I have some starter problems.... Can I get a little help?

[Mutant Pony]

That is a good reason why you are having trouble. Pull all the bolts and push the trans back enough to get the old plate out. Slide the new plate in and get a full set of bolts to put back in. On yours the two bolts that go through the hollow dowels are about 1/2" longer than the upper 4. They're m10-1.50 bolts.
Once you have ALL the bolts snug then you can start to tighten them. If you put a bolt in and tighten it then move to the next one you will end up with missing bolts as well.

 

[gatlin04]

Do i need to drop my transfer case?
Do i need to jack the engine up (stabilize)?
Do plain-jane parts stores have a package with all the bolts in it?

 

[low_five]

no.

maybe. a handy way would be an engine hoist.

napa wont have a bag with the bolts, but they will have a big shelf with bins with just about every bolt you will ever need. I would just snag the bolts at a junk yard and pocket them.

Im amazed that you havent bent up your input shaft with the tranny if you can see dowel rods... I dont think anything would be too crazy if he at least got the top 4 bolts in. its not like these things make a million foot pounds and the dowels will at least hold it aligned. thats IF he at least got it somewhat tight.

there are two dowel rods, the two bottom bolts go into them.

dont drive the truck anymore until you get this sorted out. its a pain right now but once its all sorted out, you will enjoy the truck that much more.

 

[low_five]

when I stab a new motor (ive done it twice on 2.9's) i always loosened the motor mounts (just one big bolt pointing straight up from the frame) and jacked the motor up to move it around. the engine should be moving and sliding, not the tranny.

good luck. I wish I was there cause its not too bad once youve done it before. id help you for beers.

 

[Mutant Pony]

Just loosen the two nuts on trans mount. You may need a big pry bar to get the trans back far enough. I've done it a few times but, I had a hoist. Wedge a piece of 2x4 in between the oilpan and engine crossmember to keep the motor from rocking back.
I would get the bell housing bolts from a junkyard if at all possible. Someone here could send them to you. The aftermarket bolts are a different head size which makes it a pain.

 

[gatlin04]

dont drive the truck anymore until you get this sorted out. its a pain right now but once its all sorted out, you will enjoy the truck that much more.

hahahah... i havent been able to start it! lol

I appreciate the help that both of you have given me! I will get out there tomorrow and report back! Wish me luck!

 

[Mutant Pony]

Good luck!

 

[gatlin04]

too cold and windy today... im a puss...

 

[doorgunner]

wuz in the neighborhood & herd what was goin on--my 2 cents: good thing you noticed the Gap-that could be half the problem-don't try pulling/tightening stuff-first find out why the two parts aren't fitting together in the first place. Just guessing-it looks like the starter gear is too close to the flywheel gear causing it to try and gnaw some teeth off the flywheel. You did the first part of the measurements-maybe you can do the second part--that will show you how far(or too close) the starter gear teeth are from the flywheel teeth-then you will know what's causing the gnaw-marks on the flywheel gears (Whew!!)-fingers are gettin tired-Bye...

 

[holyford86]

the guy that installed the transmission may not have been smoking anything. When I thought that the slave cylinder in my truck was bad it was because the engine and transmission had loosened up and 4 of the 6 bolts holding it together fell out and the other two were loose. I had installed a clutch and slave about a year before that and I tightened the bolts down good. Locktite kept the bolts from falling out again and when I swapped my engine and transmission last week all the bolts were present and accounted for, as well as tight.

 

[gatlin04]

wuz in the neighborhood & herd what was goin on--my 2 cents: good thing you noticed the Gap-that could be half the problem-don't try pulling/tightening stuff-first find out why the two parts aren't fitting together in the first place. Just guessing-it looks like the starter gear is too close to the flywheel gear causing it to try and gnaw some teeth off the flywheel. You did the first part of the measurements-maybe you can do the second part--that will show you how far(or too close) the starter gear teeth are from the flywheel teeth-then you will know what's causing the gnaw-marks on the flywheel gears (Whew!!)-fingers are gettin tired-Bye...

What do you mean by doing the rest of the measuring? sorry... im a n00b

My starter is grinding on the front of the flexplate.... not at the end of the teeth....
Is that what you are saying?

 

[gatlin04]

Aaahhhhhhhh
I got under there today and starter to take the separator plate off and i realized a few things.....

1. The flywheel is fucked.... up near part where it is bolted on.... it is broken.....

2. The transmission is only being held on to the block with ONE bolt....

3. The passenger side "dowel rod" is COMPLETELY broken off..... Thats probably where my oil leak is coming from (it didnt overheat when i first drove it)


I say **** it and im selling it for a few reasons....

1. I dont have any cash to do anything on it.....

2. I dont have any tools to fix my problems....(im two hours from home and i have been renting a jack for $10 a day.....)

3. I dont have anyone here to give me a hand with it.....

If anyone wants it.... come get it... i believe the title is clear.....

 

[gatlin04]

here is a pic of the flywheel.... you can barely see it but it is worse than the picture shows....

Here is a pic of the broken dowel rod

Here is the other dowel rod... there is actually more space behind the separator plate

Im about 90% sure that im selling it... i cant deal with this truck anymore, for numerous reasons.....

 

[doorgunner]

Good job of eyeballing the truck to find what's causing the problem & real good job of taking pictures of the problems!
Can't blame you for wanting to get rid of it--i think we all learned something from this one...

 

[thegoat4]

Probably loosened bolts, then the dowel got broken, then with the transmission misaligned, it broke the flex plate. Good call on selling it, there is a very good chance the front of the transmission is fubar.