FE Power Forums
FE Power Forums => Member Projects => Topic started by: 65er on October 27, 2012, 10:41:07 AM
-
OK, it's on now, I just placed the order for the last of the parts I'll need to replace my super tired cruise-o-matic tranny with a brand spankin' new TKO 600.
The plan is to get every last piece in hand and check it all to make sure everything fits together properly and that nothing is missing. Since this is my daily driver (and only) car I'll be doing the job over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. That will give me four days to knock it out and get back on the road. Hopefully I'll have it done in 2-3 days but I'm not counting on that.
I got the clutch pedal assembly and linkage parts a couple months ago and at this point about all I have left to round up is a driveshaft, shifter lever, boot and knob. I'll have to work out the details on the driveshaft after the tranny arrives and I'll try to get one done locally. Or if any of you guys know of a good online source for a driveshaft that won't break my already seriously wounded checkbook, I'd like to check them out too.
Here's the kickoff pics.. clutch linkage parts and pedal assemblies all cleaned up, painted, new rubber pads etc.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/Galaxie/TKO/IMG_1764.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/Galaxie/TKO/IMG_1767.jpg)
-
You are going to dig it.....
-
Hey I missed it but which TKO did you get the .64 or .82 5th gear?
-
It's a .64 overdrive.
I'm also working on putting together a second pumpkin to have on hand in case I have some time left to fool with the rear after the tranny is in. I've got a set of 3.82 and a set of 4.30 gears hanging around and I'd like to try out both on the street for a while. With that experience I'll pick a ratio and put together a 31 spline true track unit and upgrade those 28 spline axles. I typically cruise 65 mph on the highway which calculates to 1975 rpm with 3.82 the gear or 2223 with the 4.30. Both sound ok to me but I want to feel it on the highway, around town, parking the car etc as well as seeing how my fuel consumption changes. After I build a stout stroker and put it in place of the current 390 I'll probably want to change to a taller ratio, but then that's kind of the nature of hot rodding ain't it? ;)
-
Gears are fun in the stroker too!
I run 4.11s with a 489 and wouldn't trade it for the world. It'll run triple digits and probably still pull anything my Powerstroke can :)
-
This is great info for any of us who will tackle this job on a Galaxie in the future. I'll be following closely! I think the stock clutch linkage setup is better than trying to rigup a cable or hydraulic activated clutch. How did u locate the bits and pieces for the pedals and clutch linkage?
-
I ended up getting the pedals, Z-bar and most of the linkage from a want ad on the FE Engine forum. Took a few weeks but finally did find a seller who actually wanted to sell. Had one contact me but oddly enough didn't seem too interested in selling. I'll do a bit of machine work and install the sperical bearings in place of the stock plastic pieces. I just don't like the way those plastic parts feel. Probably chinese crap made from the wrong type of plastic. I got the Z-bar to clutch fork pushrod from Mike's Classic Cars. Misc pedal rubber, trim, bumpers, bushing etc from Dennis Carpenter and Ebay mostly.
-
Who needs TV? Not when I've got this kind of entertainment!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/IMG_1829.jpg)
The tranny arrived today and I've been checking it all out and making measurements on it vs the Cruise-o-matic that's in the car. Looks like I may have some problems with the crossmember, mostly due to the parking brake cable system that uses it, and I'll have some work to do the make the clutch linkage function while clearing the headers. Also I'll need to turn the shifter around to use the forward side of the rear mounting position. I might be able to use it as it is but I'll only have about 5" between the shifter and the front of the bench seat. If I flip it around the shifter moves forward about 2-3/4" which would make me a little more comfortable. Not having made any holes in the floor yet, I haven't made the most accurate measurements and could be off by up to an inch or so. Would sure rather end up with a little extra room there instead of being up against the seat.
It looks like at 61-1/2" I was a little long on my first estimate for the driveshaft length. Actually the info I found was pretty darn good, the only real difference I found was that the yoke seal sticks out about 5/8" beyond the end of the tailshaft housing. If Tremec's spec sheet had listed the length including the seal instead of just between the casting faces, I'd have been right there. Armed with actual first hand measurements instead of relying on the internet info, I'm ready to take the tranny yoke up to the local driveshaft place and have them put on a 61" driveshaft. I was surprised but the guy on the phone said they need my yoke because they have to balance the shaft assembled to it, and changing the u-joints changes the balance. Makes good sense but I didn't know they were that critical. Should have the new shaft by the end of the week. It'll be a 3-1/2" mild steel shaft assembled with all 1330 U-joints and of course precision balanced.
