T-56 Magnum Aluminum Bellhousing

[paulk68]

Hey my aluminum bellhousing seems to get hung up a little bit on one side when trying to install in to the T-56. I did not put any bolts into it yet but it seems like right at the dowel is where it is not lining up just perfect. Is it ok to tap it with a hammer? or should I try to run the bolts into it? Any help would be great.

[randy]

Do not do that. That is how I broke my engine. Take the bellhousing off and install it on the motor first without the trans

[paulk68]

Do not do that. That is how I broke my engine. Take the bellhousing off and install it on the motor first without the trans

😬 Thank you very much!!

[paulk68]

Do not do that. That is how I broke my engine. Take the bellhousing off and install it on the motor first without the trans

Can you tell me more about what happened? These are the kinda things that make me so nervous with my build

[randy]

i was maybe 3/16 of a inch away on the drivers side of the engine from having the bell housing to sit flush with the engine. I slowly tighten the bolts nice and evenly to draw it in. All of a sudden i heard a loud crack and it split my block on the back edge ruining it. Now there was the pressure of the trans there as well so what i would do now is bolt the bellhousing to the engine and then trans to the bell housing. If you draw the trans to the bell housing some and it cracks you will break the bellhousing instead of the engine.

[paulk68]

i was maybe 3/16 of a inch away on the drivers side of the engine from having the bell housing to sit flush with the engine. I slowly tighten the bolts nice and evenly to draw it in. All of a sudden i heard a loud crack and it split my block on the back edge ruining it. Now there was the pressure of the trans there as well so what i would do now is bolt the bellhousing to the engine and then trans to the bell housing. If you draw the trans to the bell housing some and it cracks you will break the bellhousing instead of the engine.

Man sorry you had to go through that but thanks for sharing, so it is kinda common for them to be a bit off?

[gnx7]

It is rare but there could be some bad machining when they bore the holes for the dowels, the clutch could potentially not be aligned properly (the plastic tools suck for a twin disc... use an old steel input shaft (unuseable) to make installing a twin disc much easier..... or I've seen it on my own Chevelle build that the input shaft came in contact with the recess in the crank.... I actually had to cut off a 1/4" off the tip of the input shaft (after trying everything, calling Quicktime etc) to make it slide together. THis seems to only be on truck crankshafts not typically used with manual transmissions I guess (my alum 5.3 is from a Trailblazer)

Sometimes the T56 Magnums need some of the casting ground back on the front cover where the slave cylinder pokes out the side of the BH..... as they can bind up when trying to tighten them down. Seen it in probably 50% of them.

[andrewb70]

First thing to make sure is that the disk is centered between the flywheel and pressure plate. Those plastic alignment tools are junk. I use a quality metal alignment tool. Quarter Master sells them for about $50...

When I was younger, I actually didn't even use an alignment tool. I would snug the pressure plate just enough so the disk barely moved when finger pressure on the sides was applied. You would be amazed how well you can center the disk by feeling all around the edges and adjusting accordingly.

Never use bolts to draw in the trans. Even then everything is aligned, it may take a fit of fiddling to get the trans to pop in. I always have the trans in gear and have a spare yoke installed, so as I pus the trans in, I can also turn the input shaft. When everything aligns, it will pop right in, all the way...

Andrew

[colorado80439]

Browell bellhousing alignment tool
http://www.camaros.org/bellhousings.shtml