Help! My engine and transmission don't love eachother!

[jrholod]

I'm installing the engine into the truck, cab-on, and I can't get the TC studs to pop through the flexplate/flywheel. What I've sort of read so that is that I was supposed to line up the TC and the Flexplate before mating the engine and the trans. Is that right? Are they not exactly octagonal, meaning do they only attach one way?

I have most of the bellhousing bolts in and I thought that if I just turned the engine by hand the tc threads would catch... Might as well call it fishing. That's how it went on my Focus when I did a trans swap 4 years ago.

It's also getting extermely difficult to turn the engine over as this process moves along. I would love to not take the engine back out, but I can. Any quick advice out there? Thanks!

~Joe

[dannyboy950]

You can try installing longer bolts one at a time, pry the tranny back until you can rotate the TC and line them up. Some flex plates have multiple mount holes so ya may have to try rolling it a few times. Then change the bolts back out and draw her up.

You may need to take the trans to mount bolts out for movement. It works but is a PITA.

[WildStyle]

I keep a couple wedges I hammer in between the block and trans to spread it a bit so I can align everything. Once you get it aligned, pop out the wedges and bolt it together.

[jrholod]

I ended up just separating enerything and lifing the engine out, lining up flywheel with a bottom hole and the tc with a bottom stud and putting them back together. Mostly because my crank pully's bolts are rounded off now and I didn't have a chain wrench large enough for it. Thanks everyone.