Also this week I've installed the flywheel, clutch, pressure plate, bellhousing clutch fork and throwout bearing onto the 352 shortblock I have on a pallet. All fits as intended which is no great surprise, but now I can be sure there won't be any surprises once I get up under the car installing all the goodies. Since the tranny arrived I'll go ahead and stab it in too. I'm leaving nothing to chance here, she's gotta be ready to go to work on Monday. Running a regular frikken reality show deadline for myself, sheeze...
-
Best of luck, I'm planning to do the same to my '65 Comet this winter, biggest advantage I have is time, it's not my daily driver. Which is good because I will have to cut most of the tranny tunnel out and rework.
-
Thanks Falcon428, hopefully I won't have to do any major surgery to get this thing to fit. From all I've read it seems like I should be able to get it to go with some hammer work. Going to find out first hand in about a week! Good luck with your Comet, sounds like a great project.
I got another step done today. Mounted the clutch, bell housing and tranny to my old short block. Found out I didn't have the right pressure plate bolts so I'll have to round those up this week. I used some socket head cap screws for the mockup. With everything together I was also able to see where the Z-bar will need to mount and I marked the center location with a piece of aluminum tape on the bell housing.
Also I received the 3rd member I ordered from John's Industries off of their Ebay ad http://www.ebay.com/itm/150920611673?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 Pretty smoking deal I think since I had a couple junk and trashy units I was messing with. I was looking at nearly $200 for the right yoke, bearings and seals etc, plus having to rip it all apart and clean everything etc. I got one like in the link except with 3.25 gears instead of 2.75's. $250.00 including the shipping and they shipped it the day I ordered. Has all new bearings, new u-bolts and is all clean and primered like the one in the picture. They even stuck a spare crush sleeve in the box, I guess because I told them I was going to change out the gears. Can't hardly beat that and the darn thing looks good! Now I can swap my 3.82 gears in and I won't even hardly have to get dirty doing it. The intent is to install the 3.82 gear along with the tranny swap and drive it a while to see how I like it. Then I'll put the 4.30 gears in my original 3rd member and try that a while. After I experience those ratios for a while and recover from my current spending spree I'll decide what ratio to go with and get a pair of new 31 spline axles, true-track differential and new gears to do the complete rearend upgrade.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/Galaxie/IMG_1848.jpg)
-
I got most of my clutch linkage worked out today. Since the original Galaxie clutch linkage pivots on a ball that screws into the bell housing and I'm using a Quicktime scattershield/bell whatever you want to call it, I had to find a way to mount my Z-bar. Happy CNC time again! After I got the tranny and engine mocked up with the pressure plate and clutch fork I was able to see where the Z-bar needed to mount and then I started designing. I didn't like the plastic ball stuff I had and man I thought the whole setup looked kind of wimpy. Here's my frame side Z-bar mount with the crooked ball.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/Galaxie/IMG_1853.jpg)
I thought it must be made that way on purpose until I peeled off the old washer. NOPE that wimpy thing was coming apart. I put it in a vise to see if I could press it apart and it let loose as soon as I thought about putting some pressure on it. At least that made it easy to work on...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/Galaxie/IMG_1854.jpg)
I opened up the hole in the bracket to 5/8" and made a press fit pivot pin with a big nut on the back. The engine side has about .001" clearance for the spherical bearing shown in the picture from my first post on this thread. I put a socket head cap screw in the end with a washer so the bearing can't fall off but I left plenty of room for the bearing to move around as much as it might need to while the car is in motion. When I install it on the car I'll have a thick rubber washer between the bracket and end of the Z-bar, and I'll pack the bearing to washer area full of grease.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/Galaxie/IMG_1858.jpg)
Then engine side of the mount was a little more involved but probably simpler than it looks. It uses a similar pivot pin held in place with a cap on top of a riser block. The riser is held in place with two of the engine/transmission bolts. There will also be a rubber washer at the engine end of the Zbar and that end will be packed with grease too. Both of the spherical bearings rotate freely on the pins and the spherical feature is only to allow for misalignment or flex while driving. Here you can see everything plugged together and allowed to hang. I have probably 15 degrees of droop at each joint in this picture but I expect everything to line up fairly straight when installed in the car.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/Galaxie/IMG_1860.jpg)
Here you can see the ends that go inside the Z-bar. It's kind hard to see because everything is black that's the frame mount laying on top of the clutch fork. We had a whole box full of screws at the shop that we used one time for masking off the thread holes of some parts we had to primer so I've got an excellent and free supply of screws with green primer on the heads, lol.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/Galaxie/IMG_1861.jpg)
Feels like everything wants to rotate nice an free and is plenty strong. Should last a good long time.
