Maybe its just me, but has anyone ever had a abnormally hard time lining up an automatic trans and engine with dropping a new engine into a car? I'm putting a 355 into my car and I can't get the 700r4 to align properly. One side will look good, but the other will have a big gap between the engine and bellhousing. I guess I have to loosen up the transmission mount bolt and move the transmission around?

 

usually they will need a large amount of coaxing, i make sure that it is started on the pins and slowly turn in the bellhousing bolts, alternating and pulling up evenly on the transmission.

the tourqe converter isn't bolted to the flywheel is it? I've seen some people do that with terrible results.

 

Make sure you've got the torque converter fully seated on the input shaft of the transmission.

 

The t.c. is fully seated, I made sure of that. I think tomorrow I'm going to loosen the trans mount so I can wiggle the trans to line up better on the engine. Its weird but one side of the bellhousing will be tight against the back of the block and the other side will have 1/3" gap.

 

I'm just a beginner in the mechanical knowledge area, and I'm in the middle of installing a new 350 with my 700r4. Maybe you can learn from my mistakes? I had many "challenges" and learned a lot. My method below may not be the best or right way, but it's how I've stumbled through it so far. Maybe it will give you some ideas? I have not yet finished putting everything back on the engine, and still have two concerns - 1. One, whether my engine should point perfectly straight. The front of the engine seems to point a little to the right (passenger) side, though the engine mount throughbolts went right in, as did my bellhousing bolts. and
2. Whether my torque converter should have fully mated against my flywheel when I installed the first of 3 bolts, (instead of only mating at each bolt when they were installed).

My fumbles: I didn't know how high to jack up my transmission before removing the engine. - Maybe it was the stupid Chilton's book that mislead me into thinking I should just support the transmission pan with wood blocks, and not actually jack it up much. FYI - I made a wood base by stacking about four 2 x 4 board sections together with wood screws (after drilling small holes), and a square peice of plywood on top. Then again, I was afraid of damaging the transmission, so I didn't want to lift it much. I wasn't aware of the transmission mount nut, and thus didn't have it loose or off until after the mount broke! (When I went to install the engine - the rubber on my transmission mount was split in two, and I had to buy a new one on a holiday, but it was less than $7!)

Upon renting a hoist, I learned that the nose of my 91 Firebird (GTA) was too long to hook up to the engine from the front - and I had to remove and install it from the side - which (I think) is more challenging. Going from the side, the hoist legs were running into everything - the jack, the wood blocks, the jack stands - and, the hoist legs were so high that I could hardly get under the car when it was. Going from the side, it's also harder to move the engine straight towards the transmission, cause you can't simply wheel the hoist closer.

Upon trying to install my engine, we were either hitting the front of the engine mounts, or, if we had the engine high enough to clear them, we were hitting the flywheel on the bellhousing. An auto parts store guy said we may have to remove the engine mounts to install the new engine to the transmission, then lift them both a little to get the engine mounts bolted back to the engine. I considered that, but only as a last resort, since it would be tight.

After installing a new transmission mount, I left it's nut loose so we could lift the bellhousing higher. That's when I noticed that the slot on the mount allows the transmission to go forward or backwards, but not directly side to side. (Not at that specific point that is, though I assume it's a pivoting point which allows the front of the transmission to go left or right). On my car, the crossmember is adjustable too.

Our solution for getting over the engine mounts, and not hitting the flywheel on the bellhousing was to manually lift the transmission a few inches higher higher and set it on more wood blocks. By lifting it by hand, we knew that we weren't forcing the transmission up with a jack (not a transmission jack) and risking breaking something. We then brought the engine in level, then down and back in small increments. At the last, we had to lift the front of the engine some by hand, and it mated with the bellhousing perfectly, allowing us to install the top four bolts finger tight. Below are my general tips which have helped me install and repair things I've never seen before:

