1965 car: urgent: cant get transmission back on engine

[Rob Kranenburg]

Hi,

I am stuck in mid-project here, and hope someone out there knows this stuff.

I have taken the engine and transmission out of the car as one piece. Then, separated the engine and the transmission. The two fit together very nicely, and even with the bolts out the bell-housing was flush with the engine.

I have taken the engine to be rebuilt, and it was a complete rebuild. New bearings, pistons, camshaft, rocker-arm shafts, pumps, everything.

I also took the transmission for a complete overhaul. New clutches, bearings, seals, the works. It went out as 1 piece, it came back as 2 pieces: the transmission and the torque converter.

Now I am putting it back together, and things do not fit. There is a gap between the bell housing and the engine. I can easily get the two to touch at the top (near the oil sensor), but at the bottom, where they meet the inspection cover, there is a gap of a little less than 1/4.

What is going on here? How can I check which of the 3 pieces (engine, torque converter, transmission) is out of place / alignment? It used to fit perfectly, now it doesnt. Where is the  mistake? I dont want to just torque the *(&percent$! out of things and make it fit, the aluminum housing just doesnt look strong enough.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.......

Thanks,

RK

[Bruce Reynolds # 18992]

Gday Rob,

Sounds for all the world like a case of the Torque Converter tangs not lining up with the Oil Pump within the transmission itself.

What you need to do is put the Converter onto the Transmission Front Shaft, then as you are putting it in, turn it slowly so that the tangs register onto the oil pump projections.   This will allow the Torque Converter to go fully home.

Then, to make doubly sure that it is correctly in place, take a measurement from the transmission case to the Torque Converter mounting lugs faces, and correlate that back to the Engine Block to the Flex Plate where the Torque Converter bolts to.

But, before you pot the Torque Converter on, make sure you half fill it with Transmission Fluid to assist in the start-up procedure.

Hope this helps.

Bruce,
The Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV

[Rob Kranenburg]

Thanks Bruce, let me go and try that one....

RK

[Rob Kranenburg]

Hi Bruce,

actually, I had the alignment of the pump right (small bit of pride showing thru :-).

The problem is that my new flex plate is bent. I compared it with the original (missing 2 teeth), and the center flange is bulging out about 3/8. The place I bought the plate from is sending me a new one, and I should be good to go in a couple days....

Thanks for helping me thing through this one,

RK

[Bruce Reynolds # 18992]

Gday Rob,

Good to see that you found the problem, but the Flex Plate must have been really bent to cause the problem.

The Flex Plate is supposed to flex back slightly towards the Torque Converter when the TC bolts are tightened up, thus applying a slight preload of the TC pilot in the centre of the Crankshaft.

This stops any chance of the TC from rattling around and keeps it hard up against the crank.

Now, the centre of the Flexplate usually has a slight chamfer, or bend, which has to go towards the back of the car to ensure a proper centering when fitted to the crank hub.

Bruce,
The Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV

[Rob Kranenburg]

Hi Bruce,

When I put the thing back on the crankshaft, the chamfer is there and looks about right. Its not much, but is nice and defined.

The flex plate is seriously bent. The difference between the top <>  engine and the bottom <> engine is almost 3/4. Its huge, but when you look at it from the top (while also trying to get the engine & transmission to line up), it looks half way OK. Once you turn it 90 degrees, it looks awful. No idea what would do this, but sure glad that it was something easy-to-fix.

RK