Also I read an interesting thing in the instructions that came with my transmission. They said to toss the original linkage helper spring if you're using a diaphragm pressure plate, which I am. I don't have much experience with clutches but is there that much of a pressure difference between a diaphragm style and a Long style? Or do they have different travel requirements or why would it matter? Seems like what would be good for one would be good for both...
-
Nice work on that bellhousing bracket! That's going to be a solid setup ...
-
^^^ Hell ya that's a solid bracket. Surprising there is enough clearance for that big hunk of aluminum. Nice work!
-
Also I read an interesting thing in the instructions that came with my transmission. They said to toss the original linkage helper spring if you're using a diaphragm pressure plate, which I am. I don't have much experience with clutches but is there that much of a pressure difference between a diaphragm style and a Long style? Or do they have different travel requirements or why would it matter? Seems like what would be good for one would be good for both...
Not sure what you mean by tossing the original linkage helper spring? Do they mean the assist spring under the dash or the return spring from the fork to the front cross member? I run both and recommend both on my TKO600. The assist spring has barely any tension on mine since the diaphram clutch is so easy to push.
On my McLeod organic clutch with diaphram disc they recommend a .050" air gap when the clutch is fully pushed in. I'll tell you from experience that less than that the trans will act very "ratchety" between gears, mine seems to like around .050-.060". You obviously can't mock that up very well out of the car. You can however take the time now to mark and cut an access window in the bellhousing that is big enough to easily get feeler gauges in for checking the air gap. If not, you've got to go in through the starter hole, which is doable, but kinda hard to do...and you have to pull the starter.. I did two on mine, the first was a fark up at 10'o clock that I can't hardly get to because of the brake master cylinder in the way. The second was a good one at 6 o'clock on the very bottom and works awesome. If you have a remote starter cable you can easily rotate the motor over until you get to the just right spot to put the feelers in. Then mark the balancer for future reference. :-)
-
the assist spring works to push down and pull up depending upon position of pedal , diaghram clutches are much lighter and the assist spring can possible cause the clutch pedal too stick down and not re-engage as easily as it would with it out .... diaghram clutches also have a lever ratio of 10 to 1 , and Borg and Beck has 6 to 1 ratio while the Long style has 4.8 to 1 lever ratio wich is why a diaghram clutch feels so much easier to push than a Long style clutch
-
I've got manual brakes and would prefer to not have a super light feeling clutch pedal so I'll leave the spring out. You can see that spring (C6AZ-7535-A) in the pics Wreckless Warren posted here (not my car)... http://www.network54.com/Forum/74182/thread/1272150516/1272250266/Bellhousing+question+for+a+67+galaxie.+auto+to+stick+swap.
Very good to know about that gap, thanks for the heads up on that. I really don't want to cut my bell housing though. The starter will be out anyway so I'll just work through there.
-
Thats an interesting assist spring...non-adjustable? Odd. The 60-62 units have a monster assist spring that sits up under the dash that you can tighten up an eyelet and adjust the amount of assist you want. The diaphram clutch isn't going to be super mushy like a modern car hydraulic clutch, you'll still feel it but it wont be like driving an old dump truck.
WRT not wanting to cut your bellhousing, totally understandable. It is a chore on my car to remove the starter each time you have to adjust the clutch, otherwise I would still do it that way. Adding an access hole just removed that part of the chore. I put two 1/2" holes slightly overlapping and then filed the remaining material out to make a nice rounded slot.
-
More progress! Tonight I swapped the 4.30 gears onto the 3rd member I bought last week. First time doing that for me. Man, that's quite a job, like to wore me out! I think I got it OK though. I figure it will probably howl a bit being used gears and set up by a first timer but hopefully it will at least last a month or two so I can see how the car feels with 4.30's. I should have bought some marking grease but kept forgetting so I used some red spray dykem we had hanging around the shop. The backlash is set at .007
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/Galaxie/IMG_1864.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/Galaxie/IMG_1862.jpg)
-
65er,
Thanks again for the excellent posts. Good education on clutch linkages and how to get 'em hooked up. Hope u keep that cnc program for the bell housing z-bar bracket :). Like some of the other posts, my old '67 Mustang GT 390 had a big assist spring under the dash... The way i found that out was, i disconnected it and got an immediate surprise when the clutch pedal effort increased big time! Of course that was with the stock clutch. Didn't know your assist spring config existed. Will be interested to know if the 4:30 rear end gears howl but looks like you got a good pattern.
