Shotgun Diagnosis: 85 BII, 302 C4 4WD, Engine Wobble?

shortzt said:

Yeah like adsm08 said one way but it'll fit 5 other ways really close as in all the bolts but one, I put a mark on my flywheel and then just rotated it till it worked

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Its strange because it sure doesn't look like it but I did something like you did.
I only broke the rear driveshaft loose and slid the whole trans and t-case back far enough so I could get a ratchet on the bolts.

Installing the flexplate, I just picked a hole, threaded a bolt in and tried the next one.
If the next bolt went in wonky, rotated the flexplate clockwise, threaded the same first hole and tried again until it both finally threaded and they all went in like gumbo.

I'm calling it a night now as its gotten quite cold and I a bit hungry.

The previous owner, and these lame mechanics I went to, left out 2 bellhousing bolts.
So I have to pick some up tomorrow anyway.

It really grinds my gears what a poor job these guys did, all of them.
Who would put a sign on a door, call themselves mechanics, not know anything about a 50 year old American engine and let a customer leave missing bolts that hold the drivetrain together? On top of that, I broke the driveshaft free using a 6" long boxend wrench. It wasn't even tight at all.

I don't even want to talk about the motor mounts welded directly to the frame by the guy that did the conversion. I knew they were poorly homemade but it wasn't until I finally got under there did I know exactly what he had done.

We'll hit it tomorrow and I'll let you guys know how it works out...

Thanks for your help.

At least if they are welded you won't have any torque twist

shortzt said:

At least if they are welded you won't have any torque twist

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The funny thing is, with them being welded and the engine being imbalanced like it was, the 32" inch tires looked like punch balloons or something.
They way the tires absorbed all the shaking, the whole front end rocked and you could see the sidewalls flexing. Kinda goofy.

I almost want a 429/460 with an obnoxious cam welded to the frame...just to watch the whole truck rock.

Lol yeah and did the 50oz flex plate fix the problem

It may have had the 28oz in it originally and the shop just matched it off of that. Hard for them to tell if it has a later or earlier crank in it. Might check the dampener too, if they screwed up on the flexplate it may have the 28oz dampener on the front of the engine also.

The things you run into with someone elses project...

I heard that...

As of right now, something is not working out exactly.

I thought it was bellhousing alignment related, so I've been screwing around with that for a bit.
But, when I start to tighten the transmission to the block, I get about 1/4" left before I can't turn the crank by hand.
A little bit up, a little bit forward, wiggle it, same thing.

I'm about to break it apart again and make sure the torque convertor is still seated properly.

That's about the only thing I can think that's getting in the way right now.

I'll keep you posted...

I would say either tc or maybe a dowel pin issue

It was indeed the torque convertor...one more click left in her.

How much I would love to tell the conclusion to this now 2 day event...



There's going to be a 3rd.

Literally the last bolt. I'm sure you're all familiar with it.
It goes to the starter for those that don't.
Unfortunately, I don't have anything to replace it with so I have to end the day here.

We'll pick it up tomorrow and see how it goes...

I feel you, my 2 month engine swap is now almost 8 months later

shortzt said:

I feel you, my 2 month engine swap is now almost 8 months later

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Man... I don't know if I should laugh or cry because I know what you're talking about.
But I'll save that for another time though.

I don't know if you're like me but working on my own things in my own time, I just kind of systematically do it patiently. Checking what I do. Looking over what's been done.
Step by step. "Doot d-doo" through it.

Yesterday, now I'm not complaining, while I'm working along under this truck, a neighbor comes by and wants to lend a hand. Perfect timing as it was go time to line the tranny back up. My neighbor is a Somalian, knows almost no English but has that eagerness to help.
No and Ya were the only things I could say and he did a good job for the few minutes but that "I have help now, time to get this done" mentality within me kicked in and that's when I didn't double check my torque convertor. We just slammed it up and I twisted a nut to lock the TC to the flexplate. Call it a night to button it up tomorrow.
Thank you Somalian neighbor that doesn't know English but helped me briefly.

Today, another neighbor comes by. A Mexican guy but he knows English, he was born here, startles me by just jumping right in.
"What do you got going on?"
You could read back a few posts but I tell him I had probably done it 4 times already with the same result, it just jams in and bottoms out.
"What do you gotta do?"
Laugh, take it apart and do it again.
He jumps right in. Great help but guess what? The hurry upmentality kicks back in and I miss the second drain plug on the torque convertor.
I knew what I was doing but didn't think about what I was doing.
Of course, as soon as we got it, he had to go home.
I don't know I missed it until I spin the crank around when I'm back on my own again.

So, I don't know, I'm glad its getting closer to done. I had expected myself to be done sooner.
Its unfortunate that I won't know the result because of a stripped starter wire bolt.
Like, Seriously...lmfao.

I was counting down bolts left and rehearsing my opening line for the bar I was about to drive to. Lol

There's always tomorrow, I guess.



Tl:dr, Yeah, man.

Before...


After...

Yes, it is running in this video.

So... I guess if anyone is looking for a slightly used TCI Flexplate 157 tooth, 28oz for a 302 and C4... I might still have one for sale for half of list price.

Thanks to all those that helped and I hope you enjoyed it for those that read.

Be good.

Glad you got it figured out. That is quite the difference!

Congrats [emoji482]