Well, one step forward, two steps back. Started installing the transmission today. I had been waiting on one more part. It came Thursday. A speed bleeder for the slave cylinder.
First thing I did was remove the shifter from the transmission, installed the speedbleederand slid the trans under the car. I had a borrowed transmission jack like this but there was no way it was going to work for multiple reasons.
First off my exhaust system was in the way. Only way to remove the exhaust is to remove the rear end. It's all welded solid. Ugh. Second, because it's a manual trans, you obviously need to have it inline and behind where it needs to go to get the input shaft thru the clutch and into the pilot bearing. This jack doesn't tilt and the tunnel isn't big enough to just lift it up, then slide it forward.
Next problem was the engine location. I used the ICT mounts and per their instructions and everyone else's opinion, I placed the engine as far back against the firewall as I could. This prevented the engine from tilting back far enough to be able to get the transmission aligned and slid in. Ended up pulling the engine, moving the mounts one bolt hole, which is only 1/2", and reinstalling it. 1/2" isn't going to really change much. I checked header fitment, should still be ok.
Now I can tilt the engine back far enough to get the transmission aligned, slid in, then tilt the whole thing up to where it needs to be.
This is where the next issue comes in. I fought and fought for several hours, but couldn't get the transmission all the way in. So close but no matter what I did, it just wouldn't go.
Even tried using the bolts to pull it in but it wasn't happening. If you scroll back up to when I put the clutch on, you will notice the pilot bearing I used. It came with the LS7 clutch kit. Well, after searching Google, I figured the issue out. I'm using an F body transmission. The input shaft is longer for an F body, so the pilot bearing sits in further recessed, smaller diameter hole in the crank shaft. The Corvette has a shorter input shaft and uses a larger pilot bearing, right at the end of the crankshaft. So I need to muscle the transmission back out, remove the clutch, remove the pilot bearing, install correct pilot bearing, reinstall clutch, then I can install the transmission. Again.... ugh Who said building and modifying cars was fun? 😅
First thing I did was remove the shifter from the transmission, installed the speedbleederand slid the trans under the car. I had a borrowed transmission jack like this but there was no way it was going to work for multiple reasons.
First off my exhaust system was in the way. Only way to remove the exhaust is to remove the rear end. It's all welded solid. Ugh. Second, because it's a manual trans, you obviously need to have it inline and behind where it needs to go to get the input shaft thru the clutch and into the pilot bearing. This jack doesn't tilt and the tunnel isn't big enough to just lift it up, then slide it forward.
Next problem was the engine location. I used the ICT mounts and per their instructions and everyone else's opinion, I placed the engine as far back against the firewall as I could. This prevented the engine from tilting back far enough to be able to get the transmission aligned and slid in. Ended up pulling the engine, moving the mounts one bolt hole, which is only 1/2", and reinstalling it. 1/2" isn't going to really change much. I checked header fitment, should still be ok.
Now I can tilt the engine back far enough to get the transmission aligned, slid in, then tilt the whole thing up to where it needs to be.
This is where the next issue comes in. I fought and fought for several hours, but couldn't get the transmission all the way in. So close but no matter what I did, it just wouldn't go.
Even tried using the bolts to pull it in but it wasn't happening. If you scroll back up to when I put the clutch on, you will notice the pilot bearing I used. It came with the LS7 clutch kit. Well, after searching Google, I figured the issue out. I'm using an F body transmission. The input shaft is longer for an F body, so the pilot bearing sits in further recessed, smaller diameter hole in the crank shaft. The Corvette has a shorter input shaft and uses a larger pilot bearing, right at the end of the crankshaft. So I need to muscle the transmission back out, remove the clutch, remove the pilot bearing, install correct pilot bearing, reinstall clutch, then I can install the transmission. Again.... ugh Who said building and modifying cars was fun? 😅
