The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Missing Something

I am a novice and this is my first project, so please bare with my simpleton questions.I just pulled the engine and transmission out of my 58 Apache. I'm having trouble getting them separated though. My plan is to separate the two in front of the bell housing and leave the bell housing attached to the transmission after removing the flywheel, but I think I've missed something in taking out the flywheel. I removed the bottom cover and the first "cuff" on the bottom front of the flywheel to no avail. What have I missed?


Mike

the trans has to be removed from the bellhousing first, the 6 cyl bellhousing doesn't separate from the engine, the flywheel needs to turn to access all its bolts - a shop manual helps

Bill

Sure the bellhousing separates from the engine.You have to remove the transmission,then the flywheel to access the bell housing bolts to engine.


Tim

sorry, I guess I stated that poorly, I meant the trans and bellhousing don't come off as a unit, as Mike wanted

Bill

I have a 56 235 inline 6 cylinder with a 4 spd tranny. I just went through this myself. If it is like mine in order to get the clutch housing as the manaul calls it (bellhousing for automatics) you will have to remove the clutch and pressure plate, then remove the flywheel. On mine there was 2 bolts coming from the motor into the clutch housing which were easy to get to and 4 bolts behind the fly wheel going into the motor which were not so easy to get to. Mine there was no way to remove the clutch housing without removing the flywheel. Automatics I am not sure however I assume they mount the same or similiar. My motor was frozen so I had to do a heck of a lot of work more but I got errrr done.

Thanks for all the help everybody. The transmission is off and the engine is attached to the stand through the clutch housing (read that could be done in another post). The engine is seized so removing the flywheel is gonna be a blast.


Mike

The bellhousing adds nearly a foot to the length, so be sure the engine stand is long and wide enough to support the engine well without being front-heavy. One of my students nearly lost several toes when a 235 on a stand tipped over and the crankshaft pulley landed on his foot. Be safe!
Jerry

Thanks for the tip. It has a 1000 pound capacity and I was able to move it across the garage with no issues so I think it will be good.........hopefully.


Mike

The weight capacity is one factor, but the big thing to consider is the length of the stand. If the engine hangs out beyond the front wheels of the stand, there's not just a possibility, but a definite probability that it will tip over forward with disastrous results. Stovebolt engines are tall and heavy and they can either roll over unexpectedly, or tip the stand over unless you're VERY careful! Some people add an angle iron brace bolted to the front of the engine block to near the floor that will keep it from tipping the stand more than a couple of inches if it gets overbalanced.
Jerry

Mike,

I am on my first project also. My motor was seized. It was really a challenge but if you need to know what I did I will be the first to tell you everyone here has been great I posted a bunch of questions and if you need to know the steps I did just ask away. Good Luck it can be done even a beginner like me did it

Mike,
As Jerry stated, this can be a hazard. I did the same thing you are doing simply because the stand didn't readily fit the engine bell housing pattern. I used the holes on the tranny side of the bell housing and still was cautious about the center of gravity being farther out and I was also concerned that the cast housing could break (shear stress).
My engine wasn't frozen, I was at the assembly stage. You are probably going to be applying some working/wrenching pressure on your disassembly. The center of gravity is so far out, that thing could kick out from under you before you know it.
Can you add some weight across the legs close to the vertical support post? Maybe lay some boards across and put the engine head or something heavy on them... just a thought. Be safe!
Jerry W.

I had to take a bellhousing off a 41 216 that sat with no hood for over 30 years and was full of water,I used a swivel socket and enough extensions to get to the pressure plate bolts that were hiding up in the bellhousing. You can get to the flywheel bolts through the trans hole so its not too hard to get the bellhousing off a stuck motor.

There's a sneaky trick to get a conventional engine stand to balance and support a stovebolt 6 better. Fabricate a couple of V-shaped pieces from 1/2" X 2" flat bar stock, with about a 30 degree angle between them, and drill these pieces to fit the holes in the back of the block where the flywheel housing would normally bolt on. Bolt the engine stand arms to these adapter pieces, and the positiopn of the pivoting head can be arranged so the engine will have a more cooperative center of gravity when it's rolled over to do the assembly work- - - -installing the crankshadft, pistons, etc. If the length of the stand is sufficient, an additional set of attachment holes in the adapters can be used to bolt the bellhousing-equipped engine back to the stand with the same C.G. considerations. Just make the stand long enough to extend past the end of the crankshaft with the clutch housing attached.
Jerry

Thanks for all of the tips. The stand is braced and more stable now.


Mike