Tricks to getting the tranny in

so i am trying to put my tranny back into my car, and it just doesn’t want to go. does anybody know how to get it back in properly? tried twisting and turning the damn thing… tried tilting the motor… even tried yelling at it. and nothing seems to work. i seem to keep hiting the the floor with the bell houseing of the tranny. and it just doesn’t want to go in. i have the tranny shaft basicly sitting on the fingers of the clutch but it just for some reason wont go any higher. any reccomendations? PLEASE HELP!!!

once the input shaft connects into the crank (i.e. - the pilot bushing) do up the back 2 trany mount bolts so you don’t have the fucker sitting on your chest. From there I’d suggest just kicking at it and turning the crank by handso that the splines match up and just keep kicking the back of it. Once the splines line up, the tranny will be only about 1cm away from the bellhousing. Now it’s just a matter of brute force.

Twisting and turning don’t help all that much and require alot more effort than just turning the crank by hand/wrench. Get the other person to turn the crank left and right while you keep pushing. Id suggest either jacking up the tranny to the proper height where it would almost normally sit so that the input shaft can go in nicely and straight. Either that or do up 2 tranny mount bolts. I think I tried both and the jack is difficult because it keeps moving. 3 people and this thing will slide in within an hour. Good thing I had a big fat black guy helping me with the ‘brute’ part of this haha!

Good luck buddy, hope it all goes smooth.

Oh my lord! Please refrain from working on any vechiles driven on public roads.

ahh shit eh… i have myself and all 150 lbs of hugeness! damn… okay i will see what i can do… i just gotta get it up into the crank then i will be laughing

That’s how I got mine in. I’m not a mechanic. Neither is the guy who helped me. But it got the job done. And the car and tranny run perfectly. What did I do/post wrong?

Lift the engine from the front of the oil pan using a block of wood not to damage the pan, this will tilt the back of the engine downwards. A handy trick I use to get the input shaft into the splines is to take apart a spare drive shaft and insert it into the back of the tranny (with the transmission in gear) twist it instead of kicking it. Works like a dream for me, I get her in first try everytime and I’m a light weight.

Oh I forgot. We did that too. And by kicking, I never meant to literally kick. As mentioned before I say to use brute strength to get it in that last centimeter or so.

did tranny work on my 240 recently and i had the same problems…where the tranny just wouldnt budge in because it needed a slight bit more room and kept hitting the firewall…ended up taking off the nuts from the engine mounts so that way you can drop the engine a few inches and you have more room to work with…after that the tranny popped in fine.

That’s a bit excessive tilting the engine downwards gives you plenty of room to work with.

Did you do clutch work? If so, did you use the alignment tool?

I know it’s obvious, but sometimes its overlooked.

That being said, Nissan trannies are the worst for lining up. They’re pig heavy and too tall. There’s not enough room to get them to line up properly.

Toyotas, on the other hand, seem to go in on the first shot.

I actually prefer setting the tranny on my chest, it gives me a spot to rest it in between failed heaves.

Once you get the input shaft in, I find side-to-side rocking by the tail combined with occasional pushing towards the engine and twisting CW/CCW works best.

There’s no trick that I’ve ever found. Some go right in, some take gentle persuasion, others need SERIOUS convincing.

It’s always best to have an extra set of hands.

Last summer had mine in and out about 7 times (snapped counter shaft)! The last time was the biggest battle, tilting the motor worked well every other time but the last time was just a bear. Took me a couple of 4 hour sessions to get it back in, then after I did I found out the bearings in the tranny were toast. Ughh. back out it came. Keep playing with it and it will go in wigglin it back and forth works well keep the starter mounting point almost all the way down until you get the splines lined up then rotate it around to the proper spot.