Here is what I have done so far for anyone else who might do this. Put truck on jackstands and chock wheels, drain fluid, remove exhaust pipe, remove drive shaft, remove starter, remove 3 converter bolts (behind starter), remove mounting bolt and crossmember, disconnect hoses and unplug everything. Now I am stuck on the bellhousing bolts and nuts. I am trying to get the top one before I do the others. It is at 12 o clock the worst possible position. I put a lot of extentions together with a swivel and deep socket on the end, but there is a curve in the tunnel and the socket won't fit to line up with the bolt. Is it safe to pry to tranmission down or will it break the motor mounts? Also where can I get a tranny mount? Mine is cracked, must be all the torque Or maybe the bumpy roads... Any help on these bolts will help. Also are there 7 or 8 because I only see 7.

 

Should be 7 I would think, but this is not the voice of experience. Have you tried getting to that bolt from on top of the motor? I remember changing the clutch on a old body style truck and that was about the only way we could get to that one was from the top reaching behind the motor. If that doesn't work, I don't think that letting the tail of the tranny pull the motor back would hurt anything. I would be a little weary of getting a pry bar out and helping it htough.

 

i do the top bolt from the top. it is real easy to get to with the intake off and might just be faster to just remove the intake.

 

i had a ranger that i propped the tail end of the trans up with a floor jack and let the trans, and motor tilt down untill i could get to the bolt with my abundance of extensions then when i got the top bolts undone i jacked the trans back up placed a 2X4 up under the tail shaft( from frame rail to frame rail). placed the floor jack under the fulcrum point of the trans for support, and undid the remaining bolts, and then let the trans down and slid it out with the floor jack.
hope that helps

i know its not even near being the same truck but the thought should still work for our application i would think

 

I didn't know I could reach the bolt from the front. I might try that tomorrow parish but I have never removed the intake before so I'm a little scared Thanks for all the tips parish thunder and flyer and if anyone has done this without removing the intake let me know but it seems almost impossible.

 

nothing is ever impossible unless you quit. if i was near by i would come over and lend a hand but waco is a good 3-1/2 hour drive for me. let me talk to the transmission place that i have been dealing with lately and see if he can tell me how he gets to them.

 

i have goten that bolt out from the top with the intake on, it was just a pain is all. i have also done it a couple of times with the intake off and it is effortless.

just do it from the top and leave the intake on, you have to either climb into the motor compartment or just lay across the motor to reach it, too make it worse there is a bracket that holds some lines in place that needs to come off first. you can get it just give it some time.

 

I used a LONG extension with a woble socket on it.

 

Thanks for all the tips. I gave up the other day but I decided to try again. Since blownchevy and parish have done it I know it is possible.

 

The intake is 8 or 10 10 mm bolts. All of them are relatively easy to get to. If you just needed to push it up for clearance, you probably wouldn't have to undo a lot of wiring and hoses.

Parish, can you move it up enough to get clearance without removeing the whole thing?