-
Thanks Bruce, and happy thanksgiving man!
Of course those CNC programs (Mastercam file really, same difference) don't take up a lotta space and I never delete them. My bell housing bracket wasn't a perfect fit so I ended up doing some grinding on it and I'll modify my CAD file for a proper fit in case I make more of those brackets.
Yesterday we worked 6:00-2:00 at the shop so everybody could get out and start their holiday a bit early. Of course I took advantage of that deal and pulled the car in to the shop early. Not everybody was able to wrap up their stuff right at two so I ended up not really tearing into things until around 3:00. By 11:00 I was pretty wiped out but got a good start. No pictures for now but I got the old tranny and linkage out, that was quite the milestone for the first day on the project I think, especially being on Wednesday. I also got the new pedals in including the gas pedal with the stainless trim and the parking brake cover also with the stainless trim. The trim is crazy expensive for the clutch and brake pedal so I kept the fairly worn stuff that was on those pedals but I did replace the rubber on them so the pedal group is looking like a nice fresh matching set. I also got the frame side of e Z-bar mount installed and the first piece of linkage attached to the clutch pedal.
Oh yeah! I also was able to pull the clutch fork back and check my clutch disk clearance and I made a little rigging standard to show where the fork throw needs to start and end. After getting the fork travel worked out, measured and recorded, I tore down the mockup and brought all the pieces over to the car work area. I pulled the stock shifter and installed the Steeda Tri-ax shifter rotated 180 degrees to use the forward position. Also had to turn the shifter handle, retaining ring and springs back around so essentially it's just the shifter base or mounting flange that's rotated. I was able to run the shifter through all the gears per the installation instructions and I got the shifter stops set with the proper clearance. The only thing left to pull apart is the flex plate (which isn't dirty!) and I can start putting the new stuff in. Stuff in... stuffing! Ok I'm still a bit punchy from last night, lol Also feeling kind of beat up since I have a couple bruises from reaching down past the master cylinder and brake lines to remove the auto trans linkage. I'm fairly scraped up too, most of which was self-inflicted from scrubbing the grime off. Didn't want to go over to my buddies place all nasty looking so I got after the cleaning job with the red scotchbrite pad and stiff nail brush to remove a fair amount of skin. My elbows especially feel hot from the abrasions but hey, they're nice and clean ;)
-
Watch closely for flywheel bolt clearance, it is VERY common for aftermarket flywheel bolts to hit the block. You can grind them down or I believe the aftermarket flex plate bolts work.
Its easy to see, but you have to look up there.
-
I knew I shouldn't have gone over to my friends hose for turkey day, I knew it! Between an hour of scrubbing the dirt off myself on Wednesday so I didn't look like a pig while I was out, the turkey and naps and general hanging around I never got around to touching the car on Thursday.
So today I got around to checking the flywheel bolts and they stuck through the crank flange by about .050 so I ground them back about .050 to sit nice and flush.
Also did a bunch of other stuff and I'd say this turned out more of a custom fab type job than a drop in despite my best efforts to sort everything out before tearing it apart.
I did put in a good 16 hours today though and have succeeded in installing the rare dual-shift option...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/Galaxie/IMG_1923.jpg)
The shifter on the floor actually works ;)
Tomorrow I get to sort out and fab my tranny crossmember, clutch linkage and parking brake cable. That clutch linkage is a mess. The Z-bar is nice and solid and rotates freely but there's no way I'll be able to use the normal pushrod to the clutch fork. The bottom leg of the Z is nearly at the same position as the clutch fork but about an inch higher and half inch farther from the car center line. I'm going to have to make either a Y-rod or bellcrank setup that will also attach to the new crossmember. The parking brake (e-brake?) cable also ran through the tranny crossmember and had some bracketry that I'll have to duplicate since the old crossmember doesn't have a chance of working with the new tranny. Gonna be another long day...
-
How is your project coming along? If I were closer I would come by and help. Doing nothing but cleaning house today. I would much rather work on an old car than clean house.
Hope everything is going well!
