stuck installing transmission

[p24-1953]

i have been trying for the last 2 hours to get my new transmisssion installed. since it is longer than the hydrive transmission i had to cut the floor in order to get it level so i could slide it in. all was going well untill the last 1 1/2" to save my life i can not get it to slide in. i have pushed and pulled, jacked it up a little more, wiggled, cussed, prayed, even had a rational conversation with it, but nothing has helped. i am wondering if the input shaft is misaligned with the cluthc disk, and how do i fix it? do i remove the screen on the clutch housing, have someone step on the clutch lift the disk, and pull the transmission into place? or do i get to long bolts and tighten the transmission to the clutch, forcing it into submission? and as i sit and type this i just realized that i forgot to put the gasket in between the transmission and clutch housing. dag nab it.......

[james curl]

Once it is back to the same place that was when you discovered the lack of a gasket press the clutch lever and wiggle the transmission in a circular motion while pushing it home.

[Don Coatney]

Do not use bolts to pull it home. If it will not go home using armstrong pressure something is wrong. Using bolts will cause damage.

[JIPJOBXX]

You can use studs to hold it up in place and then do that trick with clutch. The studs will guide it into place and then it should slide in.

[Plymouthy Adams]

personally I must ask first if you tested the clutch disc to fit the input shaft prior to installing...if that is good..then you may be out of kepter a bit with the alignment...as Don Says..do not attempt to pull it up with the bolts..

don't laugh..a guy I knew called me and said that he had been two days fighting his clutch change..when I got there it took but a couple minutes to determine that they sold him the wrong disc...

[p24-1953]

okay so i ate dinner, took a break and went out to start again. i noticed that the clutch disk was not centered in between the pressure plates, so i am assuming that is my problem. so i go to my friendly assistant (whom i call mr. 2x4) to hold the clutch pedal down while i crawled under the car. i noticed that the plates did not seperate when the clutch pedal was pushed in. it looks like that the bearing does not seem to stay in place. does it have to have the input shaft in place to cause the clutch to release? should i back the clutch cover screws off so the plates are seperated, then try to install the transmission again? or can i remove the onld input shaft from the former transmission and use that as a guide? it took 5 hrs to take it apart, and 7.5 hours so far to put it back together, and i still dont have the transmission in.

Edited December 30, 2009 by p24-1953

[p24-1953]

I must ask first if you tested the clutch disc to fit the input shaft prior to installing..

good question no i didnt check that because i just had mine resurfaced, so i assumed it should fit.

[p24-1953]

shel_bizzy_48, thanks, it sounds like i will loosen the clutch cover bolts and try again.

[Normspeed]

Make sure your clutch disk is not in backwards. They will go in that way but there is a difference.

On the input shaft, some will come right off if you remove the machine bolts and the retainer cone. But, other Mopar 3 speeds require the input shaft to come out by disassembling the trans and pushing the shaft and bearing out to the rear.