I spent most of today visiting with my parents, my brother and sister. I got home right as the temperature hit 95 degrees.
It wasn’t going to be comfortable but I needed to get the truck to a point where I could safely roll it out of the shop. The main thing that needed to be done was to finish mating the transmission to the engine.
I got under the truck using the creeper, but realized it moved too much when I was trying to o push the transmission forward so I slid off it and tried to get them together. No luck, the transmission was too high because of the jack but the engine was too low on the back because it is only supported by engine mounts that are almost at the front of the block.
I push up as hard as possible on the oil pan it no leverage. I really don’t want to have to pull out and reassemble the engine lift. I look around for something to pull up the back of the block. The ratchet strap that I was using previously to hold up the transmission looks promising. I know the sell a bar with feet that can span the engine bay to do the hub, but I don’t have that much time tonight so I try the drip rail at the bottom of the windshield lower vent. I hook one hook to it and feed the strap between the block and the oil filter, across the bottom of the oil pan and back up to the ratchet hanging on the other side of the rail. Bingo it has enough strength to hold the engine up while I crawl back underneath.
Sadly no matter what I do it still won’t quite mate. It looks just a tiny bit low. Although I don’t want to, I force myself to crank the ratchet 3 more clicks and crawl back under. It was totally worth it. With a few wiggles I manage to get the bell housing to line up with the alignment pins on the block and it moves closer. Now I need to install the two lower bolts. I have those and the 3/8ths ratchet under the truck so it saves another wriggling struggle. That is until they are finger tight and I realize that without an extension that ratchet is not going to work.
Sooo, after another escape from under the truck, I have a quick sit down drink a couple of bottles of water and grab the damn extension. With necessary tool in hand, I head back under and manage to get both bolts seated fully and the job is done. Yes I need to put the rest of the bolts in, add both of the bars that support the bottom of the bell housing and a cover plate. There are also two fuel lines and multiple ground wires and heat shields. But they can wait till later.
I pull the trans jack out and push the truck out of the shop, yea right. I pushed and it went six inches and rolled back to where it started. I use the engine lift strap and a screwdriver to connect it to the receiver hitch. I place the other end on the golf cart bal hitch and proceed to back the golf cart into the truck. Yeah, I forgot to take it out of reverse, probably because the reverse alarm isn’t working and I haven’t fixed it yet. Anyway, I pull the truck out of the shop and set the parking break.
I want to be done for the day, but the engine has about a dozen holes bare to the air. I decide I need to put the hood back on. Not a great one man job. I mange to wrangle it off the roof without scratching either part thanks to a couple of strategically placed towels. Using a broom to hold up the front, I use my power ratchet to install the bolts with one hand while aligning it with the me other. With that done I close it up and head to the house before I break anything including me.
