Trouble getting a slant six in the car

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SpriceyStuff

SpriceyStuff

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Guys. I spent like 5 hours yesterday fighting the slant to get it into my car and it just won’t go. At one point I got the mounts to go in right, but then I couldn’t get it to line up with the tranny. The tranny is slid back as far as it’ll go but the engine still sits on top of it when I get it in the mounts. I’m at a total loss. I really need to get this thing going for the show coming up this year and it’s starting to feel like it’s not possible. Any ideas? I’m lifting from the two points on the head like you’re supposed to, I’m just so frustrated with this thing right now
 
Have you dropped the trans? Or at least loosened the mount for some additional wiggle room?
 
SpriceyStuff said:
Guys. I spent like 5 hours yesterday fighting the slant to get it into my car and it just won’t go. At one point I got the mounts to go in right, but then I couldn’t get it to line up with the tranny. The tranny is slid back as far as it’ll go but the engine still sits on top of it when I get it in the mounts. I’m at a total loss. I really need to get this thing going for the show coming up this year and it’s starting to feel like it’s not possible. Any ideas? I’m lifting from the two points on the head like you’re supposed to, I’m just so frustrated with this thing right now
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A few pictures of everything may help....us.
 
Beverage said:
Have you dropped the trans? Or at least loosened the mount for some additional wiggle room?
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I pulled the bolt out that holds it to the crossmember and slid it back, dropped the front end of it down. I use a Jack to keep it straight but even pushed back it isn’t quite enough. It’s just weird cause last time I did this a few weeks ago it wasn’t anywhere near this hard
 
Pull the transmission and install it with the motor. This will actually make the job easier as you can tighten bolts that will be easier to reach out of the car. Slide the whole works in and align the mounts "done"
 
SpriceyStuff said:
I’ll get you some tomorrow I have to go to work right now. Tomorrow I’m off and I’ll be working on it in the morning and I’ll get you some pictures
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Great, there's a bunch of available help on this site. Pictures are rewarded with beer. Not really.
 
RON REAGLE said:
Pull the transmission and install it with the motor. This will actually make the job easier as you can tighten bolts that will be easier to reach out of the car. Slide the whole works in and align the mounts "done"
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that would probably make it worse since I don’t have a load leveler for my hoist. Like I said I did this same thing just a few weeks ago and it took like 3 hours and it was done. I can’t figure out why I’m having so much trouble now. Should I drop the drive shaft and shove the trans back further?
 
SpriceyStuff said:
that would probably make it worse since I don’t have a load leveler for my hoist. Like I said I did this same thing just a few weeks ago and it took like 3 hours and it was done. I can’t figure out why I’m having so much trouble now. Should I drop the drive shaft and shove the trans back further?
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My current plan of action: Lift motor, push tranny forward, drop driveshaft, shove tranny back real far, drop motor into mounts, shove tranny forward, bolt it in, use hoist if necessary to get motor and trans forward and put driveshaft back in, drop in, bolt in, plug electrical in, bobs your uncle
 
I usually pull out the transmission cross member completely, and install engine and transmission as one unit. Just get the engine mounts snugged into place, reinstall the transmission crossmenber, bolt up the transmission mount, tighten the engine mounts, done.
 
Badvert65 said:
I usually pull out the transmission cross member completely, and install engine and transmission as one unit. Just get the engine mounts snugged into place, reinstall the transmission crossmenber, bolt up the transmission mount, tighten the engine mounts, done.
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Problem is that the tranny never came out, so installing them as a unit is out of the question. And as I stated earlier, I don’t have a load leveler for my hoist so even if I could put them together I’d have no way of actually navigating that large of a mass into the tunnel
 
The "car-lifted, drivetrain from underneath" crowd seems to have an option if you haven't seen those threads in here.
 
SpriceyStuff said:
that would probably make it worse since I don’t have a load leveler for my hoist. Like I said I did this same thing just a few weeks ago and it took like 3 hours and it was done. I can’t figure out why I’m having so much trouble now. Should I drop the drive shaft and shove the trans back further?
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Been takings engines in and out 40 years and I still don't have that leveler thing. Bet it makes it easier, but...
 
Not sure if this helps but this is how Chrysler lifted the slants in at the factory here in Australia. The rear hole of the lifter was used when the trans was attached to the engine.
upload_2022-5-24_5-35-46.png
 
Once you pull the motor and trans at the same time. You'll wonder why you fussed with the motor alone. Attach and use the front hoist location and allow the trans to droop, hoist it over the rad support with some assistance with the light trans end and then allow it to go down and back. When it's close, you can get under the car and put a block of wood under the trans tail and get it close to where it needs to be, then the front will drop right down onto the K member holes ( put mounts on motor prior to dropping in, far easier to align 1 bolt end than 3! ). I've pulled motors by them selves on auto cats but it's still a pain to get them aligned and bolted together once it's in without 3 ratchet extensions and a u-joint.
 
Do you have the radiator out? And leaving the front damper off the engine also makes more room on the front end.
I usually leave the transmission in the car. For a manual transmission I will bolt the bell housing to the transmission, that helps by not having to thread the transmission input shaft through the throw out bearing as would be needed if the bell was on the engine.
I leave the motor mounts off the engine. Get a couple of two inch long bolts with the heads cut off and thread those into mounting holes that bolt the block to the transmission/bell housing.
Lower the engine in, side it on the alignment bolts. Remove the alignment bolts and install the real mounting bolts.
Install the motor mounts, lifting the engine slightly as needed. You will need to free the transmission mount if you need to lift the engine a lot.
This works for me.
 
Without a leveler, here's what I have done;
1) trans on engine
2) Assembly on crane and adjusted to correct angle, and all lifting-points noted
3) reposition chains for trans down severely.
4) Car up on jackstands so I can scoot my um big chest under there on a creeper.
5) steer the trans into the tunnel while dropping the engine onto K-member(any old way)
6) reset chains as at the first (step 2)
7) pull engine up, mount the crossmember, and locate the trans on the crossmember
8) lower engine into position and install brackets
9) BadaBoom!
 
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RON REAGLE said:
Pull the transmission and install it with the motor. This will actually make the job easier as you can tighten bolts that will be easier to reach out of the car. Slide the whole works in and align the mounts "done"
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THIS ^^^^^ right here.
 
Is it an older crank with the smaller pilot in the crank for the torque converter? If so it'll never mate together. Ask me how I know
 
volaredon said:
Is it an older crank with the smaller pilot in the crank for the torque converter? If so it'll never mate together. Ask me how I know
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It’s actually a 77 225 I’m dropping into a 74, the motor that was in it previously was a 68 I think. Also a 225. But the problem I was having was even when I finally got the motor mounts in properly the block was still sitting on top of the bell housing cause it just wasn’t clearing
 
I stopped pricking around trying to pull and install separately a long time ago. It's just SO much simpler to pull both and install both as a unit. That way, you can get to everything out in the open when you separate the engine and transmission and then when you put them back together. It's just so much easier for "ME" at least.
 
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