Mating Engine and Trans....Not Working Out
 

hey guys,

so I am all ready to drop in my freshly rebuilt 12A streetport. I was unsuccessful at mating the engine and trans this evening.... Spent 3 hours trying with my buddy.

-Engine and trans are out of the car.. should be easy right
-Not too much grease in the pilot bearing
-Good alignment of clutch, checked with alignment tool
-Had everything perfectly aligned but simply could not get it together.. the last final half inch
-Turned the engine over while fixing the trans output shaft to try and get the splines engaged.

I am wondering if my pilot bearing and seal are interfering with the assembly. If the pilot bearing/seal are not seated far enough inside the E-shaft, the trans input shaft will hit the seal before the centering feature and spline engagement.

I see evidence of this, after our multiple attempts today, the seal lip is a bit chewed up and small pieces of it are on the end of trans input shaft. This make me think I am hitting the seal before the input shaft diameter increase and spline engagement.

Does this make sense? I know the trans/engine mating is typically a PITA but this seems impossible.

I have searched around for proper installation depth of the bearing/seal but not finding much.

I can hopefully just pry this old seal out and drive my bearing down a bit deeper if this is part of the problem. The bearing is still pretty new.

Watch this:
Maybe you've got the seal inserted facing the wrong way? The rubber flexi side goes face in according to the video, see 05:35 time mark.

That is a good idea.

I will confirm, but I remember being careful to double check the proper seal direction when I installed it.

I just borrowed a low-rise transmission jack. It is on 4 casters and should allow me to perfectly level and maneuver the trans.

Will try again next week, and I have a replacement pilot bearing, seals, and an Atkins removal tool coming shortly.. Determined to get this engine in haha.

Check the dowel pins for misalignment or wear. A damaged dowel pin will cause a lot of mating issues and are often overlooked. Have you applied a light amount of grease to the input shaft's splines? Also, not mating related, but did you grease the clutch fork's pivot ball and the resting points for the throwout bearing?

When I have trouble assembling them outside the car, I will find a way to set the engine vertical and use gravity to help me line up the trans. Then its just a straight down drop if you get the engine lined up enough.

Good advice.

I figured out what the problem was.... There is a bracket from my engine leveling bar (where the chain bolts to the engine rear mount).... That bracket was interfering with part of the trans bellhousing casting stopping it from mating with the engine. And I was certain i had checked to make sure that wasn't it haha.

Always good to walk away and come back when you get frustrated with something on the car....

Also that transmission stand I would say is certainly worth its money. It is on four casters and allows you to get the trans perfectly level/square and move it around.

Glad you got it figured out and that it wasn't anything major!