-
I fabbed and installed a crossmember from some steel L-angle and flat stock for the tranny, turned out to be no big deal. Only took maybe an hour and a half. Then I installed the starter and got to work on the clutch linkage. That linkage WORE ME OUT. The nice engine side pivot bracket for the Z-bar had the bar a little too low and a little to far forward so I cut it and bolted it together with a spacer. No so pretty now but the Z-bar is in the right place and it's still plenty solid...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/Galaxie/IMG_1904.jpg)
Unfortunately this made my Z-bar too far out of line to work with the standard pushrod to the clutch fork. If I had put it in there it would have been at about a 45 degree angle pushing the fork down and toward the car center line instead of pushing it straight back. After checking the throws carefully against my rigging tool, I decided the throws were all right on the money and I built a Y-link to tie the Z-bar and fork together. The Y setup has a rod that pulls on the fork and slides back and forth through the tranny crossmember, and another rod tied to it that the Z-bar pushes on. The fork side link has a big C-clamp like feature the holds a threaded bullet for clutch fork depression and the main rod screws all the way through to rest very close to the back side of the fork. Because of the back side rod, the bullet can't fall out of the fork and I can also use a spring anywhere on the Y-rod to maintain throwout bearing to pressure place clearance when not pushing the clutch pedal. Sounds simple, right? Too bad it too me most of the whole day to invent and build that one! Lots or trips under the car, back out, back under etc. It came out nice though and the clutch pedal feels great.
I don't know if you can see how this is all set up but here are some pics of the Y-link setup.
Need a couple jam nuts on here. You can see the end of the clutch fork sticking through the C-clamp and the piece at the bottom of the picture. Also you can't really see it because of the light but the threaded rod is up against the back of the fork here.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/Galaxie/IMG_1944.jpg)
Bar slides through the crossmember. Not very elegant but it seems to work smooth and quiet. This is really just an alignment feature, there's no real vertical or sideways pressure on the rod. The nut between the two rods here is also a jam nut. The screw that ties the rods together threads through the longer rod. Looks kind of funny but it's solid. Remember there's only a couple hundred pounds of pressure on that screw and the rods just move a tiny bit against each other. Almost nothing.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/Galaxie/IMG_1941.jpg)
Also I did manage to put the new driveshaft in place but the old yoke takes a smaller U-joint than the one on the driveshaft. The new chunk has the right yoke and since the driveshaft was balanced with the large u-joint installed I don't want to take it out. The new rear chunk has to go in today. Also I hope to replace the speedo cable with the new cable and adapter, hook up the exhaust and work out the details of the E-brake cable system. It won't be complete, but I should at least be able to take a test-drive today.
-
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/Galaxie/IMG_1904.jpg)
It won't be complete, but I should at least be able to take a test-drive today.
Is this on the road yet ;)
The more I watch you fab the clutch linkage the more I'm glad Bruce at Modern driveline has engineered a nice hydro linkage for may Fords including a 69 Torino.
-
Can't wait to hear the results of the test drive!
-
I have to say that clutch linkage looks a little scary to me. I think a lot of your problems would be solved if you get the correct throwout fork(as I mentioned on the FE Forum). To each his own though.
-
I have to say that clutch linkage looks a little scary to me. I think a lot of your problems would be solved if you get the correct throwout fork(as I mentioned on the FE Forum). To each his own though.
I must have missed that Alan, or couldn't see the difference at the time. Is there another fork to be used with the Quicktime Bellhousing?
I have the wheels on the floor, so I can back it out and clean the place up. Need to finish up the E-brake cables and then I can take it for a test drive. Wow am I beat...
-
The more I watch you fab the clutch linkage the more I'm glad Bruce at Modern driveline has engineered a nice hydro linkage for may Fords including a 69 Torino.
If I had to do it over I would go hydraulic. Depending on what that other fork is that Alan mentioned. Now I'm wishing I had looked into that.
-
Here is the correct clutch fork for a 65-67 Galaxie. As far as I know no one reproduces it. It gives you a lot more distance from the z-bar. It worked fine on my FE Lakewood bellhousing and it is now working fine on my Quicktime 460 bellhousing with a TKO 600 behind it.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/65-FORD-GALAXIE-CLUTCH-RELEASE-FORK-1965-352-390-FoMoCo-LTD-XL-FE-/321004074985?hash=item4abd5577e9&item=321004074985&pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr
-
Well it seems to work! At least I was able to back the car out of the shop and park it in the parking lot. The clutch feels nice and smooth and I think it's going to be ok. I can't argue about it looking a bit scary though, it's definitely not some of my best work. Between the Z-bar not falling into place throwing the whole geometry plan out the window and skipping Thursday for some turkey day with friends I really got in a bit over my head. I'll start working on some replacement upgrade parts as soon as I recover form this manic weekend. Well maybe not manic. I knew it was going to be a rough one, it just turned out a couple notches rougher than I hoped.
