I have a 69 satellite which I'm converting from auto trans to a manual
Im having trouble getting the trans in, my question is does the throwout bearing need to be installed on the fork and then slide the trans in or can I put the bearing on trans and instill fork once the trans is in?
The other problem is I cant seen to have the clearance to slide the trans straight in
It appears the aluminum shifter mount is preventing me from getting a little more height to slide it straight in. The problem is two the Allen bolts are frozen solid and I even twisted a Allen wrench trying to remove them.
Next would be to heat up the boss's were the threads are but is it needed to remove this in the first place
Its been 30 years since the last time I installed a 4 speed and back then it was a SM465 4 speed in a 3/4 ton.... Added into all this is the dam vertigo is not helping.
Dont get old it sucks LOL
Thanks for any help, much appreciated

I've never had any luck trying to install the fork with the bearing in, others claim to have done it.

Can you lower the engine more to get a straighter shot or is the pan sitting on the steering link?

I’ve never had any problems with installing the bearing on the fork and then sliding it all in. In my younger days on the ground with jack stands and the trans on your chest was even easy with an e body. I have a input shaft and that really helped over one of those plastic splines from the clutch supplier. I’m older now and I hope smarter so the on the floor with tranny on your chest is out. Now I have a lift and a transmission jack. I just installed one in a 69 b body and yes, the aluminum shifter mount is in the way. I had to lower the engine all the way down to the steering link and turn the transmission at an angle to avoid the mount from hitting the crossmember mount. Now, it is critical to have the splines in perfect alignment with the pilot bearing hole. An old input shaft works much better. I hope you checked the I’d of the hole in the rear of the crankshaft to make sure that the input shaft fits in. That was my very first lesson in the mopar world. Good luck. You may need to get a buddy to help.

I haven't done a 4 speed in an older B body in along time but those shifter mount screws I deal with alot.

I use one of these to remove those stuck bolts.

A regular impact driver works when you have a lot of material but socket heads and phillips screw heads will round easily. The hammer impacts drive it in at the same time it turns it which helps prevent them from rounding off the socket-hex/phillips head.

Just a thought.

Just be sure you rotate the body correctly if it isn't the spring loaded type. Otherwise you will try to tighten it instead of loosen it.

Agreed on tilt the engine down at rear if possible.

You can also get some all-thread or cut the heads off of two long bolts and insert into your bellhousing trans bolt holes to help guide the trans in.

Thanks to all. The engine is down as far as possible. The long bolts with the heads cut off sounds like a good idea. I think im going to still get that aluminum shifter mount off as that would let me slide the trans in straight.
Going to give it a try asap

heat is your friend on those mount plate bolts.

After heating up the bosses, take a punch or drift, drop it into the allen key hole and give it a good smack with a hammer. Shock will help break the bond.

Which motor is in your car? If it is a 383 you may need to change the crankshaft from the automatic tranny to a stick shift tranny Did you install a pilot bearing into the crankshaft? if not they need it also
If it is a original automatic tranny 440 you may need to do that also
I'm not sure about the SB motors on this issue

I pulled an A904 automatic out of an unmolested, original engine and transmission, 74 Satellite Sebring 318. The Crankshaft was not only drilled for a pilot bushing it had one installed already.

I have to wonder if there is any rhyme or reason for some of the things ma mopar does.

I had an aluminum mount I needed to remove a while back.

Penetrating lube, allen wrench, impact wrench, no dice.

So I drilled small holes into the center of the allen head on the bolt then sprayed in some more penetrating lube.

I let them sit overnight and they came right out.

Just be careful to not drill into your transmission case.

Flat head allen bolts like those have a tendancy to stick because of the larger surface area under the head getting a good grip. Use heat and shock as mentioned and it that doesn't loosen them up, take a center punch and use it to drive the screw loose by hitting it at an angle out near the periphery of the head. I have removed tons of stainless flat heads this way and it works on carbon steel as well.

Motorcycle style impact wrench might help out to.

I can't imagine trying to do an install under a car anymore. I just put the Doug Nash back together with my engine and it took some work doing on the floor. I had to use the input shaft to double check the fit a couple of times before it would all slide together. That same job would be impossible for me if the engine was in the car.

Wow!! Thats very nice Andy... I had the car far enough up so I have enough room but I can see that my days working on my back under a car might be numbered. Exactly last Sunday while under the car I got a bad case of vertigo
I had to close my eyes everything was spinning. I got up shut the lights and made my way into the house and called it a day.... I get vertigo every so often...
Im happy to report the trans is bolted up...
I had read were its said the input shaft may be long for a car with a crankshaft from a auto trans car....Measuring that wasn't the case and so i tried to instill the trans but it wouldn't go all the way in
What I found was it was the diameter at the end of the machined hole in crankshaft, it was a smaller diameter then the input shaft, The input shaft was already through the pilot bearing that I gotten from Brewers performance.
I measured and cut off about a inch and a quarter of the end of the input shaft, beveled and dressed it up and problem solved
Much thanks to members here with their advise and help--------------------Steve

I know NOTHING about 4-spd installs, but 1.25” sounds like a lot to cut off?
They designed in this much tolerance for assembly?

Not an assembly tolerance but rather a work around for a crankshaft not machined for a pilot bushing. Most use the later style roller bearing that fits in the crank register adn lop off the end of the pilot shaft. Easier than pulling the crank and having a machine shop fix it.

The trans is in bolted up!!! As Mr Sniper pointed out the diameter of the hole in the crankshaft is smaller than the input shaft...It wasn't a case of it not being deep enough
My next step is the clutch pedal assembly ....Brewers has the conversion from single pedal to two pedal and my question is do I need to remove the complete pedal assembly
Ive been told with a three finger clutch I do need to remove it because of the clutch spring.... I just saw a video we're they put washers in-between the coils on the spring making it longer to make it easy to remove.
I was wondering if I did the same thing would it make it easier to install
Or should I just remove the whole assembly?
thanks again for any advise

Leave the spring with a Borg Beck "3 finger" plate remove it with a diaphragm plate is the general rule but I removed mine when I installed a Long style plate.

Gus