1. Be safe. When that little voice in your head says that you should be wearing gloves, put them on. Put the gloves on before you get injured, not after. Trying to wash greasy hands with cuts and bandaids sucks. Don't be in a rush to get something done, or you may forget to set a brake, you may use the wrong socket and strip a bolt head or you may neglect to properly use a jack stand, etc. I like to use two jack stands at each lift point. One to hold the weight, and a 2nd for backup. Buy (and wear) safety goggles. Most cars have dirt and liquids that come down into your eyes the minute you touch it. If you wear glasses, it's not enough.
2. Have plenty of light. Often, if you don't have a good view of the task, you can't do it right. Don't work on your car at night, even if you have spotlights, because the shadows makes distances and surfaces look like different angles.
3. Clean the area your working on. When your trying to determine the right size socket or wrench, dirt and grease can make a wrench that's too big, seem to be the right size, which can lead to stripped heads, bruised hands, etc. Degrease parts before you remove them. I recently discovered a product called "Purple Power". It's a decent balance between an effective grease remover, while not being too caustic. (Though it's hard on painted surfaces).
4. Use the right tool. Don't use vice grips when you should be using a socket. Don't use a wrench when a socket would be easier and/or faster. Don't use a crow bar when you should be using a softer wooden board. Test each socket fit to make sure it's the correct size. If your set is missing the right one - buy or borrow it. An impact wrench on an air compressor is great for the big and tight bolts. When you're trying to loosen a stubborn bolt, to avoid injury, pull on the wrench instead of pushing, whenever possible.
5. Tighten parts in the right sequence and at the right amount: On most parts, if you don't already know, you should start all bolts by hand, before you tighten any of them, or you may have trouble getting the subsequent ones to start in the thread. Use anti-seize paste on everything it's appropriate for. Also, as you may know, use a torque wrench when it's called for. Also, tighten bolts/nuts in the order they should be, and don't overtighten things. How many of us have had a bolt fail when we tried to tighten it as much as possible? Don't overtighten hose clamps! It's not necessary, it can make the hose fail sooner and it can make it harder to remove down the road. Try to plan the correct order of part installation, so you can minimize having to install and remove and re-install things, as will happen.
6. Know when to seek help. Nobody likes admitting they can't do it themselves, or don't know how to do it. For my car, I bought the factory manual on Ebay for about $50. It doesn't have actual pictures, and isn't always descriptive enough, but it has lots of diagrams and schematics.

Hope just one of my bits of advice may help you on this project, or your next.
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I'm curious as to what you mean? (Do you mean some people erroneously bolt the torque converter to the flywheel before getting the bellhousing bolts in?

 

Yeah, my brother did that, I've heard of other people doing that also, busted the bellhousing ears clear off. thought he would save time and make it easier, sheesh.

 

My engine and transmission will not mate up at all. I know my t.c. is all the way on. I pushed as hard as I could AND i used a small sledge. The mounting holes on my tc hit the flexplate before the get on the raised notches on my flexplate. Do 700R4's require special flexplates and I just don't know about it? I need roughly 1/4" more clearance.

 

I hope you didnt use that sledge on the torque conerter, if you did you may have just broken the pump internally. the torque coverter is best spun into place while pushing gently with your hands. the 1/4 inch you speak of is about how much more the tc needs to go still to properly seat.

 

Yes, your torque converter wasn't seated into the pump correctly. Instead of beating it with a hammer you should have rotated it until the pump drive tangs lined up. If you're lucky then you haven't destroyed the pump.

 

duckmanquacker and Apeiron have it right... It sounds like your tc isn't fully seated.
There are two ways that I know of to tell if your tc is fully seated:
1. If your TC wobbles from side to side or top to bottom with hand pressure... your TC isn't seated.
2. If you can no longer turn your engine with a ratchet (or breaker bar) after you tighten your bellhousing bolts, your TC isn't seated.

When you first install your TC it will click once onto your input shaft but, it needs to click a second time to engage the pump. Once you have engaged the pump there will be little (if any) side to side wobble.

Here's hoping your front pump is OK!

 

VICTORY!!

Well third time is a charm. I only used a 4lb sledge hammer and didn't really hit it that hard.

thanks guys

 

man I hope you were joking about that hammer.

 

No.... I find it hard to imagine that the trans pump would be that delicate.

 

You'd be surprised.

 

the 700R4 pump is only made in aluminum.