Next up was to secure the trans to my cheap trans jack, I did not feel safe when I removed it so I was really careful getting it ready for the return trip to the truck. I used my car lift to get it lifted up in to position on the jack, I used a couple of short pieces of 2x4 on the sides to help stabilize it and cranked down two ratchet straps. It was quite secure!
I moved it under the truck and added the shiny new throwout bearing and stabbed it at the truck. Fail! Try again, fail again, repeat.
Although I pride myself on coming up with inventive ways to do stuff by myself, this time I had to enlist my brother’s help and with two of us it still took another half hour. The angle that the motor sits at significantly complicates stabbing the trans in. I hope I never have to do that again!
Finally got it bolted up and connected the speedometer cable, park brake cable and backup light plug. After all of the connections were made, I topped it off with the outrageously overpriced synthetic gear oil that this trans uses. It was almost 100 dollars per gallon and takes over a gallon and a half. Fortunately, I had purchased the oil when I was still employed! That is where I left it last night.
Today after church, I went to fire it up so that I could do the break-in that the trans guy told me to do – idle in 5th gear with no load (not even the drive shaft – this is to distribute the oil throughout the trans. Apparently I pissed the truck off by not starting it for so long. I was shocked at how hard it was to start and it ran like crap after it did. Anyway, I finally got through the half hour break in and then reinstalled the driveshaft and took it for a test drive. It wont idle but is running good other than that, I’ll need to get a carb kit and clean it out good, I’m sure it has a plugged up idle circuit.
The transmission is way quieter than it used to be and shifts better too - glad for that, between the clutch, trans rebuild and gear oil I’m in to this for over $1500.
I’m sure I left out a lot but that is all I can think of for now.
-Richard