Starting my trans rebuild tomorrow; ??

Awesome. I wish you luck also, although you sound a lot more experienced. Putting it back in was not nearly as hard as getting it out. I managed to lift it in and get it bolted up by myself (unfortunately, I bolted the oil pump on backwards the first time - i thought my engine was left-hand rotation when it says right-hand on the tag). Y'all enjoy your weekend and I'll have some pics up soon that may help.

I'm really not sure how it broke, but when I took it all apart, it was the only broken piece. I did install a new forward clutch pack, as well as the rear clutch disk, even though they weren't broken. I don't ever wanna have to take this thing out again. I'm in the process of putting the pump back on, and it'll be back in tomorrow.

The latest update:

I took a week off because of graduation and my birthday, and got back to it today. We got everything disassembled, and found the culprit. It was a broken clutch spring (#79 in the exploded view in the manual). All that for a part that costs $25. I'll start the reassembly on thurs, and hope to be testing it on friday. I'll keep y'all updated since I know there are people that may want to try this at home. Thanks for all the help so far.

http://www.amarket.com/imabw071.htm

hollywoodswole,

I beleive that's your forward clutch cylinder. Are you tyring to get the piston out of the cylinder or remove the cylinder and piston?

If your removing the piston I assume you've plugged all of the place where air escapes when you use the compressor. As I mentioned before,mine was really stuck in there. Removing the piston was a two person operation, one to plug the holes, the other to use the compressor and tug on the piston.

I went into mine assuming I had a clutch problem but what I really had was a lot of junk in the forward cylinder and a corroded fowrad piston. Becasue of that my 125 psi compressor wouldnt do the job, I had to persuade it a little.

I hope none of these questions seem to elementary, but we can't figure this thing out. Our compressor can only go up to 100 psi. Is that enough to get out the forward clutch? And even then, how do you cover the other two holes so air doesnt escape?

SUCCESS! Well, in getting it out of the boat. At least now I don't have to sit out in the sun while I work on it. More to come...

So I've run into my first "issue". I unbolted the prop shaft coupler, but still can't quite figure out how to loosen the prop shaft. I started turning on the big brass nut on the shaft, but the rubber sleeve was turning too much (I'm guessing the thrust washer is under there?). How do I move the prop shaft back far enough to slide out the tranny? Thanks guys. And happy cinco de mayo

hollywoodswole,

This is deffinitely do-able. I rebuilt mine with no prior experience and it works like a champ. Just follow the steps as outlined in the manual.

The only specialty toos I bought were a gear puller, snap-ring pliers and a torque wrench. I did have the gear pressed on in the shop since I don't have a hydraulic press.

One thing to look for is pitting and corrosion. If present use fine wet-or-dry sand paper to get rid of it. If the shaft is really nasty they make a thing called a speedy sleeve to cover it up.

Its easy to put the pump on backwards. Before taking it apart think about using a punch to put marks on the housing and the pump cover to ensure it goes back in the correct position.

One last thing, when your done and putting the cover in place be very careful not to damage the front seal with the splines on the shaft. I did just that the first time. Vince at skidim recommended covering the splines with clear packing tape, sliding the cover in place, then removing the tape. That keeps the sharp edges of the spline from damaging the seal. It worked well for me.

If you have any questions just keep posting, folks here are great.

Tim

Another method is to support the engine with 2x4's under the exhaust manifolds supported on the stringers.

just diconnect the mounts to the tranny and leave the ones to the motor alone and put a block of wood under the oil pan towards the bell housing to support it or just pull the whole thing, engine and tranny together. The block need to be wedged a little before you remove/loosen the tranny mounts otherwise it will sag and you'll have trouble going back together.

You could also support the engine from the topside with an engine hoist, come-along, chain or the like to a rafter, tree or anything strong enough over head to support the weight. If you don't have to move the trailer while your doing the tranny.