I am having difficulty mating the transmission to the engine of my 2003 ford f150 xl 4.2L V6 manual 5 speed transmission rear wheel drive. I have aligned the pressure plate and clutch cover correctly. I am using a 450ib Pittsburgh automotive transmission jack which allows me to adjust angle for "ease of entry". I have tried jacking up the engine to angle clutch cover downward but am having difficulty aligning splines to enter clutch plate and pilot bearing. I have taken the clutch cover and plate off and realigned. The closest i have come to mating the transmission and engine is roughly two inches around the entire bellhousing, without any ability to seat the transmission closer to the engine. Any and tips and tricks are welcomed.

 

Have you tried turning the driveshaft with the transmission in gear, while applying some small force to the transmission? That can help get the splines lined up to drop in.

 

Why was the transmission off?

 

Originally the transmission was removed to swap out the clutch and clean the bellhousing. The clutch swap involved new; rear main seal, high oil resistance gasket liner, flywheel, clutch plate, and clutch cover.

 

I have not tried this method, and is the first i have heard of it..though it makes sense to me. This is to connect the drive shaft and turn to align splines with clutch plate and pilot bearing.

 

Ive changed several clutches
Spent hours laying under 4x4 truck trying to stab the tranny

The angle has to be perfect...or it wont go...splines aligned too.

When you get it....goes in like nothing

Fun...not

Can turn a couple hr job into 2 days

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The gap doesn't look parallel. If you can get some bolts started, or buy longer bolts just for the installation, you can use them for fine adjustment and control of the gap. They'll keep the gap on one side from opening as you try to close the other side. Don't use them to pull it in but to get the gap aligned. Then some shaking and wiggling and driveshaft twisting will often get the splines to go. The bolt heads keep the gap from opening up again while you shake the transmission. to get it to go.

 

What clutch did you put back in? Can you provide a link to what you used? I've used heavy duty and dual clutches with this transmission where the OEM slave cylinder won't work with the new clutch. Probably not you problem but it could be??

 

What alignment tool are you using? did you check the clutch disk on the pilot shaft to make sure you have the right one? Did you replace the pilot bearing in the crank shaft?