Finally took flexplate off, luckly didn't have to even undo trans lines. Ground the heads off 2 4-1/2"bolts and put in the bottom bell housing holes, pryed and FP dropped right out. No cracks... bad run out like Larry described. Off by almost 3/16" No wonder it sounded like it was going to fly apart. Thanks One and All, Mart
3/16" difference from lowest FP hole to highest...no wonder starter scraped half the time...Thanks All
Hey Martin... dont cut yerself short just yet... Altho a flex plate is stamped outa a piece of flat stock, the ring gear is welded on. That alone can cause that much distortion, BUT, what I dont get is that the center of the torque converter seats IN the crankshaft flange and the TC then bolts up to the FP. All that stuff should self align probably within .005" or so. So did the previous installer not seat everything before the big bolt up? Am I missing something here? If the TC was modified and welded back incorrectly, that can cause this too. The thrust face in the center of the TC and 3 bolt holes should all be on a flat plane plus or minus a tad. If you have access to a lathe have the guy do a runout check on the FP and try to correct any gross distortion before installing it. ws
All orginal Bill, 47k SF out of a 70 Estate Wagon. FP bolts were nice and tight. TH350 was doing fine when I pulled the 350 engine. Trans rebuilt in Jan 1992 at 92k, now 304k. New ATP hopefully will solve the problem. Thanks, Mart
Bill, since I luckly didn't have to drop the driveshaft or rear trans mount to get the New ATP on, there is just enough space to thread bolts by hand and tighten with 3/4" box end. But I can't see up in there enough to line the FP holes up. I put 3 in, then out..not in correct Eng Flange holes. Is there a trick to it, I've never had to replace one before. Is there an alignment hole? Thanks, Mart
Be careful and take your time, like Larry said it only goes on one way and you don't want to strip a THE offset thread.