At least the whole pumpkin swap went well for a first-timer. The old one came out easy enough, I just cut the copper washers off with a chisel and cracked the pumpkin loose with the floor jack. I set my big oil drain bottle/pan underneath and just rolled her right out. Didn't even tumble off the drain pan which was nice. I didn't run into any surprises installing the new one, just a lotta grunt picking it up off the floor while laying on my side under the car, lol. Fortunately my rear sway bar was in the perfect helper spot. I was able to rest the chunk on the sway bar while improving my grip to set it up on the studs. One more good OOF and she was in place.
I do still have that E-brake cable setup to work out and I hope to get that part a bit less scary looking and not needing replacement upgrade parts later on.
I wasn't able to get the new tranny all the way up in the tunnel ( I hammered it until it started tearing) so my engine angle is now 1-1/2 degrees lower than it was. In order to improve that I'll have to either make shorter motor mounts or cut the top off the tranny tunnel so I can raise the tranny and then will have to make a replacement panel or service panel. Is that 1-1/2 degrees worth worrying about, and do I need to change my pinion angle to compensate for the new position? I'll need to get a protractor and measure it all out, but currently the whole engine, shaft and pinon angles look pretty darn close. There's probably not more than 5 degrees of deflection at either U-joint.
-
It may or may not make a difference, really depends how the angles were before you started. Lots of guys hang the back end low, I always try to get them back to where Ford put them.
However, be sure to take a look at the bottom of your fan and make sure it isn't close to anything. Dropping the rear will close the bottom gap. I'd hate to see you spin it up the first time and something decide to kiss something else
-
I guess if it was me I'd cut the floor to get the engine/trans angle back to where it was. I had to do that when I put the GVOD in my Galaxie; sounded like kind of a pain but it was really no big deal, and the driveshaft angles came back to where I wanted them after I did that...
-
Miller makes an inclinometer tool that magnetically attaches to the u-joint caps (after you pull the retaining clip out) and makes it pretty simple to figure all of the angles to know exactly where you are at the trans and at the diff. I did this on my Galaxie with my TKO swap and was very happy knowing where everything was. In the end I got both of mine within 1/2 a degree of each other and neither working angle was above 3 degrees, which is pretty close to ideal. This is a link I used when setting mine up:
http://www.vibratesoftware.com/html_help/2011/Diagnosis/Propshaft/Propshaft_Angles.htm
You can actually get away with a UP-UP-DOWN angles (which if your trans is hanging down, may be the best way to get the angles set with the least amount of floor surgery).
-
JMO but it's always better to cut the tunnel, where required, to achieve (if needed, as noted above) a near ideal driveshaft angle. Good idea as well, as also noted above, to check the fan blade's proximity before doing any serious driving.
-
The fan is about 1/4" away from the shroud at the top and right at the back edge. That's going to be ok for now.
The one thing my girlfriend asks me about from time to time on the car is the carpeting. It's pretty worn out and due for replacement. Looks like it's time to haul that old carpeting out of there and cut the top off the tranny tunnel ;)
On the very good news side of things, my son who lives with me just started work today at the place three doors down from where I work so we're sharing rides to work. I have a little pickup truck to get around while the car is out of commission. I'm going to take advantage of that deal and take a little break and let the car sit tonight.
-
Well there's something you don't see every day...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/Galaxie/WP_000134.jpg)
I was so wiped from Thanksgiving weekend that I hardly touched the car all week. Getting her back on track this weekend and I got a good look at the transmission from inside the car. The air chisel was awesome. It cut it fast and neat, with no sparks or dust flying around the car.
-
Wow.. that sucker really is up in that tranny tunnel! :o
-
Well there's something you don't see every day...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Wademeister/Galaxie/WP_000134.jpg)
I was so wiped from Thanksgiving weekend that I hardly touched the car all week. Getting her back on track this weekend and I got a good look at the transmission from inside the car. The air chisel was awesome. It cut it fast and neat, with no sparks or dust flying around the car.
I feel your pain....
(http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll306/superjinca/floor2.jpg)
-
65er,
Is that close to where the trans needs to be for the U-joint angles?
