I'm in the middle of a trans swap from a powerglide to a muncie. I've had the tranny up and in twice now (arms getting very tired) and can't get it to slide in the last inch or so. When I took the powergilde out I noticed that the crank already had a pilot bearing in it and figured they must have installed it in all cars manual or not, and did not change it. It's the only thing I can think of that is keeping the input shaft from sliding home. I have a new pilot bearing but how do you get the old one out ? I really wanted to finish this over the long weekend. Help !

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It's been a while since I pulled one but I think I filled the bearing with wheel bearing grease and used a wooden dowel that was a snug fit into the bearing. Put the dowel into the bearing and whack it with a hammer and the hydraulic pressure of the grease will force the bearing out. Make sure you clean all the grease up.

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Scott
'69 400SB, Richmond 5-speed; '99 HD Road King Classic
www.geocities.com/sdenning1 (http://www.geocities.com/sdenning1)

If it gets within 3/4" or so hook up the clutch linkage and have a friend push down the clutch; it'll slide right in.

Jody

Yep, sounds like clutch alignment. Easy to push clutch in and install, but you might try the alignment tool again and push up just a little on the tool as you tighten the pressure plate bolts. Try to find the middle spot. Don't force the tranny. Make sure you have the right throwout bearing. Should use the short one.

There's a pretty cool way to hydraulic out your old pilot bearing. Get a rod with approx. the same diameter as the inside diameter of the pilot bearing. Since the I.D. is some screwy number like 37/64 of an inch, get close and you'll be OK. I wasn't even close, but I wrapped electrical tape around the rod I was using and it still worked like a charm. Next, pump grease into the middle of the pilot bearing until the cavity in the crank behind it is full and grease starts backing out through the hole in the bearing. Now, just put the rod in the hole and bang on the back of the rod with a hammer. Since the grease won't compress, the bearing gets pushed out. I had to refill the hole with grease twice, since more room was made in the crank cavity as the bearing came further out. Make sure you try not to get a lot of air in the grease. Steve Laabs

Thanks guys for all you help. I've now had thr tranny up three times now (why didn't I rent a tranny jack ?) and still no luck with that last 3/4". I thought maybe it was the throw out bearing hanging up on the shoulder on the input shaft just after the spine - so I install the bellhousing on the last attempt and made sure throw out bearing was sliding ok. Still no good. I also took the pressure plate and clutch back off and re-aligned. I've ruled out the pilot bearing as the alignment tool slides right into it and it's the same size as the tranny shaft. Anything else I've missed ? I'll try again tomorrow.

I'm tellin' ya, have someone push the clutch in!!! It works! The alignment tool isn't exactly the same as the input of the trans; I know, I use them too. Push in the clutch!!!!

Many alignment tools have enough slop to allow the clutch disc to hang down a little during assembly and cause a missalignment.
The best align tool is an old input shaft.

Push the clutch.

Did you try the disc on the input shaft before installing it?
David

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The older I get, the faster I was!

Camcojb is right. When I installed the Muncie in my car, I had the exact same problem that you did. I solved it by having my wife push lightly on the clutch pedal.

I agree with the advice of pushing the clutch pedal once you get the tranny in that far, but I think the best advice is to RENT THE JACK! I assume you are laying on your back and hoisting it up with your biceps. I used to do it that way with about the same luck as you. Since buying a trans jack, I have been able to get the tranny to slide right up to the bell housing, usually with very little effort.

I forgot to mention you can screw a tap or bolt into the pilot bushing and when it bottoms out, keep turning until it jacks the bushing out.
I think either a 9/16" or 5/8" is the size.
The grease thing works but it's messy. It's good if you want to re use the bushing.
David

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67 RS 327
69 Camaro Vintage Racer
65 Lola T-70 Can Am Vintage Racer

Rich253, Fortunatley I bought a car lift last fall (see my web site) and I'm not doing this on my back. However, I'm having to lifting the tranny and basically balance it across my shoulder and trying to drive it in. I have not lifted any weights in awhile and let me tell ya this will remind you that your not getting any younger! Especially after three attempts. A tranny jack is in my future. Back to the problem at hand - I've got the clutch linkage hooked up and I'll give it a try. Thanks again everybody - this site is a lifesaver. I'll let you know if it worked tomorrow - promised to take the kids to the lake today.

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Ahhh - sweet success ! Pushed the clutch in and that baby slide right in. You guys are a big help (also buying a tall tranny jack didn't hurt). Well on to the next set of problems - one insert in the bellhousing is stripped out and the drive shaft is 1/4" too long !! Boy this is what makes working on these 30 year old babies fun ! I installed a 10 bolt rear end and new leaf sprngs just before I started the 4 speed conversion - hopefully just some minor adjusting and I can fix the drive shaft problem.

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I think I would have fixed the striped insert before putting the tranny in.

Stripped out when I installed the bolts - threads just turned to dust when I snugged the bolts up.

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