I am having some trouble with my converter install and was hoping someone on here could help me figure this out.

I'm installing a Performabuilt transmission, 3.42 rear and a stall converter. The car's on jack stands with plenty of clearance. I was originally going to pull the torque tube but after realizing I'd have to remove my headers to get the clearance, I decided leave the torque tube on the car. Currently, the driveshaft hub is still loose and the bell housing plugs are removed and threaded bolts are in place as if I were going to remove the torque tube (as discussed in this Super Chevy DIY http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/18978/).

The old differential seal has been transferred to the new differential, the new differential is mounted to the new Performabuilt transmission, the converter has been filled with fluid and fully seated on the transmission.

Here is where I get confused: When attempting to reattach these as a single unit to the torque tube, I am not able to rotate the flex plate to attach to the converter. I can get one bolt going, but even with a lot of brute force and a lot of leverage, it won't turn.

How do I get the flex plate to rotate in order to access all 3 of the converter mounting bolt holes? Is it not moving because the differential hub is still loose or because the bolts are in place of the bell housing plugs-or are those completely unrelated? I did attempt to get a wrench and then a socket on the crankshaft to rotate it from there, but the car has an A&A supercharger and there just is not enough room to do that without removing a lot of additional parts. I've searched the forums and read through plenty of great write-ups but none tackle this issue, which makes me think it is not supposed to be difficult. It's 100* here and I'm going crazy trying to figure this out. I appreciate any help!

 

Do you have the spark plugs pulled out? Turn the motor over using the bolts on the flywheel

 

Thanks feeder82!

No, the spark plugs are still there. I will remove them tomorrow and try the flywheel. Should I leave the driveshaft hub loose and keep the bell housing plugs out with bolts in their place, or should I tighten the hub and put the plastic plugs back in?

 

Will it turn if you don't put that one converter bolt in and/or have the bell housing bolts loose? If it will turn when you loosen the bell housing bolts, then the converter isn't seated all the way.

 

No, it won't move with the converter bolt in at all. I looked for the seats in the trans and marked them on the trans body to make it easier to line up with the converter. I slid converter on transmission, rocked it back and forth, and I got the two "clicks" and the converter will spin freely now. I am 99.9% positive it is seated on there.

 

With the bellhousing to transmission bolts fully tightened and no flexplate bolts installed, you should be able to easily rotate the converter and even slide it back and forth a little. If you can't do this there are 2 possibilities. Either the converter isn't fully seated into the trans pump or the converter center locating pin isn't seating properly due to extra paint or burrs. It's also much easier to rotate the engine with the plugs removed. You can also use a bump starter switch that allows rotating the engine using the starter.

Steve

 

I put a wrench on the crank bolt and turn until the next converter bolt comes around. Good times.