Engine: The Eagle has Returned to the NEST

[JohnM15]

http://studem15a-20.blogspot.com/2011/11/late-afternoon.html

[dnevin]

I know that I can't wait until you fire this thing up and drive it around the block for the first time--I can only imagine how excited you're getting about it. Thanks for keeping us posted!

[JohnM15]

I am excited but very tempered with patience. I sent this sucker out back in August... With the holidays and finishing the dash, not to mention all the steering components and the entire front clip... Probably will start it up before installing the clip but there still is a lot to do. Thanks for the support!!!

[jallen]

I can hardly wait for someone to ask why you didn't dial in the bellhousing. Btw, you might want to use a lubricant on the end of the imput shaft,
as you noted, you shouldn't have to force the transmission. And thanks for the pictures, it's been very interesting.

[JohnM15]

jallen,

I may be a smart a$$ but not always smart!!! Frankly, dialing in the bell housing didn't occur to me I think because nothing changed, same transmission, same bell housing, same crankshaft, same engine plate... Wouldn't that be the job that the rebuilder perform since they installed it? I guess if the bell housing is not indexed with alignment pins... But it is, according to the manual replacing the bell housing is a bolt on affair. A NEW bell housing has to be aligned and new dowel holes drilled.

I did lube the clutch splines and the pilot shaft with high temperature Nickel based anti-seize grease.

[jallen]

Hi John, from the pictures it looks like your rebuilder did a very competent job. What I thought was if the transmission doesn't mount with a
reasonable amount of pressure the fit in the pilot bushing is to tight, the friction disk wasn't aligned, or the bellhousing is off. Most rebuilders
wouldn't think about dialing in the bell housing, especially if they don't do a lot of Studes. I'm not sure that the fact it had been together before
would guarantee the alignment would still be correct when it was re-assembled. You'll know if you have trouble shifting, that seems to be the
major problem when the bellhousing isn't set up correctly. Hope it works ok for you and thanks again for the pictures.

[JohnM15]

I plan on pulling the engine/tranny and checking it out. Definitely will get this fixed before starting. I didn't want to remove the bell housing but what needs to be done needs to be done. You are correct on what might be wrong, there are only a handful. When I mounted the tranny, I then removed it to get a look see at the pilot and everything looked OK, the tranny pilot shaft had plenty grease on it. Basically confirmed that the pilot bearing was not to small. I just figured that when I got it in the truck and able to rotate the shafts that the clutch disc would find home and be happy. I suspect that most likely there something wrong with the clutch disc. It may be in backwards or is binding on the splines. The other possibility is that the release levers are adjusted incorrectly and the clutch is not releasing fully...

I'm glad everyone is enjoying the photos. I'm one that likes to be free with information because I appreciate it when others do...

[Tom Bredehoft]

Before tearing into things, verify the presence of dowel pins. Since the bell housing was original to the engine, if the pins are in place, it should be good to go.

[christophe]

Hi John,

Just a little thing that is sometimes forgotten: test that the clutch disk easily slides onto the gearbox shaft. Reconditioned disks are sometimes a little bit sticky. Don't forget to use high temp grease (lightly) on the splines.
You've done a wonderful job anyway.

Nice day to all.