Transmission removal

[1966g10]

Looking to see if anyone had any tips on how to get a A tranny out. The motor is out, the clam taken off and all the bolts needed to take off. But it doesn't slide off the shaft? I had a come along on it and everything won't budge. Have the tranny level with the tt too and nothing moving. Someone please help. I already have 5+ hours in this

[daveymc29]

it is supposed to slide off. There must be some reason, related to the splines on the universal joint and the splines on the driveshaft. Put a bit of tension on it to pull it forward and tap the universal near where the drive shaft enters it. I would use something like a lead hammer or drive it forward with a brass drift or piece of hardwood. Use persistent, but light hammer blows. There is a bit of an upward angle involved to make the forward pull straight. Seven degrees comes to mind, but I may be wrong. Check Andrew's red book.

[1966g10]

Alright thank you for the reply. I can just about get my finger is the gap between the transmission and the torque tube. It was moving a little but then just stopped.

[James Rogers]

Did you remove the wishbone connection?

[Tom Wesenberg]

The 1930 AA I worked on years ago was so totally rusted to the splines from never being greased, that I had to heat the U-joint red hot and beat it off with a 3 pound hammer.

[1966g10]

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Yeah the wishbone was take down.

I think that's what it is. It's like seized on there.

[Tom Endy]

Looking at the question and comments It is not clear to me that you unbolted the bell housing from the clutch housing, unless that is what you are calling the clam (the clam is usually what people call the U-joint housing behind the trans). Inside the bell housing are four 5\8 hex bolts that hold the trans to the bell housing. These must be removed.

If you have done that more than likely gasket sealer was used between the bell housing and the trans and that is what is holding the two assemblies together. Set the bell housing and trans down on the floor on some cardboard and get a length of 2XX4 and place it inside the bell housing up against the front bearing retainer of the trans and with a hefty hammer drive the two assemblies apart.

Tom Endy

[Clem Clement]

Undo the bolt inside the U joint facing rearward?

[James Rogers]

Originally Posted by Tom Endy

Looking at the question and comments It is not clear to me that you unbolted the bell housing from the clutch housing, unless that is what you are calling the clam (the clam is usually what people call the U-joint housing behind the trans). Inside the bell housing are four 5\8 hex bolts that hold the trans to the bell housing. These must be removed.

If you have done that more than likely gasket sealer was used between the bell housing and the trans and that is what is holding the two assemblies together. Set the bell housing and trans down on the floor on some cardboard and get a length of 2XX4 and place it inside the bell housing up against the front bearing retainer of the trans and with a hefty hammer drive the two assemblies apart.

Tom Endy

Tom, you don't have to take the bell housing off the transmission to remove them. I have always removed the tranny with the bell housing on.

[James Rogers]

Originally Posted by Clem Clement

Undo the bolt inside the U joint facing rearward?

Clem, without getting the transmission off the driveshaft, the bolt cannot be accessed.

[1966g10]

So I have to take the bell housing off?

I took the speedometer mount off of the tt and could see the splines of the driveshaft and after about 2 hours I can see it didn't even move. Can anyone else confirm the bell housing removal?

[Tom Wesenberg]

I don't remove the bell housing. I'll see if I can find a picture or two of the last one I did. This is like a miniature A frame that I made to help R&R a tranny. It sure makes the job easier. You can see I have the clamshell removed, but left the bellhousing on. Also notice how I use a 2 by 4 to block the front wishbone down until the tranny is installed.

If I remember correctly, I had to remove the U-joint to clear the center crossmember. It just barely missed clearing and had to come off.

[Tom Endy]

In order to remove a transmission from a Model A you have to either pull the engine or the rear axle assembly. The choice is yours. Whichever you choose you still have to disassemble the U-joint housing and slide the U-joint, which is attached to the back of the transmission ,off of the drive shaft spline.

You also have to remove all of the bolts that attach the bell housing to the clutch housing. What you have then is the bell housing still bolted to the transmission by the four 5\8" hex bolts inside the bell housing that attach it to the transmission housing.

To separate the two you have to remove the four 5\8" hex bolts before the two housings can be separated. If the two housings are stuck together with gasket sealer you have to separate them with some amount of force with a hammer and a block of wood.

When putting things back together you have to remember about the four 5\8" hex bolts that attach the transmission to the bell housing. The transmission has to be bolted up to the bell housing before you go any further.

I have seen a number of cars come into the shop where this was ignored. The result is that when the trans is in neutral you can push the gear shift handle from side to side and the lever knob will almost hit each front door as the trans rotates on the bell housing.

Tom Endy

[tbirdtbird]

WoW. seriously. Time to look at the current post which discusses the skills of those working on their cars today

[tbirdtbird]

The main point is that the tranny is not bolted to the bellhousing from the outside as is conventional today (time for the 350 chevy guys to exit). The bolts are on the INSIDE of the bell housing

[Tom Endy]

It all depends on how the engine was removed from the car. Some people remove the engine by removing the bolts that hold the bell housing to the clutch housing. In this case when the engine is pulled out the bell housing and the trans are still left in the car attached together and with the U-joint still connecting the trans to the drive shaft.

The other method, which is the one I prefer, is to disconnect the U-joint from the drive shaft and pull the engine out with the bell housing still attached to the clutch housing and the transmission still attached to the bell housing. If you then want to work on the transmission you first have to unbolt the bell housing from the clutch housing. You then have to remove the four 5\8" hex bolts from the inside of the transmission in order to separate the transmission from the bell housing.

Tom Endy

[James Rogers]

He didn't say anything about working on the transmission, right now he just wants to remove it from the truck.

[bobv]

You are saying it wont come off the drive shaft, correct? If that's the case Tom Wesenberg has the answer.

[Clem Clement]

James,
thanks. You are correct. The uni has to flop over to reach the bolt.

Yesterday I had too much fun as part of a team hanging a flathead in a 41 woodie.
Clem

[BlueSunoco]

Tom, NICE apparatus you built!! You need to make several and sell them to Bratton's, Snyder's, etc. They would definitely be sold off the shelf, pronto! Seriously