Trans re-install, your tips & suggestions

[Henryat1140]

Car is totally stock '36.

The transmission is on its way back from Charlie NY, and we are going to put it in soon. I have capable help; JMsedan and my son Jeff as well as a buddy who is strong.

We have to put the trans in from the top, and are working over a pit, so I've been rehearsing in my mind how it will go and trying to foresee where we might have problems.

So I'm open to tips and suggestions especially on the following:

Is there any value to trying to use dowel pins in the bell housing so as to make lining up the transmission and getting easier to go into it into the clutch disk? I remember from the old days this was always a tough job getting it aligned exactly right - sometimes took a while - and boy do I recall the feeling of it finally going in, and catching one bolt.

So in today's world how do you guys deal with getting it aligned and into the clutch disk?

Second question is about the rubber hose seal on the universal caps. Have you had best luck with installing it in one piece? or do you cut it and put a piece in each half? If using the one piece approach, how do you get the hose into the groove on the top half after the bottom half is installed? Any tips for the rubber hose seal in general?

We got corn head grease. We will probably pre-pack the u joint but then also use a hand grease gun. How do you know when you have enough grease pumped in?

Like I said I did this stuff 60 years ago, but things may have changed and people know more tricks. And I am a lot dumber than I was at 17 <grin>

Thanks for any thought or suggestions

Henry

 

[PeteVS]

I made a handle to be able to hold the rear of the transmission from the top. I took a length of 1/2" thin wall conduit, beat the ends flat and then bent it into a "hat" shape, leaving the round portion of the conduit on top and to be used to grab on to. Then, I drilled holes at the ends to bolt it to the transmission case where the two rear bolts for the cover go. I'd also like to recommend incorporating a flat cover for the top of the case to keep stuff from falling in. A transmission case can get awfully slippery when you're struggling to get everything lined up!

 

[JM 35 Sedan]

Car is totally stock '36.

Is there any value to trying to use dowel pins in the bell housing so as to make lining up the transmission and getting easier to go into it into the clutch disk? I remember from the old days this was always a tough job getting it aligned exactly right - sometimes took a while - and boy do I recall the feeling of it finally going in, and catching one bolt.

Henry, I have some long threaded rods/dowel pins that I made when I put the trans back into my '35 fordor. They worked well for me while working alone on that job. I completely forgot that I had those until I read this post. I can bring those to the party

 

[alanwoodieman]

been told two tubes of grease, but if you pack it first then, maybe just one, dowell pins, mine are about 3' long but maybe could be longer. The last cork seals I bought, for my 40 wagon, were sort of rubber impregnated and have never leaked after 20 + years, I like the idea of a handle that PeteVS has made. I am going to pull my trans from my 41 truck Monday and I will make a handle before doing so and also a top cover for the trans

 

[ken ct]

Trannys dont slide too good on a threaded rod,use a long bolt and cut the head off bevel the end slightly and cut a screw driver slot in the end.Works great. Use a pilot shaft to line up the clutch availible at any auto parts store.Swab splines with anti-seize comp and will go in like a greased banana. ken ct.They have to go in from the inside,no other way on a flathead.

 

[Cecil/WV]

Henry, I have some long threaded rods/dowel pins that I made when I put the trans back into my '35 fordor. They worked well for me while working alone on that job. I completely forgot that I had those until I read this post. I can bring those to the party

Have fun at the party!!

 

[David J]

Factory spec on u-joint lube is 4 oz .

Car is totally stock ' 36 .





We got corn head grease. We will probably pre-pack the u joint but then also use a hand grease gun. How do you know when you have enough grease pumped in?

Like I said I did this stuff 60 years ago, but things may have changed and people know more tricks. And I am a lot dumber than I was at 17 <grin>

Thanks for any thought or suggestions

Henry

 

[Karl Wolf]

I just put oil in, through the speedo drive hole... no grease, this last time... I guess we'll see how that goes... The time before, I took a tube of grease, put it in the receiving end of the grease gun, and without the pump, put it over the end of the ujoint... And put almost the whole tube in... It mixed up with the trans oil and made a real thick oil-grease soup... The grease fitting on the outside is for lubing the clamshell, does not get to the ujoint really-IMOP...
Karl

Oh, yeah- put it high gear before you go to install it, you can spin the shaft to find the line up of the splines!

 

[Henryat1140]

PeteVS,

Thanks for your suggestion. I made a temporary top out of a stiff piece of corrugated cardboard.

Then I started thinking about the handle. Since I didn't have any conduit, I got to wondering what else might do the same job, and came up with a battery carrying strap. I probably wouldn't have thought of this but for your idea. Thanks again.

 

[DavidG]

If you're going to leave the top covered, which is a very good idea, make sure that your sliding first and reverse gear is engaged either forward or back so that you can rotate the output shaft to help line up the input shaft with the splines in the clutch disc.

 

[Henryat1140]

Update:

How many guys does it take to re-install a 36 Ford Transmission?

How about five <grin>. I had a few friends over on Sunday and we got the trans in and the car running - basically finished the job.

JMSedan was the boss of the operation and my tall friend Don was the muscle. My son Jeff (VeryTangled on FB) was the general purpose do-everything guy, and I was the doughnut wrangler, wrench hander, and photographer. My model T friend Dan also helped out.

In the spirit of helping others, here are a few tips and an error we made, so people can take advantage of them.

John (JMSedan) suggested we raise the rear of the motor as much as possible. We had already placed a bottle jack under the oil pan (on a 4 by 4 block) to stabilize the motor while the transmission was out, so it was a matter of raising the jack and the engine till it hit the firewall. Here is the first tip, if you are going to do this, pay close attention to the possibility the fan may hit the radiator. We had to remove the fan to get maximum lift.

We used dowel pins about 3 3/4 inches long. This allowed the transmission to be pretty closely aligned with the bell housing. They were at 10:00 o'clock and 2:00 o'clock in the bell housing. You can see them in one of the pictures.

We got the nose of the transmission into the clutch disk, but then had to rotate the mainshaft a little which we did by rotating the u-joint. After a small rotation the transmission went right in. As mentioned by DavidG above make sure the transmission is in gear so you can do this. But the dowel pins were a great help (tip #2)

Tip #3 has to do with pulling the rear. We disconnected the brake rods from the front and rear but didn't realize we should have also disconnected the brake rod guides, When the rear came down and out it stressed the brake rods and we had to straighten them out. So we learned it is a good idea to disconnect and remove the brake rod guides when you pull the rear, else wise you will likely bend the brake rods.

We had a fun time doing this - lots of fellowship and doughnuts. If you have a friend like JMSedan to help, you are fortunate, and someone like my son Jeff (VeryTangled) who is strong with lots of energy it is a blessing.

Here are a couple of shots of the festivities:

 

[1931 flamingo]

You cheated, you took the top of the car off. It's more "fun" with the front seat there also.
Paul in CT

 

[alanwoodieman]

man you ought to have to do my trans-seat riser in the way-top cannot be removed, but with my good buddy "Beast Driver" we got it done!! Next time maybe if I buy some doughnuts maybe I can get more help!!

 

[JM 35 Sedan]

Henry, did you take that '36 Phaeton out for a drive today? It was a fun day putting that transmission back in your car. I think sometimes I enjoy working on a friends car more than I enjoy working on my own. I told my wife about you working on your transmission on the dining room table She reminded me that she let me put a rubber gasket seal on my '35 windshield frame on the kitchen table.
That one guy in the group shot with the white beard could double as a Macy's store Santa

 

[Mike in AZ]

congrats on getting the job done and having a crew to help....and thanks for the pics....Mike