Changing flexplate on Tri-Five while in the car?

[OldCarPilot]

Anyone done this? Have any tips? I need to change mine and I don't want to pull the engine and tranny out AGAIN to do this if I can help it.

[JOECOOL]

I've had a lot of these apart but I don't think there is any way to do it without sliding back the trans a few inches. You need enough room to get the crank bolts out and retorqued.As a rule the convertor will only slide back about 3/4 inches into the trans and I don't think you can work in that little room.

[flt-blk]

What happened?
TZ

[Deyomatic]

I would think this type of thing would require a very LONG and SKINNY wrench to be able to reach up to the center bolts that hold the flexplate on.
You should get under there and loosen the TC bolts and see how far back it will slide and if any of your wrenches will fit. If not, drop the driveshaft, slide one of your floor jacks so it is supporting the front part of the tranny, remove the bolts that hold it on and just slide the tranny back about 6" so that the tailhousing is resting on the crossmember and the front is supported with the jack. You may not even need to remove the tranny cooler lines if you can bend them without kinking them as you slide the tranny back. Just make sure the TC doesn't fall out (tie wire in place?) and make sure you get it back on correctly when you button it all back together.

[OldCarPilot]

This is a pretty good idea that was posted on the tri-five board I'm on.


"A trick we used to use is to drop the back of the trans just a bit by removing the rear crossmember. Block the oil pan on the motor or use a cradle to only allow it to drop just a bit in the rear. If you have distributor problems, remove it first.

Then with a floor jack under the trans pan, remove each bellhousing bolt and replace them with about 3" or 4" long bolts, you'll only need about 4 of them to do the trick. Now unbolt the converter and slide it back into the pump. At this point slide the trans back on the long extended bolts. This should give you enough room to wrench the flexplate out without the need for total removal of the trans."

[shifts]

Mike, Do just what Deyomatic said & its a snap. DAVE

[Deyomatic]

So, anyway, what happened? Is this the starter gear problem?

[OldCarPilot]

I have about a 6 inches worth of teath on the flexplate that have been eaten away to the point that the starter won't grab it. Remember the noise? That was the starter hitting that spot and spinning.

[manyolcars]

I had a similar problem. Be sure the nose of the torque converter seats fully in the crankshaft.

[Anderson]

Ah, so that's what was making me cringe when you started it.

Good luck with the swap...its a pain, I had a cracked flexplate I had to replace once. Just took out the crossmember, unbolted the trans and slid it back.