I've lost second gear!!

JPSmit · Sep 27, 2009

Bill, the article is scanned - PM me your email and I'll send it on

bthompson · Oct 15, 2009

<bump!>

For those interested, here's an update on my (still-stagnant) Nigel:

I finally have the cash laid aside for an engine hoist: specifically the Harbor Freight one-ton foldable model, selling for $130. Unfortunately, the local HF was sold out when I went there. A trip across town to the local Northern Tool showed that their one-ton foldable hoist was ten dollars less than HF's two ton hoist. Not too far out of the budget, but still more than I'd want to spend. So I figured I'd wait until HF got what I wanted, at the price I wanted.

Meanwhile, I ordered the Oberg tilt-lift online, which arrived today. What a neat looking item!

The other issue is a decent place to work, since I don't have a garage or driveway. My brother-in-law has a nice little flat section of paved driveway behind his house, hidden from the street. He said I could pull the engine and keep Nigel there for the duration of the repair. There's just enough space under his house to tuck the engine in. Since it's starting into the cold-and-rainies, my plan is to take the transmission back home with me, and do the disassembly, inspection, replacement, and re-assembly on my kitchen table. (Yes, I have a wonderful wife who is very understanding of such things!)

I've spent the interim time studying my Haynes manual and taking notes until I feel I really understand how the tranny is put together before I start. So the next stage of the game for me, is to get this hoist bought and start pullin'! :banana:

Which reminds me: What's considered the best place to attach the tilt-lift to a 1500 engine...?

JPSmit · Oct 15, 2009

bthompson said:
<bump!>

Which reminds me: What's considered the best place to attach the tilt-lift to a 1500 engine...?

there's two bracket with holes on the top of the engine - front right (the bracket for the alternator) and rear left - the back of the rocker cover. That's what they are there for

Guest · Oct 15, 2009

The heart of the matter is the tilt-o-matic. You can use a chain hoist or come-a-long and a tree/sturdy rafter to hoist it up and roll the car from under it.

Yes, the hydralic hoist is best, but if you're running out of time it never hurts to "shade tree it". You can pull it while waiting for the hoist and reinstall once the hoist arrives.

I find I have trouble getting the legs of my hoist under things sometimes as they are too low. I haven't put my HF hoist under my Midget yet as I haven't need to but I would imagine it would hit w/o jacking the car up first. Others will know for sure.

Sarastro · Oct 16, 2009

I'd never discourage anyone from finding a cheap, clever way to do something--but keep in mind, you'll have to get under the car to remove at least a couple bolts. So, keeping the car and ground level and rolling it backward may not be practical. 'Course, these cars are small,so maybe you can just reach under from the side to get the transmission bolts. Sooner or later you'll have to remove the drive shaft; I can't see you getting the engine & trans back in without doing that.

I got my lift from HF, but saw that Pep Boys had an almost identical one for a few bucks less.

bugimike · Oct 16, 2009

For years before I got my engine hoist, I used a come-along hung from a sturdy rafter in the garage. Getting under the front and rear were never a problem! A floor jack and jack stands are easy enough to slip under the car to undo all the under-car stuff before working from the top to pull the engine and trans. Start lifting the units and then roll the car out from under them!

Guest · Oct 16, 2009

bugimike said:
For years before I got my engine hoist, I used a come-along hung from a sturdy rafter in the garage. Getting under the front and rear were never a problem! A floor jack and jack stands are easy enough to slip under the car to undo all the under-car stuff before working from the top to pull the engine and trans. Start lifting the units and then roll the car out from under them!

ditto, break everything loose first, pull the shaft from the rear, get on top and pull mrt/trns. Drop it back in, bolt everything up and put the shaft back in from the rear.

bthompson · Oct 17, 2009

Well, take a lookie here: a tranny with overdrive! It's stuff like this that makes me giddy.

On the one hand: it's everything I need all buttoned up and ready to go. And it's an overdrive, which was a definate future project. And the price is right, at least right now.
On the other hand: Nigel'll need a fair amount of cutting and welding to shoehorn it in. Of which I have no experience. And the price could skyrocket before the auction's over.

I wonder if 3M Structural Adhesive would work to bond the crossmember and mount points to. I'd sure be more comfortable working with that stuff than a welder...

