tranny won't go in.....

[filipino4life92]

i'm new to this forum cuz i needed more experienced advice than what the average car enthusiast would give me....sooooooooo

i just tried replacing my rb20det tranny first time and ran into a minor problem that for some of you might be an all too easy fix.

i got the old tranny out no problem. it's putting the new one that i am having trouble with.

the input shaft that's supposed to go into the block is about 1inch south from the actual hole....the problem is that i can't move it on north cuz of the stupid firewall. anyhow i rotate the tranny, it still hits. i rotated the tranny 180deg so the starter part of the bell housing isn't hitting anything. i took off the starter just to make it easier and the previous owner already bashed in part of the firewall for the starter. how i got old tranny out was that the weight of the tranny tilted the motor already....

well i have mckinney motor and tranny mounts. took of tranny mount and i already loosened the nut connecting motor mount to motor and i can wiggle the shit out of the engine but can't seem to keep it tilted...
so my question is "is there an easy method on how to tilt the motor?"

any other advice other than how to tilt motor will be very helpful!!
thanks for reading!!!

[240sxDude]

jack up the front of your engine (on the oil pan) so you can tilt it like you had the trans already in there, and tilt the trans with 2 jacks and stab it in, you will hear a weird noise when it goes in, and its done

[RedSiBaron]

jack up the front of your engine (on the oil pan) so you can tilt it like you had the trans already in there, and tilt the trans with 2 jacks and stab it in, you will hear a weird noise when it goes in, and its done

You forgot an important detail, which is loosen your engine mounts first (i know he loosened them, but most people will search and find this and wont read his, just yours haha) so you don't destroy them, but then jack on the oil pan and tilt the engine...just make sure you don't tilt anything on the rear of the motor against he firewall and destroy it.

Even putting a ka trans back in. You really need to do this to make it easy, its a small tunnel.

[filipino4life92]

is jacking it up on the oil pan safe? cuz last owner i think tried to jack from oil pan and bent in toward the block?

isn't it safer to go on the harmonic balancer? i'm not trying to come off as a know it all haha but idk if it's even safe to go jack from harmonic balancer

[odmoht]

they both answered your question lol
put a piece of wood on top of the jack, use the wood as a cushion when jacking it up from the oil pan.
loosen the motor mounts to help tilt the motor a little more and not damage the mounts
stab the tranny in
i literally did this last week and ran into the same problem you did
make sure you car is supported really well, don't want any one to get hurt
thats about it

[KiLLeR2001]

It's also easier if you have the front of the car on jack stands and the rear wheels planted on the ground.

[cotbu]

I agree with everyone, but the easiest way is to have done it multiple times. Your check list becomes a manual, engine angled correctly, trans cross member removed, trans angled correctly and clocked and wedged at 11:30, Blah blah blah. Then that infamous sounding clunk!

Your good for the next couple of times, then you say f'it and invest in a shop crane or hoist.

[filipino4life92]

ok so i finished my tranny!!! i just jacked it up from harmonic balancer to tilt motor after loosening motor mounts.

another question is that "is the transmission supposed to be grounded to chassis?" cuz a friend said tranny's supposed to be grounded so speedometer supposed to work? is that true?

[KiLLeR2001]

If you have the transmission mated to the engine block, it will be grounded.

[filipino4life92]

so to my demise another problem arises.

so when i first start my car i hear a huge clunking sound......

when it starts *CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK*!!! wtf?!?!??! it clunks to the sound of the engine almost......