hey guys, first off yes I did a search but I was felt a bit uneasy about starting it yet. I just bought a used flexplate for $20, and need to replace my old one that got chewed up by my high torque starter due to hydro-lock. I got the water out of the cylinders and everything seems normal, rotates fine by hand and starter (w/o plugs installed.) How exactly do I go about changing it??? I understand I need to pull the driveshaft, thats no prob. as far as the auto tranny, thats another story. I searched under "changing flexplate" and the replies sounded too easy. I need to know what exactly to remove, what to look for while changing it... like do I need to pull the tranny aft to remove the converter, do I need to remove all the bellhousing bolts, how does the tranny hook up to the converter?? It's been about 8 years since I was a 14 year old boy tinkering with my old 82 maro, that I've messed with a tranny. How long is the input shaft going to the converter supposed to be, how far to I have to push the tranny back? I'm looking for bare minimums to be able to change this thing, its parked on the side of the street so room and comfort is not afforded. thanks ya'll!!!

Tony

 

This is the result of a hydrolocked motor that was rebuilt but the rods were never replaced or checked for straightness. After about an hour of run time on the rebuild, 3000rpm and BANG. I ended up pulling the rod cap and bearing out of the bottom of the boat before I had even turned a wrench because then came out the side of the oil pan. I'm not saying that it wont run right, but just cause you can turn it over doesn't mean it's gonna stay together.

 

another

 

Take out the bottom 2 bell housing bolts on each side and put in some 6" ones, and take out all the rest of them, and slide the trans back as far as it will go. Of course you'll have to pull the drive shaft, the torque arm bracket, the mount, and whatever else is in the way; but that will save you from having to completely pull it. There's 3 bolts that hold the converter to the flex plate; take those off before you move the trans, it will move out of the way with the trans.

Like Tom is hinting at, don't be too surprised if your motor has lots bigger problems than just a flex plate. That usually destroys a motor in a big way. Maybe you're lucky, but the odds are not in your favor.

 

what size is the bell houing bolts . r they 7/16 or 3/8 . i know they r us threads

 

dang it guys, I know its a possibility but I'm not trying to think about that right now!!! LMAO!! Call me ignorant but I have a feeling its kosher.... who knows. I appreciate the advise, do I have to mess with the coolant lines to the tranny, dipstick, cable or anything for this??:hail:

now that you got my mind spinning 3,000 rpms, tom91bird, why did you rebuild the hydrolocked motor to begin with? Was there any kind of certain evidence that you knew it was bad?? was it siezed up or anything?? Ahhh, I can feel the stomach pains already! Well, the good thing is, that if it does blow I can't sell it, therefore I get to keep the GTA... and rebuild the motor, woo hoo!

 

that one way to look at it .lololol

 

Well I rebuilt mine cause it sucked in water internally. Cause it was a marine engine, I suspect that either a water jacket in one of the heads or intake had rusting through, or could have been an exhaust riser manifold gasket went bad and started pouring water in the exhaust. Either way, I'm sure that's not your case. But another thing you may want to consider is, when mine went BOOM, it busted up the crank, obiously the piston, bent a vavle, a push rod, pulled a head stud and the block was busted up beyond repair. The only thing I took off that motor was the intake, cam (don't ask me how), and the heads even though I needed a stud put back and, and I was lucky enough not to crack the chamber.

 

I appreciate the insight... if its gonna go its gonna go, it uses oil pretty bad as it is, think I'll take the weenie way out and change the flexplate and pray to the thirdgen gods, hoping this sucker doesnt shell out on me, lol. How thick are our firewalls again??? LMAO! Wish me luck! I may need it....

Tony

 

LOL, Well at least it's rear wheel drive so must everything should come out the sides and not towards you. Keep us posted on what happens. By the way, how did you hydro lock it anyway?

 

well I was leaving for work one night while it was raining like hell and like everyother hillbilly city in texas there is no drainage or sewer system, so it floods quite often, I was pulling out of a parking lot, it was a lot deeper than I had thought... then the car just stalled. Of course my first impulse was to try to start the car to get out of the intersection, it turned a few times then finally the flywheel must have given out cuz the starter would just spin. The water was maybe, I dont know, 12-16 inches high. I continued to push the t/a back up the incline and let it park... when I pulled the plugs water only came out of #6, #3, and a lot out of #8. the homemade CAI element got wet and there was a bit of water in the throttlebody. The thing is, is that I was so sure the starter got fried, I let the car sit for about 2 weeks waiting for payday to replace it, then I found all this. I dont think I mashed on the gas before it stalled, I did accelerate before I entered the water for momentum. I didnt notice any abnormal sound or anything... but I assume that since there was water in the cylinders, and the the possibility that the compression was too high for the flywheel teeth, I fear the worst. I turned the crank in both directions several times, draining the heads, intake or whatever, a bit a water came out, mostly fuel. One thing I did notice is that when I changed directions on the crank pulley there was a bit of play in the crank, I'm sure theres gonna be some play but I know first hand what a contained broken rod feels like... lol, its quite similar. If this motor is bad, I'm looking at $700 a month in car payments for about 4 months.

 

Be sure to mark your old flexplate before you remove the last
bolt at the crank Since the bolts around the crank aren't equally spaced, putting the flexplate on with the tranny in the car
can be a PITA if you don't know where it goes. Just put the new
one on top of the old one with the crank bolt holes aligned and
mark the new flexplate in the same place as the old one

 

the flywheel only fix one way . just line the pin up and the rest will fit just right . as long as the pin is right there noway to do it wrong .