing the cherry picker thing & you underneath the tranny doing the bench press thing for the final alignment. A tape measure might help to check alignment.
 
I have had good luck with a cherry picker up top supporting the major weight.....a flor jack down below to do fine adjustmnets...I just swung the 203 and split case into position using this very method on Father's day....no one wanted to help dear old dad...so out I went and man handled it in to position...couldn't have done it any other way..

Tim
 
I had to remove the top cover, where the shifter goes in, on my H55F when stabbing it into my 3FE on my FJ62.

Two people is a must. I have a HF scissor type tranny jack and it sucks but has lifted the A440F Tcase combo 4 times and the H55F Tcase combo once.

Good Luck,

Dunbar
 
2 buddies of mine pulled out and put back in the tranny and t case in the pig about 5 times durin the course of rebuild. Each time they took the t case off to help make it lighter and more manueverable. Just a suggestion if doin it by yourself.
 
CruisinTiger said:
2 buddies of mine pulled out and put back in the tranny and t case in the pig about 5 times durin the course of rebuild. Each time they took the t case off to help make it lighter and more manueverable. Just a suggestion if doin it by yourself.

I thought is a good idea .. anycase ..
 
CruisinTiger said:
2 buddies of mine pulled out and put back in the tranny and t case in the pig about 5 times durin the course of rebuild. Each time they took the t case off to help make it lighter and more manueverable. Just a suggestion if doin it by yourself.

Cruisen-just curious, was this in an FJ60? Pulling off the transfercase involves a complete disassembly of the case. It isn't an easy job like an FJ40. Still, you are right about the weight. The H55f + Transfer case is one heavy dude. No way you are benching that into place.

As a foolinsh college student, two of us benched an automatic tranny into a 1967 Mustang. In the ignorance of youth, we lived to tell the tale, but I wouldn't do that again.
 
FWIW, I remember using a 2x4 piece of wood and hydraulic jack under the metal oil pan shield to help jimmy the engine up a bit so the tranny would slide in place. Didn't take much. Just had to nudge the engine a bit. Had the spines and shaft on the tranny well greased too. IMO the pilot bearing is the problem. Dang shaft has to be lined up perfectly in order to slide in the pilot bearing. Being able to bump the engine up a bit really helped. Tranny shaft to pilot bearing angle is critical.

Cahil
 
Update!!!

Well-It's in. Using up the world's supply of bad language and with the assistance of my 14 year old son, the tranny went in today. Many thanks to Gary Kardum (Mudrak) who provided some good advice and encouragement this am. This is not a trivial job-the guys who do this for a living are earning their money big time.

Here's how it went. It is definitely easier to use a shop crane and lift the tranny/transfer unit from the top. I used 2 chain slings attached to the top cover bolts which is a fairly clean way to do this. I used the middle top cover bolts and sling to lift into place. Then I switched to a sling attached to the rear cover bolts by having a jack hold the weight of the tranny/transfer while I switched the hook from the from chain sling to the rear. I walked the tranny in using both the jack from below and the shop crane from above. I had a couple of long bolts with the heads cut off to guide the tranny into place. Then I used the tranny to bell housing bolts to push the nose of the input shaft into the pilot bearing. Getting the cross member back in is no picnic, but by loosening the PS frame mount I got the cross menber and engine mount back into place. Once that was all bolted down, I left the rest for another day.

So now I have a 5 speed FJ60! I still need to complete the install details and get the drive shafts sized to the new output position. Many thanks to Cruiser Dan, Mudrak and you guys. I am about as dirty as I have ever been. Time for a shower and :beer:
 
Congrats! glad you didn't give up...true cruiser head!
 

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