Hi, I’m reinstalling my new transmission. I bought the harbor freight trans jack. I’ve got it strapped to the transmission under the car. The nature of it is by doing this in a dirt driveway, the front of the jack is planted in the ground. I used plywood to distribute the weight which kinda helped. I think ultimately what I’ll need to do is to use a few jacks to support the transmission and slide a piece of wood under the wheels of the jack that we’re at an angle. If that’s even possible. I don’t think it will mate to the engine the way it it, their at opposite angles. Any tips on how to properly align the transmission do I don’t mess up the torque converters placement? Is there any way I can mate it to the engine with it being at a slight angle? Thanks

 

Yes you can do that.

Put in whatever bolts you can get in, FINGER TIGHT ONLY; wiggle things around while tightening the bolts FINGER TIGHT ONLY; keep doing that as the castings get closer and closer together. You can use the bolts where the parts are the farthest apart from mating to pull them together, in VERY SMALL INCREMENTS and without putting too much stress on any portion of the casting. At a guess, I'd say that if the bolts are reasonably aligned, you can put probably as much as 5 ft-lbs or so of torque (about as much as you could put on a regular screwdriver by hand) on them safely. Once you get a couple in on each side you can let the trans jack down (I'm guessing that's the direction of the misalignment... engine too low in the rear, trans too low in the front) to let it align better, and allow you to continue to tighten bolts FINGER TIGHT ONLY or very little more.

Whatever you do, resist the temptation to just start cranking down on any one bolt, thinking that's gonna pull it together. More likely you'll just break the transmission case that way.

The TC is not an issue at this point. Make sure it's fully installed into the transmission (should be something close to ¾" past the flange surface), and once the case is bolted to the block, align it to the flex plate and bolt it up too.

 

I put a floor jack under the oil pan to raise the back of the motor to get them aligned instead of messing with the transmission. Once the trans is on the dowels and i have a few bolts in, the jack isn't needed anymore, only for that 'fine tuning' level of alignment. With the 700r4 it isn't as critical, but with the 4L80E that big bastard needs to be aligned just right to get it bolted down.

 

Thanks guys. My angle problem is the front of transmission is way too low compared to the rear. It’s the opposite of the angle of the engine oil pan, so they kinda make a “v” if you were to draw both angles. I think I’ll have to use a few jacks and raise the trans with the trans jack a few inches, then take the normal jacks I have and support it. Then I could turn the transmission jack 180 degrees and use the intended wingnuts, even though the jack will be backwards. But first I’ll see if I can get a few inches thick of wood under the front and see if that levels it out. I’ll make sure to hand tighten everything like mentioned. Just a bit worried about screwing up the converters placement if I install at an angle.

 

No such thing as too much sheet wood on a dirt drive when using a jack on it. Lay more down if it helps.

Spin the torque converter clockwise as your facing it and press towards the pump, just to make sure splines, tangs, and seals are all properly engaged. It won't hurt to do this again and again, so do it again since you may have the nose of the trans. downward and it may slide partially out. It is painlessly easy to avoid improper converter to pump engagement by doing this.

The budget trans. jack from HF allows one end to lift. The front of the trans. should be able to lift up. Put an angle app on your smart phone, see what the engine face angle is, and make sure the trans. can tilt to that angle, or really really close to it. You might want to re-angle the engine less so they are the same mating angle. Don't let the distributor cap break on the firewall.

If you have 3/8-16 studs, or bolts you can cut off to use as studs, put them in the lower 2 block holes. Not too long.

Lift. If the trans. is on the studs, add a nut each side so it can't slide free. If the tran. can't slide onto the engine, lift more. Wiggle the tail of the trans. and push forward. By the time it's close enough, you'll have the dowels into the large bellhousing holes on each side, and you'll be able to start the next 2 higher bolts. Once those are started and the trans. can basically hit the block evenly, you'll be ready to remove the bottom 2 studs, and install bolts, and get the bottom 4 bolts mostly snug. You may or may not have easy access to the top 2 bolts. Those are sometimes accessed from the engine bay, depending on your dexterity, tools, and the vehicle.

Also, a 24" or longer extension is better tooling than multiple extensions. The 1/2" drive / 3/8" end adapter versions are great for the job.

A quality wobble socket is better than a wobble plus a regular socket.

While the trans. is bolted up with 4 bolts, you can drop the trans. jack and get the trans. cooler lines started and snugged. The wiring can be clicked into the connector, and the trans. mount and shifter cable bracket can be installed.

 

This is important. If the converter snout sits on top of, instead of engaging these tabs, it's possible you'll fracture the pump rotor.

 

Hey guys. I got the trans bolted up with your help. Had to make my own cooler lines which is why it took so long. Got it to move yesterday and filled the trans up. Everything now is bolted up. I today realized I am a complete idiot. Went to jump it. Experienced huge sparks with jump cables. Upon further inspection I pinched a wire a little with the block and trans. Now I need to try and get that bolt loosened and pull the wire out. Hope it’s that easy without having to remove much. Thanks for all the help with me installing it, experience is everything. Wish I was not a dumbass and checked there wasn’t any wiring being pinched. Hope this is the only issue.