-
Wow if your taking that much out of a Galaxies tunnel, I'm gonna be taking a bunch out of my Comets. Now if I could just get work to slow down enough to get started ...lol. I don't have a time constraint as bad as you but I do have to have it done before 4-27 so I can take it too the FE Reunion. After the holidays I will start to the big get parts ordered. I have pedal assembly, Z bar and few other parts gathered up right now. Need to see how that stuff is going to fit with headers and other obstacles. Incase I need to convert to a hydraulic throwout.
Glad you have another ride to work now, it's tuff with those time constraints. I know how you felt, think most anyone in this hobby has been down that road. I did a 68 hour thrash in 4 days getting my Starliner ready for Good Guys one year.
-
Hmmm. I wonder if the floors are a little different between 65s and 66s. I was able to get by with some well placed dents in the floor towards the front . I was afraid I was going to have to do just what you are doing, though. Keep up the good work! Once it's it's done it will have been worth it. :)
-
65er,
I've followed your progress and it is very similar to what I went through. I've got an article in the January 2008 newletter on the 57fordsforever.com website about my TKO swap. One thing I will tell you is after you get through this ordeal you'd do it over again for the benifits it's going to give you. Good Luck. Jim PS
I had to lower my z-bar bracket on the FE engine. I just slotted the existing holes in the bracket to lower it. I also had to add about two inches to the z-bar where the clutch rod attaches and I had to buy a late model clutch fork to extend the distance out from the transmission. I also made a new crossmember. But, it was worth it. I DIDN'T cut my 57 tunnel. I looked up the geometry specs for u-joint alignment and wear and measured the angle of my driveshaft and found out that I was within limits. After 34K miles there isn't any wear on the u-joints. ( it's tight in the tunnel and the fan blade is 1/4" closer at the bottom of the radiator but you'd never notice it unless you got out a tape measure)
-
One thing I will tell you is after you get through this ordeal you'd do it over again for the benifits it's going to give you. Good Luck. Jim PS
That's the truth, although I have to say the EFI was a hell of an upgrade on mine, the TKO made me equally happy. More 1st gear and taller top gear, it made the car happy everywhere
-
Wow if your taking that much out of a Galaxies tunnel, I'm gonna be taking a bunch out of my Comets. Now if I could just get work to slow down enough to get started ...lol. I don't have a time constraint as bad as you but I do have to have it done before 4-27 so I can take it too the FE Reunion. After the holidays I will start to the big get parts ordered. I have pedal assembly, Z bar and few other parts gathered up right now. Need to see how that stuff is going to fit with headers and other obstacles. Incase I need to convert to a hydraulic throwout.
Glad you have another ride to work now, it's tuff with those time constraints. I know how you felt, think most anyone in this hobby has been down that road. I did a 68 hour thrash in 4 days getting my Starliner ready for Good Guys one year.
Take the easy route
http://www.moderndriveline.com/catalog/hydraulics.htm
-
Wade have you had it around the block yet with the new gear and tranny?
I can only imagine it downright jumps now
-
This weekend, in spite of still being horribly tired, I managed to upgrade the tranny crossmember and mount up my parking/E-brake. I ended up cutting the bracket off the original crossmember and bolting it onto the new one. I also fabbed a mounting bracket for the cable coming from the pedal that mimics the original geometry so I got to reuse a lot of the old parts and their proven geometry. Then I made a nice rubber tranny mount from some 1/2" thick silicone rubber sheet we had laying around the shop. Literally laying around... we have about a 3' X 4' sheet on the floor behind the shear so the cut pieces don't clang on the floor when they fall. With the rubber mount and another 1/4" spacer I got my tranny angle back to within about 1/8" of where it was originally or about 7/8" higher than in the pic I posted with the top cut out of the tunnel. Then I re-reversed my Steeda shifter so it's back in the rearmost position and I fabbed a fairly decent tranny tunnel cover out of some .063" thick 5052 (soft) aluminum sheet. Got the carpet and floor mat back in place too.
Unfortunately the car is spending another night at the shop, darnit. I did drive it around the block a couple times but there are a couple things i need to check out before I drive it home. That tranny sure seems to make a lot of racket, I hope it's just me not being used to hearing one or maybe it will get quieter as it breaks in. I DID fill the tranny with Pennzoil Synchromesh oil per the instructions but I'll check it again tomorrow. Maybe changing the angle had some effect.
Also my ALT warning light comes on when I turn on the headlights. I bet I knocked something out of place when I was swapping out the speedo cable, there's a bunch of stuff right there. I hooked up a multimeter and watched the voltage at the ignition switch while I turned the headlights on and off with the engine idling. Looks like it wants to be around 13-14V with the lights on and 14-15 with them off (130A 3G alternator). Seems like it should be ok but I don't want to drive it much until I sort out that warning light. Any tips on finding that problem would be most welcome...
