Pete
The water pump has never been off my engine. I think I did
remove the fan.
As others have pointed out:
Remove the shifter and linkage
Remove the speedocable. I don't under stand the big deal
with the speed cable. Ifd you have the car on the lift,
look up and you'll see that the bolt holding the cable to
the trans can be easily reached with socket extension
through the frame. No big deal. In fact that is how to
adjust the speedo. Ford make many gear teeth combo
starting at the stock 15 tooth and going up. They're
about $6 a gear. Each step up drops the speedo reading
about 3 mph. Of course this is all a funcntion of the tire
sizes, but it is possible adjust the speedo so its almost
dead accurate.
Once you start working on the car, it almost hard to stop
replacing things. While engine is out, consider replacing the
oil pump with a high volume (not necessarily hugh pressure)
pump. Check the rear main seals and relace if any signs of
leakage.
Take the driveshaft to a shop and have its balance checked.
As to the trans, I was told that if the trans had no problems
simply remove the top cover plate and look. If there are no
obvious problems, replace the gasket and cover and leave it
alone. Around here, good trans men are as hard to find as
honest politicians.
I used a McCleod Clutch and throwout bearing that I got from
SS. Rick happened to have a clutch that someone else ordered
special made from McCleod and then didn't want it. Every other
spring is a heavy duty spring. So its about a1600 lb to 1700 lb
clutch. Perfect for my use and my left leg hasn't gotten any
bigger.
As to your cross member, read the STOA and CAT tech tips and
follow them. Have the member checked for fatigue cracks before
powder coating.
Dave
|