W250 engine install woes

68Valiant225 said
Did a clutch job on my brother's 91 W250. It's a 360 truck. Trying to put the engine back in and can't get it to seat. Get about a half inch between back of the motor and the bell housing and just can't make any progress. Rotating the engine internals doesn't make a difference, shaking it, pushing it, etc.
Are we missing something on the throw out bearing or something? We've confirmed that the new clutch splines line up and the pilot bushing fit over the input shaft prior to install on the engine (it should change slightly when installed so this isnt 100% perfect)

1)Did you use a clutch alignment tool?
With the pressure plate mounting bolts started and the clutch alignment tool centering the disk tighten the pressure plate mounting bolts evenly while centering the disk, put some upward pressure on the clutch disk as it will drop itself on the alignment tool as low as possible. You want the disk absolutely centered so the alignment tool sides in and out with zero friction.
2) Mount the bell housing to the engine. That way you don’t need to worry about threading the pilot shaft through the throw out bearing when setting the engine in place.
Get four bolts the same diameter and thread pitch as the transmission to bell housing bolts, maybe 4 inches long.
Cut the heads off of them, I use a cut off wheel or a hack saw to put a slice in the ends so they can be turned with a straight screw driver if they happen to get stuck. Use those long studs as dowels to align the bell housing to the transmission.
3) I work with slants and I leave the motor mounts off during the engine set process and install the mounts on the motor - K frame after the tranny to bell housing bolts are tightened. This may or may not work with a v8 truck.