Tremec 5 speed swap into a '70 Charger

[Kern Dog]

The stock reverse lights and neutral safety switch wiring use 3 wires. Black, Black with White stripe and Brown with Yellow stripe. The Brown one was the middle wire and was cut off since it was for the neutral safety switch that I won't be using. The two outer wires are reverse lights. I soldered and shrink wrapped them to the Tremec Purple and Black wires, then tucked it up into the clip on the floor normally used to retain the speedometer cable.

[Kern Dog]

I connected the hydraulic hard line and tucked it up close to the floor.

[Kern Dog]

I had a hard time today.
The transmission would NOT seat. No matter what I did, I was left with a 1/2" gap between the bell and the transmission. I had the trans in and out 3 times looking for the cause. I thought maybe the clutch moved from it's position but I checked that with the clutch alignment tool and it was fine. I lightly greased the input shaft splines and the pilot shaft at the end, still no luck. I was pissed...yelling and ready to beat something with a hammer.
I came inside for awhile and cooled down. A guy at FBBO mentioned that his Silver Sport kit came with an undersized pilot bearing!
I pulled the trans back out a 4th time...

[Kern Dog]

The clutch alignment tool had a size of .62 and the trans input shaft was approx .685. This looked like the smoking gun but I needed to measure the actual bearing to know for sure. This meant removing the starter, bell, hydraulic line and throwout bearing, clutch and flywheel.

[Kern Dog]

The bell fits the trans fine and the clutch fits the input shaft....

[Kern Dog]

The pilot bearing has a rubber seal at the edge that measured .61, smaller than both the input shaft and the alignment tool. With the calipers in a bit deeper, the measurement was hard to get exactly since this is a roller bearing type. Every number that I took was larger than the .685 of the input shaft so it wasn't the size of the bearing that was the problem. So far, all the components fit fine when separate.
I am humble enough to admit when I screw up. I saw that I didn't drive the pilot bearing in flush and even. It sat in the recess crooked. I went ahead and drove it in further and evenly, then decided to test fit the trans again but without the flywheel or clutch in place. I mounted the bell, then lifted the trans into position rather easily.

[Kern Dog]

I was running out of time so I ended the day by cleaning the old Locktite from the bolts and put the flywheel and clutch back on. With any luck, I'll be able to get the transmission in tomorrow.

[Kern Dog]

"While you're in there's" can really enlarge a project. Which is why when I start a task, I aim to have the car back together in a weekend, at all costs. I know me, if it got out of hand, it would get waaaay out of hand....

I knew that other guys would understand.   

[funknut]

Looks like you're doing a very nice and thorough job.  Thanks for taking the time to document the odyssey!

[Kern Dog]

You are welcome. It has NOT been fun the whole time.
My hands are sore from man-handling this friggin thing and I don't have office-guy hands.
Another 2 hours spent trying to get it to seat. At best, I get 3/8" from being seated. Having the car lift and the trans jack is great but sometimes being on the concrete with the leverage of the floor along with 2 hands and 2 legs to push....I don't know which is better.
How the hell is this supposed to fit?
The trans fit in there with no clutch.
The clutch fit the input shaft.
I am wiggling the rear of the trans, clocking it, shaking it and cannot get anywhere. I tried loosening the pressure plate bolts but that resulted in the pressure plate fingers extending and taking up all the slack in the throwout bearing. This meant that to seat the trans, I was now having to work against the pressure plate.
This has been the biggest pain in the dick of this whole project. If you're considering this swap, be warned. This part sucks ass.
I called a buddy that did this installation in a '71 Challenger 6 or 7 years ago. He is going to come by and lend a hand.

[HANDM]

Have you considered just yanking the engine, mating it and the trans up and then just banana the thing in there?

I fought the living shit out of the 833 on my former Cuda before giving up and yanking the engine. It literally fell together and I was kicking myself for not doing it sooner.

[Kern Dog]

Banana....That is funny. 