Edit: Researching a bit, I've noticed that Guy Weller's conversion used a subframe for the crossmember and mounting points, that bolted to the body. So I could get a welder to fabricate that bit, and bolt it on. Hmm... :wink:

Guest · Oct 18, 2009

He'd have to have the car there to fab it up. Since it's there, just have him weld it in. It'd be cheaper.

bthompson · Oct 18, 2009

kellysguy said:
He'd have to have the car there to fab it up.

Ya think? I'd'a thought if I took good measurements and gave him a good clear three-view drawing, a good welder could do it up from scratch. But it's all just dreamin' now anyway. The ebay tranny has a bid already

so the war for posession begins...I have a feeling it'll shoot past my bank account anyway. C'est la vie.

On the good side, I got my engine hoist today,

and its major sub-assemblies are sitting in my car, waiting to come together tomorrow morning at my brother-in-law's place.

Then the Removal of Various Bits will begin.

tdskip · Oct 18, 2009

Good luck Bill, keep us posted.

bthompson · Oct 20, 2009

Well, today officially started off the project. I just had a couple hours in the morning before work today, and made a bit of progress. I brought my new hoist to my brother-in-law's (in pieces) crammed into my wife's Sunfire:

And here it is half an hour later. Shiny!

I was pleasantly surprised when I found my bro had cleared out a little spot under the house for Nigel to rest. (It's not really a garage, just a garage door opening into the unfinished basement.) The furnace is behind the car, so it'll be toasty to work on.

After taking the bonnet off (sorry, no pics of that; I had my hands full!) I took the driveshaft loose from the differential side. This is peeking through the rear wheelwell. Arrows show the bolts. (Hey, you never know, these pics could help someone)

Took the shift gaiter and lever out. This is looking down the hole. The arrows show the driveshaft bolts on the transmission side.

And that's all the time I had for today. Tomorrow is supposed to be bright and in the 70s here, and I have the day off of work, so I anticipate much progress!

So what did I learn today?
-- Removing a Midget bonnet is awkward work for one person, but not impossible.
-- If you don't have a 'moving blanket' (you know, those dark blue industrial quilted things) get one. Get one now. I'll never lay on cardboard again. :wink:
-- Your front u-joint bolts are much easier accessed through the shifter hole than up from the bottom through the inspection hole.

tdskip · Oct 20, 2009

Good progress for a before work sprint Bill! Thanks for the pictures and keeping us posted.

RickB · Oct 20, 2009

Nice bit of morning work!

I use a foam camping pad, the kind you put under your sleeping bag.
I have two of these, rolled up and ready to use so sometimes when I need to move around a bit I can leave one in one area and one in another. Kneeling on concrete or any other hard surface is not an option.

bthompson · Oct 20, 2009

Well, I guess it's true what they say about pulling a midget engine out in a couple of hours! For me, it took about six. Four hours in the late morning, and the engine was hooked up ready to pull. Break for lunch, and another two hours of engine-wrangling in the afternoon. Many lessons learned today, but first some pics.

Picking up from yesterday, I pulled the front u-joint bolts, and yes, it IS easier from the topside!

I discovered what that little round holes behind the fascia slots in a 1500 are for: Getting to the lower radiator bolts!

Grills and radiator out in 20 minutes, hoses attached. Aren't these cars amazing? (With a couple exceptions, which I'll point out later...)

The First Sign of the Apocylpse: shiny metal bits sticking to the tranny drain plug.

The Second Sign of the Apocylpse: uhmm, transmission fluid isn't supposed to be a silver slurry, is it...?

Answering the Big Question: yes, it does fit. Barely. The legs skim the inside of the front tires, and it needs to be jacked up just a couple inches for the legs to clear the stabilizer bar. (Actually, with the bar unbolted from the A-arms, it might fit, but I didn't try that.)

Ready for action, four hours in...

...and this was as far as it got before the u-joint flange got caught on the crossmember. Argh!

An idea that didn't work: a sling under the flange to try to help it over. Yeah, if I was a gorilla. Luckily the bro had a hydraulic jack; putting that under the tranny gave the inch lift it needed to clear.

Ahh, free and clear in all its bluey...blueness. I don't know why. Maybe the PO liked Fords.

