Hi All,
I'm in the process of putting my 74 SB semi auto after having it apart for "several years".
The engine has the TC and flex plate in it held together with a gland nut.
Can I just install the engine with the TC and flexplate to the transmission?
The flexplate has light surface rust from sitting in the garage.
I would appreciate any suggestions on what I should do so I don't destroy some hard to get part.
Tnx
por
Porbest,
Do your self a big favour and get the TC off the engine. Undo the four bolts and then it should be a sort of wiggle job to get it off. The spigot on the TC rides in the inner diameter of the gland nut.
If it comes off OK, then you place it on the transmission snout, slide the TC on (I hope the seal isn't brittle) and use a strap or wire to hold it back.
Wrestle your donk into the Bellhousing and (I can't remember if a '74 has windows or the crappy tiny slot) bolt it up, then re-fit the TC to the flexplate and secure. Then you are left with hooking things up.
I would get the TC off now, otherwise it'll be a REAL struggle trying to re-fit it.
HTH
Volkenstein
Volkenstein,
Do I need to remove the gland nut? Also when I get it apart does the TC go in the trans first then the flex plate? Does anyone have a picture of the sequence. This is my first attempt at the semi auto. I got it apart but can't remember what goes where. I've ordered a TC and rear main seal.
Any other must do items?
tks
por
Hi Porbest,
I actually have mine apart right now and can take some pictures when I get to the shop later this evening.
But, no you should not have to remove the gland nut, the gland nut simply holds the flex plate on to the crankshaft of the engine.
Do you have the torque converter connected to the flex plate right now, off the car? If so, you should see 4 small bolts going through tabs welded around the perimeter of the torque converter that thread into matching holes around the edge of the flex plate. These four bolts are the only thing that actually hold the TC to the flex plate. Below I have attached a picture of my flex plate (it is damaged as indicated so I will have to replace it, but it is attached to the crankshaft with that 36mm gland nut. Gland nut does not hold the torque converter to the flex plate- just the four bolts around the edge.) You can see the 4 angled threaded holes around the perimeter of the flex plate, these are the holes the torque converter bolts thread into.
As volkenstein said, take the torque converter by itself and put it back into the transmission bell housing, aligning the input shaft with the hole in the center of the TC. You MAY have to use a strap to hold it in place, mine somehow managed to stay in there without it, but it is a good idea. Then when you go to put the engine back in, the gland nut holding the flex plate to the crankshaft will slide into the little spigot in the center of the torque converter (you may have to wrestle with it a bit.) Once it does, the threaded TC bolt holes around the edge of the flex plate will line up with the welded tabs around the edge of the TC. There is a window in the edge of the bell housing that you can then look through and turn the crankshaft until you see one of those tab/threaded hole matchups, thread one of the small TC bolts in, then turn the crankshaft until the next one appears, etc. until all 4 TC bolts are in, put them all in loose first and then turn the crankshaft and tighten them up so that you have even distribution across the flex plate. That's it!
I can get more pictures tonight if it will help.
Hi sb001,
The engine and tranmission are both out of the car. When I pulled the engine the torque converter and flex plate stayed with it. I did undo the 4 bolts holding the TC to the flex plate. I guess I will have to remove the glad nut to get the flex plate off to free the converter. How difficult is it to get the gland nut off and retorqued? Any special tools? I'm sure this process is second nature to many members but for me it's my first time and I would like to do it right the first time. I'm still in the fog!
I would appreciate more pictures.
tks,
Por
Ha ha! You have the EXACT same problem that I did- when I first tried to pull the engine a few weeks ago, the torque converter wanted to come out with the engine and flex plate (the flex plate is SUPPOSED to come with the engine but the torque converter is supposed to stay in the bell housing after the 4 bolts securing it to the flex plate have been removed.) The theory was that the TC spigot was rusted onto the flex plate, which is most likely the problem with yours. There was not enough clearance for the TC to come out with the engine, so there were two options: 1. Pull the whole transmission out with the engine, or 2. Put everything back and forget about it. :D I went with solution #2 !
A few days ago I was put in touch with a guy who had a home garage with a lift. I decided to try it again, and voila!! Having the car up on the lift, where we could pull the engine straight back onto a jack stand table, made ALL the difference. The engine (and flex plate) popped straight off, and the TC stayed in the bell housing!
Again, the gland nut is NOT holding the TC to the flex plate. It's most likely that the TC and flex plate are simply stuck together. Since you obviously don't want to go through all the trouble of bolting everything back up and then trying it on a lift, try getting some PB blaster or FreezeOff (I think the FreezeOff is better and works quicker) and spraying it into the crevasse between the flex plate and TC and in the gland nut area. Really soak it. Wait about half an hour then try pulling the TC away from the engine. See if that works.
BTW, as far as getting the gland nut off to replace the flex plate (this is the ONLY reason to try getting that stupid thing off)- there have been a lot of suggestions about how to "lock" the flex plate in place to undo the gland nut, but I think this is the best solution I have seen so far:
http://www.vwgeek.com/?cat=9&paged=2
(Scroll about halfway down.)
This method means that the flex plate is locked in 4 corners, which a) distributes the 280 ft/lbs :P of force to get the gland nut off between the four corners, so only about 70 ft/lbs exerted against each L-bracket and bolt instead of all 280 ft/lbs being exerted at one spot, AND b) keeps the flex plate about as relatively flat and unlikely to warp as can be expected.
Hi,
I'm still missing something. If the gland nut is holding flex plate and the TC is behind it how is the TC going to come out of the engine. Wouldn't it be captive by the flex plate?
Torque converter is not behind the flex plate, it's in front of it (going towards front of the car.)
Basically, the setup from back of car towards front:
engine crankshaft > flex plate > torque converter > bell housing
I tried to draw a rudimentary diagram, hopefully it doesn't cause more confusion than it alleviates :P :
That makes sense!
I need to check and see what's behind my flexplate. I thought it was the TC. If not I will have to search the garage for it.
tks
Por.
Hi sb001,
I found it and located a spare. Your drawing cleared up my confusion.
Thanks again for your help
Por