I could have done that. It might have been easier too but it would have taken more time. Radiator and hood removal, fuel system, wiring, headers....
Paul and his son Mike came over and saved the day. Paul said that he also had trouble getting the transmission to seat. He thought it was an issue of the input shaft bearing collar being tight and not the pilot bearing. I thought about that and remembered how even with the trans on the jack by itself, the bell had to be tapped onto the trans with a rubber mallet. I didn't measure them but I suspect that the bellhousing is either exactly the same size as the bearing retainer or slightly smaller to have an interference fit. Christ, what a pain in the ass!
Paul suggested that I spritz the bearing collar with some white lithium grease. I did so, then  he wiggled the trans while I turned each of the 4 mounting bolts 1/2 turn at a time. They all turned fairly easily so I doubt that I did any damage. I just didn't have any leverage by standing behind the transmission.

[CRW-FK5]

Good to hear you got it in place.  I've had the same alignment issue with my A833 during install (2 times now).  During the last time, after inserting the transmission as far as I could (within approximately .50") I had someone push the clutch pedal to release the clutch disc. allowing it to shift a bit on the splined shaft (which was already splined up to the clutch disc).  With the clutch pedal depressed I was then able to easily slide the transmission in the rest of the way.  In my case I believe the clutch was providing just enough binding against the shaft to prevent it from slipping all the way in.

[Kern Dog]

That could have been the problem here too but the bearing collar on this setup is longer than an 833. If it is in friction, there is a longer path to go to seat the transmission.  I've also noticed that cast iron (As in stock 833 models) sometimes seems to slide better than aluminum on aluminum. The instructions suggest just what you did. I agree that it would work with a traditional mechanical linkage clutch setup. This is a hydraulic throwout bearing that uses the input bearing collar as a backstop and expands out from there. Doing it your way, if the clutch pedal is pressed, it would push the transmission away from the bellhousing, causing the installer to have to overcome not only the pressure plate springs but also whatever interference that may occur with the other parts.
The bellhousing runout and the final fitment have been the hardest part about this project. I'm improving on my skills but the trans shouldn't be such a tight fit in my opinion. What do they have to gain by making it so tight? Are the bearings so intolerant of a little bit of misalignment that they have to machine everything so damn tight?

[Kern Dog]

Since I am waiting on a drive shaft with a delivery date as yet to be determined, I'm buttoning up the details. Since I painted the left header, I figured that I'd paint the right one too. It actually comes out easily even with the steering linkage in place...amazing!

[Kern Dog]

With the header out, it cleared the way to clean up some grime. Paint had flaked a bit too so I sanded and ran a wire brush along the side then painted it.

[Kern Dog]

In October 2019 I took out the Mopar Performance windage tray and put in one of those plastic ones with the built in gasket. I had heard that it was a better sealing setup compared to the gasket sandwich. It wasn't for me as evident by the oil streaks on the right header. It looked like it was leaking at the rear and the torque converter spinning must have thrown the oil right toward the right header.
I didn't have the tin shield to block off the opening.

[Kern Dog]

With the back of the engine propped up by the screw jack, all of the shaking and wiggling to install the transmission put a dent in the oil pan. I figured that since I have to pull the pan to pound out the dent, I'm going back to the steel windage tray. I can't use the one I had....I put it in the 383 for my other Charger.
I ordered a Milidon tray and gaskets. I'm going to use THIS as a sealant. It gets excellent reviews...

[Kern Dog]

Got a few things done today. First up was to put away tools that I don't think I'll need. A guy elsewhere wrote how he felt that heused every tool in the box on his Tremec swap and I see what he meant.
The lower section of the bellhousing gets closed off with a stamped steel cover:

[Kern Dog]

I tapped a little clearance into a tube that was close to the right side of the bellhousing. I don't like having to do this but I'd rather have these dents than rattles and vibration.

[Kern Dog]

I mentioned before that I needed to pull the oil pan to flatten the dent. The engine was supported by a screw jack while the auto was out and while installing the Tremec and all of the movement and wiggling put a depression in the pan and cracked off some paint.

You can see how the side rails were dry and the ends of the pan were leaking.
I suspected that the plastic windage tray and molded gasket wasn't sealing like it should. I bought a Milodon tray and some gaskets to use if my suspicions prove to be true.

[Kern Dog]

Front side had some leaks.

[Kern Dog]

With the pan off, look at the top side of the tray/gasket. You can see that the sides are dry between the sealing ribs but the rear is wet all the way across.

[Kern Dog]

The problem?
Here is the rear of the pan.

[Kern Dog]

Yep....The pan is a Milodon 6 quart HEMI pan but the sealing ribs of the tray stick outside of the pan rail at each end.
Front side: