My sm420 case has bulges that prevent me from using alignment pins. I have used long bolts and removed them after the bottom ones are in place. With every decade that passes this job gets harder. The last time, a year ago last summer it took another guy even older than me pushing with his feet on the u-joint flange while I operated the floor jack. It took about 10 minutes of blue-streak words and huffing till it was in.
I too once worked in a flat-rate shop. Paid half of shop rate and eat your comebacks. First place the trucks I worked on went to was the steam-clean rack. I had to eat that time but it paid off in the end. Time on anything that came from the rust belt was negotiable. I made frequent use of the nut splitter and a rosebud on the torch. Now I don't drive any rig I have to work on in the winter.
