Quick trans installation help needed!! Help!

I only have about 5 or 6 hours left on my rediculous $32 a day transmission jack rental and I'm having issues! I re-installed my newly rebuilt T-150 last night and all seemed to go very well. The main shaft slid straight in on the first try and I bolted everything together. I went out this morning to finsh installing the driveshafts. I started it up before I bolted on the trans shift housing to make sure everything looked ok and I realize both when I pushed in the clutch and when the engine fired up that the clucth wasn't disengaging (the trans was spinning with the pedal depressed). I bolted on the shift housing to keep the lube splatter down. I then tried gently easing the clutch pedal out and just before normal engagement of the gears, I started getting a light grating or grinding noise. I decided then that something isn't right. Any ideas what might have happened or what I need to adjust? Like I said, the mainshaft slid in with almost no contact to the throwout bearing or anything else. When I was installing the trans, I did place a 2x4 against the seat to keep the cluch pedal fully depressed during installation, was this my misatake? I just assumed you couldn't install the trans without the clutch depressed. HELP PLEASE!

 

From your description, it sounds like it might be ok the way it is. If the new pilot bushing is tight, it may be grabbing the input shaft and turning it, even though the clutch is disengaged. If the clutch pedal were pushed in, that seems like a very positive way to make sure the throwout bearing stays in place during assembly (though I've never done it that way). Instead of seeing if the input shaft turns the rear driveshaft, see if you can turn the driveshaft with the clutch pushed in (ie with a pipe wrench or such on the yoke).

 

You never want to push in the clutch pedal on installation. The transmission should slide right in, without any force...well maybe just a little. Wiggling works great! NEVER pull the transmission up to the bellhousing using the bolts.

FWIW a floor jack works for transmission installs and can be had for pretty cheap. Check Costco.

It is common for the trans to continue to spin, clutch depressed, without something stopping it I.E. driveshaft. Can you see into the bellhousing and make sure everything is lined up ok? I can not help any further though without hearing/seeing it for myself though, so good luck.

"If in doubt, whip it out", you can always put it back R)

 

It sounds so much like the clutch disc is in backwards. Did you verify direction before installing it? I've done it before and the clutch won't disengage.

Paul

 

I don't see where it would be possible to install the trans with the clutch pedal depressed. The clutch disk would drop down against the edges of the pressure plate and the shaft would be no where close to alignment? My last engine install (same thing only backwards) my clutch alighment was slightly off with the pilot bushing. It just plain won't go together. I would certianly think something was damaged during install if the pedal was depressed?

 

Just a WAG, but it sounds like the throw-out bearing may have fallen off during installation. Did you use a new one?

 

X2 on what jeep therapy said. The disk would fall down in the pressure plate. Typically you use a clutch alignment tool when tightening down the pressure plate (tool or broom handle ). Then the shaft should go into the pilot bearing with a little wiggling of the trans. And without to drivelines on I wouldn't be surprised to see the gears moving. Especially since you now have a new thicker clutch and the linkage probably needs to be adjusted to accommodate this.

 

Sorry for the confusion. I guess I wasn't clear in my original post. I pulled the trans / TC to do a rebuild on the transmission only. I didn't remove / replace the clutch. I unbolted the trans from the clutch housing / bellhousing. As I said, I fully depressed the clutch during installation and the main shaft slid right in with ease (This was a tip given to me by a friend who has installed 10+ transmissions - althought none were Jeeps!). Everything looked correct before installation. The only thing I can think of is I messed something up when I removed the trans. Oh well. Time to pull it back apart again. I do have a new clutch kit so I might as well replace everything while have it apart....again. I've got a nasty sinus infection or SAARS or something so I won't be able to work on it for at least a few days.......Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

Never, never depress the clutch when installing the transmission, the disk can and will more then likely move. If your friend has been doing it he is very very lucky. I would hate to have to pull the bellhousing off to relocate the clutch disk cause I depressed the pedal and it dropped a few inches.

 

It could be that the clutch fork fell off the throw-out bearing. Look inside the rubber dust boot and see if this is the case. I never installed a trans with the clutch pedal depressed but can imagine how it might cause the fork to slip off from the throw-out bearing.

 

Thanks for the info guys. I'm feeling a little better today so I'm heading out in a bit to see what happened. I'll pull the dust boot and check on the fork before I pull everything apart. If it just the fork, can I re-install / reposition it without remove the trans / bellhousing? If I do have to pull everything apart, what's easier, remove the trans from the bellhousing and then the bellhousing or remove everything as a whole? If it's only the throwout bearing that's shifted, can I move it back into position with only removing the trans and not the bellhousing? Can I install the new clutch / throwout bearing without seperating the bellhousing from the trans? The questions seem to never end.......I'll consult my FSM yet again, but they tend to leave out a few things....Thanks again.