HELP! Torque converter bolts on flexplate

My bolts on my flexplate that go into the torque converter came loose a little and wallered out the holes in there.. i have a new one with some bolts that i am going to put on. I took the drive shaft out and disconnected the exhaust from the headers, will i be able to slip the tranny back a little bit far enough to get in there to the crank and replace the plate? Without dropping the trans? The headers are a pain to take out.. and they are TTI they look so nice.. any help? ideas? Thanks.

Get the car jacked up as high as you safely can on all four corners. Support the oilpan of the engine with a block of wood and a small jack. I use a motorcycle jack to remove trannys. There only about $50. You may be able to slide the tranny back and then lower the jack under the oil pan of the engine so it tilts back and give you a little room. Use a good six point socket or wrench to prevent roundind the bolts off. Don't forget about your shift linkage and tranny cooler lines. Use locktite during assembley. Good luck.

It would also help to drain the trans fluid. With the driveshaft off and the trans full of fluid,, you are going to get a leak. Draining the fluid will also make the trans a little lighter and easier to handle. They sell a tool that slides onto the the output shaft to stop leaks. If you have an extra driveshaft yoke, you can use that instead of buying the tool.

Car is up on the lift right now.. so it is really high. Drive shaft out,headers disconnected.. have a trans jack that i plan on using.. was hoping to just slide back about 2-4 inches and see if that gives me enough room.. i REALLY dont want to take the headers off!

All depends on you, the task is do-able. We used to sneak flexplates out of front drive, rear drive and 4 wheel drive chevs at dealer. Sometimes there was even enough room to use torque wrench. You'll want to put a couple of long bolts in place of the standard trans to eng block bolts in there to keep somewhat lined up. It will be tight, you may have to lower crossmember a little.

i plan on removing the trans cross memeber, supporting the engine, trying to Not remove headers like i stated.. i have a fear i am going to have to take off headers, starter, etc and drop trans completely. Keep the suggestions coming.. thanks.

I've done it on my 383 Dart with TTI 1 3/4" headers. I used a lift, trans jack and a strap to hold the trans onthe jack. I swapped out the converter and replaced the flexplate without loosening the headers. Move it back far enough to get the converter off, and you have it made.

Thread 2 long bolts like 4 inches long in to the block.Then if you have enough slack in the cooler lines just slide the trans back on the long bolts and undo the flex plate while the trans is supported on the jack.I do it all the time at work when we replace a flex plate.Its tight but it can be done.Then the trans just slides back up on the long bolts.Rocky