MT-82 Trans Will Not Enter Engine All the Way! About a 1/2" gap

[misterpeanut]

If the slave cylinder (not TOB) has fluid in it, the transmittion will not slide all the way in. You will need to use bolts to very carefully pull the transmission in. You will not be able to turn the bolts by hand after they start. There should be very little resistance when turning the bolts with a wrench. Fluid will run out of the slave as it is compressed. Do not try to depress the clutch and actuate the slave without the transmission being fully seated or you will damage the slave.

I think you just explained my issue when I did my clutch and for some dumb reason while laying on my back under the car I never thought to disconnect the clutch line at the master cylinder.... duh! So about 1 month ago I installed an ACT Twin Disc (which is super nice by the way, write up still to come) and I could not figure out why I couldn't get it to slide in that last 1/2" or so... actually I could get it to within an 1/8" of the engine block and it'd push back off. Since I could get it to go per se, I knew I didn't have miss-aligment so proceeded with the most sketchy thing ever... I pulled the two untis together with the bolts! I was super careful and went about a half turn to 1 turn max per bolt working my way around the bellhousing of my MT-82, I probably touched each bolt 30 times to do my best to spread the load and not pull the threads or break the block. Sweating bullets is an understatement. It's together and has been running flawlessly for over a month. If ever there is a "next time" I'll get a transmission input shaft and use it as an aligment tool, the plastic aligment tools are ... plastic.

 

[blacksheep-1]

I think you just explained my issue when I did my clutch and for some dumb reason while laying on my back under the car I never thought to disconnect the clutch line at the master cylinder.... duh! So about 1 month ago I installed an ACT Twin Disc (which is super nice by the way, write up still to come) and I could not figure out why I couldn't get it to slide in that last 1/2" or so... actually I could get it to within an 1/8" of the engine block and it'd push back off. Since I could get it to go per se, I knew I didn't have miss-aligment so proceeded with the most sketchy thing ever... I pulled the two untis together with the bolts! I was super careful and went about a half turn to 1 turn max per bolt working my way around the bellhousing of my MT-82, I probably touched each bolt 30 times to do my best to spread the load and not pull the threads or break the block. Sweating bullets is an understatement. It's together and has been running flawlessly for over a month. If ever there is a "next time" I'll get a transmission input shaft and use it as an aligment tool, the plastic aligment tools are ... plastic.

Yep, pulling the trans in with the bolts is IMO the absolute least desirable way to do it since you can really hose things up badly.

 

[2012-Boss]

It is pretty common for the MT-82 and Magnum to resist the last 1/2" or less. And I do have and use steel alignment tools ($$$). I do not like using the bolts myself but it is sometimes unavoidable. I should point out that this is usually with slaves that are being reused or were bled. Just make sure the transmission is square before proceeding with the bolts. Again, if everything is lined up, there will be almost no resistance turning the bolts when you draw the transmission in - we generally us a small wrench and do a turn per bolt in a criss-cross patter around the bell housing.

 

[Massimo]

It is pretty common for the MT-82 and Magnum to resist the last 1/2" or less. And I do have and use steel alignment tools ($$$). I do not like using the bolts myself but it is sometimes unavoidable. I should point out that this is usually with slaves that are being reused or were bled. Just make sure the transmission is square before proceeding with the bolts. Again, if everything is lined up, there will be almost no resistance turning the bolts when you draw the transmission in - we generally us a small wrench and do a turn per bolt in a criss-cross patter around the bell housing.

I’ve been reading through everybody’s replies and I’m becoming more comfortable with pulling in the transmission with the bolts. I pulled it in a bit with the bolts but stopped out of fear. While I pulled it in, the trans bolts had very little resistance on them and a small wrench was not hard to turn these bolts in. I did bench bleed my throwout bearing but it is not connected to the brake fluid reservoir via the clutch line - I have left the clutch line out. So it has fluid in it. I’ll likely try the steel clutch alignment tool but if that also does not work, I’ll assume it’s the throwout bearing containing fluid that is giving me issues and will likely use the bolts to pull the trans in.

Thank you to everybody that has replied here, and keep the tips and tricks coming! I’m still slightly hoping I get that “A-HA!” moment and don’t have to run the transmission in via the bolts lol.

 

[xr7]

One other minor thing, I always slip the new pilot bearing and clutch disks on the input shaft for a test fit. I nothing like struggling under the truck trying to get the transmission in and the cause is a damaged or incorrect part. Ideally a new steel input shaft for installing the clutch, wipe down the tool with some WD40 for a slippery fit and that input shaft needs to easily slip in and out. I stuffed many 700 lb transmissions in trucks doing it on the floor with a trans jack. Setting the clutch up correctly is critical for easy install.

 

[2012-Boss]

Yes, I always make sure the alignment tool slides easily in and out. That often means tightening the pressure plate in stages while checking how easily the tool slides in and out. It is especially important with a twin disk clutch.

 

[Massimo]

Reviving a slightly old thread here with a solution! Thanks to everybody's recommendations, I decided to go ahead and order a steel clutch alignment tool from McLeod Racing (part #: 105111-S). As I loosened up the pressure plate and fiddled with the new steel alignment tool, the tool slipped in more than it ever had before with the plastic tool and right into the pilot bearing. It was my "A-HA!" moment.

I'm assuming I never got the plastic clutch alignment tool to go through into the pilot bearing (even though the new pilot bearing's grease was left on the plastic tool every time I pulled the plastic tool out leaving me to believe it had gone into the pilot bearing) or the plastic alignment tool had defective tolerances since it is not a machined part, hence not allowing the metal input shaft to slip into the pilot bearing when I went to install the trans.

Within two minutes of fiddling with the trans, the input shaft slipped right into the pilot bearing and mated with the engine spot on. We installed the bolts and all is good to go now. Car is running very well. Once again, thanks to everyone that threw in their opinions on here. This is the best Mustang forum out there!

 

[EF1]

Good to hear that you got it to go without resorting to pulling it in with the bolts. It sounds like that could have been catastrophic since the clutch wasn't aligned property.

 

[Massimo]

Good to hear that you got it to go without resorting to pulling it in with the bolts. It sounds like that could have been catastrophic since the clutch wasn't aligned property.

I couldn't agree more. I was stubborn on not taking that route, and I'm glad I was since the input shaft was not inside of the pilot bearing.