medipedicman

Thanks Jake. I hope I have it in a neutral position as it is. I have a strap and a jack on the trans box and have a small board between the TT and the muffler hanger. It is not dropping and I hope that I do not have it to high.

I will know a little more after removing the lower bell housing. I will have a better idea of the angle of the rod at that time. ( In relation to the front coupler)

I have zero forward movement of the rod. I believe it has come loose from the coupler and is in a bind, or it is still in the coupler and the front stub has come out of the clutch. From the view in the front window I think the former is the case. The front stub is too long to completely come out of the clutch.

I will know by the weekend and hope to have it buttoned up. Just need more hobby time.

medipedicman

Well this is what I discovered when I removed the lower bell housing:



Everything looks fairly normal and tight. You can see rub marks of approx 1" on the stub shaft. It had been pulled towards the rear of the car.
I gently applied pressure with a flat head screwdriver and the shaft easily moved forward into place.




Oddly enough, this is what I found when I went to the rear of the car:



Just by gently prying the drive shaft forward it moved the entire trans box forward the 1" that I needed to tighten up the TT and the Trans. I am amazed.

It took longer to put the starter back on than it did to put the drive shaft back in it's natural state.

I had time to put the slave and the starter back on and tighten the TT down. I will try to run down some other evening this week and fix the trans mounts and tighten down the rest of the rear suspension.

Thanks for all of the advice.

outbackgeorgia

Congratulations Brian!
Always better to have a good outcome after giving it a little extra time. Unfortunately, seems I have to get out most every tool in the box for even the most simple repair ......
Good work, see you on the Mountain Run.
Dave

medipedicman

Thanks Dave. It is kind of funny the things that I stress over. I have no problem "Swapping Transmissions", but stress heavy over the drive shaft.

Taking things apart is always easier than putting them back together properly.

Once this is buttoned up I will need to work on some brake light issues and then it will be as good as it is going to get for now.

medipedicman

I feel like I have just graduated to second apprentice amateur hack of shade tree mechanic school.

I have completed the transmission swap







I manually engaged third gear before attaching the front shift rod. I then went to the driver seat and put the shifter approx where I would want third. Then back under the car to tighten the rod up. I really really wanted to take it down off of the lift bars and drive it around the block checking all gears and making sure that I adjusted the rod properly to allow a range of all 6 gears.
However, the trans box I installed has been out of a car for at least six years and the fluids desperately need changed before doing any driving.
I drained the front and rear of the trans and got some really nasty stuff out of there.



I only had 4.5 qts of the redline on the shelf. I ordered a gallon from jegs this morning and they say it is in stock and shipping today. Maybe if I am really lucky it will arrive by Saturday.

Thanks again for pitching in advice, words of encouragement and just following along with the fun.

AirtekHVAC

Awesome Brian! Wish I was there to help!

Dean_Fuller

Fantastic ! Getting close to being able to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

medipedicman

Update on progress. The Redline fluid came in Friday but it was late Saturday/early Sunday a.m. before I had any time to fill it. While the car was on lift bars I decided to drain the engine oil.

This a.m. --- From the drivers seat, engine off, the shifter will engage all 6 gears. The orientation is a little left of center, but not so bad as to require change. The clutch pedal, however is hard as a rock. Zero movement. When I was reinstalling the lower bell housing and all of it's related pcs I was in a hurry and excited about the main drive shaft. I will need to remove the clutch slave cylinder and reinstall being more mindful of how the push rod aligns with the fork. I really just threw it back in without any thought.

I need to be on the road by the middle of the week. I hope I will make time.

medipedicman

The push rod for the clutch slave cylinder was not in the shift fork.



After removing the slave cylinder I had to open the bleeder screw for the push rod to go in enough to allow re installation with the push rod properly inserted in the clutch fork. ( Although the angle of the pic does not really reflect that)




The clutch functions perfectly and the trans shifts oh so smoothly into all gears.




NOW COMES THE FUNNY PART.

In celebration of the mechanical victory I convinced my lovely wife to ride down the road with me to test it out. (She is not a big fan) We made a lap around the circle in the neighborhood and the trans/clutch worked perfectly. The volt gauge was at 10 and the lights were very dim. I did not think much about it until exiting the neighborhood the light turned VERY bright and the volt gauge went above 14. I should have turned around immediately but did not. Just as I was entering the primary road and shifted to second the power went out. It completely died and I safely coasted into a turning lane. I had no power at all. The battery cables were tight, the battery cut off switch connections were tight but I have no power whatsoever. So I made the phone call of shame to a buddy to tow me back home. So now the weather forecast call for freezing weather the next two days and the car is sitting in front of the house in a circular driveway. It is not in the way but it will be very uncomfortable to trouble shoot as it sits.

Symptom: Loss of power

Last electrical item touched: Starter two days ago.

Questions: What would cause the power surge?? Which ground wires should I check first? All the grounds to the body are clean and proper........

Dean_Fuller

Sounds like the voltage regulator in the alternator.

medipedicman

Would a faulty voltage regulator kill power to car?

outbackgeorgia

Lost my entire response, will try again

outbackgeorgia

Brian,
You last worked on the starter and the cables can be loose, corroded or broken under the red sheath or at the starter.
I have also experienced this symptom with battery connections, Check them carefully, remove, clean the posts and cables, noting the red smaller cables on the positive connector.
An internally failed battery buss (lead) can also show these symptoms, replace battery (use face shield, as this type of failure can ignite the hydrogen gas in a battery and it could explode in your hands)
1. Check the battery by putting a voltmeter directly on the battery posts, NOT the connectors or cables. Should read about 12.6 volts
2. If good, check voltage at the jumper post under the hood. Should read the SAME as battery.
3. Recheck the battery ground strap, they usually fail under the black heatshrink. You can bypass the ground strap with a jumper cable.
There is a chassis ground strap near the right side (pass) exhaust pipe from the engine to frame, this is critical and must be good.
If you get this far without finding something, there is is a major break in the main battery cable, or something similar.
I do not suspect the alternator, unless you battery is really weak, which, of course, you will know from step 1.
Let me know, I will sne a PM with my phone number and you can call me.
Want to see you on the Mountain Run on Sat!
Dave

outbackgeorgia

Brian,
This is the ground (Credit Dwaynes Garage):

Be sure it is there and the connections are clean and tight. I am not 100% sure if it is the same on the earlier cars. This is an 87 or 88.
Dave

medipedicman

Thanks for the input Dave. I will call you later today.