HELP, struggaling

If there is room, get some long bolts to go into the bell housing and cut the the heads off and champer the ends. These will serve as alingment dowels for the tranny. When it is in, just unscrew one at a time and put the bolts in.

Drain the fluid unless you have a spare driveshaft flange to put in the out put seal, sure is more fun if the lube is not pouring out on you. :-) Also, the flange will allow you to turn the input shaft a little (if the tranny is in gear) to help align the shaft with the clutch plate splines.

Finally, a make shift trans jack can be made with a 2x8 (or 2 2x4's) long enough to go from one side of the car to the other and some cinder blocks. You slide the 2x8 under the car and put the trans on it. Then start on one side and place a block under the end of the 2x8 and go to the other and do the same. Continue stacking blocks until the trans is the height you need. You have a completely open area under the car with no jack in the way. Works better on automatics and is a little harder to adjust the angle of the trans.