I couldn't help a little preliminary peek. Reverse is a little chipped, the synchro teeth aren't really sharp...hey, is this gear supposed to wobble around a half-inch? No, I didn't think so.

Enough fun for one day. Bits under the house with the engine. Tomorrow I'll try to separate engine from trans and start cleaning stuff off.

Nigel snoozing under cover. But which way is forward?

For posterity, here's a list of the things needed to pull the engine in a 1500, in order. Numbered baggies make a great way to store bolty bits.
1. Bonnet prop. 1 bolt, baggie 1.
2. Bonnet. 4 bolts, baggie 2.
3. Shift gaiter. 4 screws, baggie 3.
4. Shifer anti-rattle plug and spring. Baggie 4.
5. Rear driveshaft. 4 bolts, baggie 5.
6. Heater duct.
7. Front driveshaft. 4 bolts, baggie 6.
8.Grills. 6 screws, baggie 7.
9. Radiator. 4 bolts, 2 screws, baggie 8.
10.Overflow tank (pulls out)
11. Heater hose connections at back of engine.
12. Bourdon tube connection.
13. Alternator connection.
14. Starter wire.
15. Oil pressure connection.
16. Coil wire. *don't forget the low tension wires too!
17. Throttle cable.
18. Fuel line at carb.
19. Engine ground strap at steering rack.
20. Exhaust pipe from manifold. 3 bolts, baggie 9.
21. Clutch slave. 1 bolt, baggie 10.
22. Drain tranny.
23. Drain engine.
24. Transmission mount under crossmember. 2 bolts, baggie 11.
25. Transmission mount on tunnel. 2 bolts, baggie 12.
26. Unplug backup light at shifter.
27. Speedo connection. 1 bolt and plate, baggie 13.
28. "Transmission retaining cable."
29. Fan blade. 4 bolts, baggie 14.
30. Engine mounts. 6 nuts, 2 bolts, baggie 15.

What I learned today:
--There is a cable, a whopping thick one, that connects the lower bellhousing to the crossmember. It apparently serves no other function than complicating pulling the engine. As it was only on USA cars, and no manual seems to mention it, it was apparently a practical joke on the part of the BL engineers. Well, ha ha, chaps.
--Getting the u-joint flange over the crossmember when the engine is tilted is a royal PITA. I would have saved 30 minutes and could have easily done this single-handed if it wasn't for this. Overdrive or not, I'm seriously considering cutting out the center crossmember and reinforcing it lower down just 'cause I'm so ticked at it.
--You cannot pull the clutch slave cylinder without rotating it so the fluid line is about 30 degrees inboard. Actually, I learned this again, as I first learned it a year ago when I replaced the silly thing.
--When the engine is hanging naturally from just the front hoist mount, it assumes the right angle to get it out. This led me to think if this is the ideal way to pull the engine with the hoist and a tilt-lift: To lock it horizontal, swing it forward until the flange clears the crossmember, unlock it, and lift up. The engine will nose-up naturally and clear the front of the car. Swing the tail of the tranny up, lock it horizontal again, and pull it forward.
--The fuel hardline is attached by a little clamp at the top of the transmission. So you have to undo the line down below the car. This siphons the gas out of the tank. (Ha ha BL engineers--got me again!) Be sure to put a little cap over this line.
So the plan for tomorrow is to break the tranny loose, start cleaning, and see what there is to see...

startech47 · Oct 20, 2009

The cable is to keep the engine in place during a crash.

jlaird · Oct 20, 2009

Man, you moveing on.

Guest · Oct 21, 2009

If you would, PM me a pic of your front turn signals. Thanks

nomad · Oct 21, 2009

I have a 1500 tranny if it comes to that.
KA.

bthompson · Oct 21, 2009

Cheers, Nomad! :cheers:

I appreciate the offer. If the ebay overdrive falls through,* you're the first on my list! :thumbsup:

EDIT:* And fall through it seems to have done! The auction was withdrawn today. Guess the guy got a local seller.

KG: Nothing special about the turn sigs; they're just 1500 sigs in the 1500 holes. I'll shoot you a few closer-up pics and some shots of the inner feners to show you how they're clamped in, and send 'em your way.

No action today, I'm too beat and sore from yesterday!

I've lost second gear!!

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