The speedometer works, the reverse lights work and the neutral safety switch works so I'm happy about all that. The old auto linkage was pretty worn so I was having to fiddle around with the shift lever to start the car and again if I wanted the reverse lights to come on. I've got parts on the way to convert my steering column to floor shift style so the leftover automatic shift lever will be out of there soon. Probably about when I get used to not grabbing that useless shift lever is when I'll convert the column, lol.
The tranny and the clutch both need to break in a good couple hundred miles before the "jumping" may commence ;)
-
65er,
Did u use any sound deadener on that alum cover piece you fabbed for the trans tunnel? I would guess if that piece was sealed to the original tunnel, and had some Dynamat laid on top that the trans would be quieter... jMO!
-
65er,
Did you dial-in your bell housing. Lakewood wanted no more than .005" total. Mine, without any offset pins ended up .003" total. Don't know what one sounds like misaligned but I know mine didn't make any noise when I got through installing it. Are you sure it's not coming from the rear end or someplace like that. My traction bars squeak like hell and you'd swear it's the front end. I'm an expert on squeaks, squeals, bumps and bangs and it had me fooled. I have to take my traction bars off and oil the bushing to get the squeak to go away. Jim
-
I think I have whatever the original setup was on top of my trans tunnel now. The carpet has a real thick mat on the back and there was some tarpaper kind of stuff on the sides of the tunnel but I don't remember if there was one on top. I looked and looked but couldn't find an extra piece anywhere so I guess it didn't have one. I don't think the sound deadener will fix much because you can feel it through the floor. Only under certain conditions though, mostly during light acceleration at low engine rpm. I think if I keep the RPM up it doesn't happen. At least so far as I've noticed. I think I've put about one mile on it so far, lol.
I did dial in the bell housing, but the instructions were kind of fuzzy being that they said something about half the indicator reading. According to that sheet, it allows up to .005" misalignment or .010 TIR. I had .007" TIR and after fooling with the thing for a while I had .007 TIR in four different directions so I guess it wants to be .0035" off center no matter what.
I certainly wouldn't rule out the rear end either. Being that it's a 4.30 gear and I've never set up a ring and pinion before it seems probable that the rear end is the source of the noise. Sounds like it's coming from the tranny but like Jim says sounds can be tricky like that. I've only had the car up to about 45 so far so I don't know how it sounds or feels yet at highway speed. Tomorrow I'll check the oil level in the tranny then take her out on the highway!
-
How did you make the rubber mount?
maby its transfering the sound since you
feel it in the floor
-
65er,
You're right. I went back and re-read my write up of the swap and it was .010 TIR, not .005 TIR. That swap was a while back, so my memory isn't what it used to be. I'll bet that noise is the rear gear.
When you measured to have the drive shaft made, did you have it sitting on it's wheels. Jim
-
I think it's fine. This morning I took it around the block again with a friend and fellow car nut in the passenger seat and I babied it a little less than I did yesterday. As long as I don't let it coast in gear it's just fine. :)
-
How did you make the rubber mount?
maby its transfering the sound since you
feel it in the floor
The mount consists of a 1/4" steel spacer at the tranny, then a 1/2" thick piece of rubber sheet, then the crossmember, another 1/2" piece of rubber, and another 1/4" steel piece to cap it off and keep tension on the rubber. I also left the bolt holes undersized through the rubber and bored the crossmember mount holes out to 3/4" so when it'is tightened down the rubber gets squeezed into the crossmember holes preventing excessive lateral movement. It all seems to be working as intended, I can see the shifter body shaking a bit (like a shaker hood scoop kinda) since i don't have a boot for it yet.
I'm thinking my main issue now is getting used to it and adjusting my habits =)
-
ok
-
If your feeling the vibration on the floor, then I would suspect that the trans is rubbing somewhere.
It does not take much rubbing to make it feel really big.
Also you do not want too stiff of a trans mount in a daily driver. It will really put the vibrations into the car. btdt.
-
I think the mechanicals are all ok, I just need to get used to driving a stick. I've had all automatics for the last 28 years or so, hahah. I'm getting better with it and finally drove it home from the shop yesterday. Now it pretty much just needs a longer shift lever with a ball on top and a shifter boot to call the tranny job complete. I'm working on those pieces, should have them built and installed soon.