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Best way to get to the top 2 4.0L bellhousing bolts?

jfiscus

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Middletown, OH
I am doing an engine swap and having a hard time with the top bellhousing bolts connecting to the engine. I had to pull the tranny out of the donor vehicle because I couldn't get a socket on them right. I don't want to hav eto pull my tranny too.

How does everyone here get to them to pull an engine?
(I even removed the shifter and still couldn't get a socket onto the bolt good enough to break it loose.)
 
when i did my engine swap what i did was line up the engine (i.e.: put the bolts through the engine mounts) and run in all the bolts you can reach from below. then, pull the engine mount bolts and lower the engine a little more- i was able to reach the top 2 bolts from above and had enough room to get a combo wrench on them and get them good & tight.

hth
 
I dropped the tranny crossmember as much as I could and borrowed a really REALLY long socket extension to reach them. I'm talking like 3 feet long and had a couple ujoints in the mix too. Still was a pain in the butt. I recommend installing studs in their location to act as alignment pins when re-intalling everything. Plus you'll never have to deal with the E-12 bolts ever again! :D
Jeep on!
--Pete

ComancheClub.com
 
1. Leave the lower bolts in.
2. Remove the engine mounts.
3. Lower the engine as far as it will go.
4. Use a 3/8" box wrench on those upper bolts.
5. Bring the engine back to a normal position, support the trans, remove the lower engine bolts, remove engine.

I never thought about putting studs in there. That sounds like a pretty good idea. I'd recommend a grade 8 stud though.
 
they where a bitch for me as well, i found that getting them from inside the jeep through the hole for the shifter was the easiest. You will need a special socket as well, or at least i did. I ended up using a inverted torx socket if that makes any sence. Good luck

scott
 
scottsxj said:
they where a bitch for me as well, i found that getting them from inside the jeep through the hole for the shifter was the easiest. You will need a special socket as well, or at least i did. I ended up using a inverted torx socket if that makes any sence. Good luck
Same for me. You'll need an E-12 socket for the two reverse torx head bolts. Drop the transmission by removing the crossmember enough to give yourself a little room. Good luck!
 
This may not be of much help, but we found that pulling the engine, tranny, transfer case was easier for us using a hoist (and getting just the right angle), than trying to mess around with those top two bolts. Plus we could clean up everything outside the vehicle and test certain components. Accessing the top two was a major pain when we tried that route. Though I think there have been a lot of great suggestions on the NAXJA forum on how you can do that. Good luck and keep smiling! Rick
 
I tried removing the motor mount bolts and dropping the engine some, still doesn't give me enough access on my 89. I think it would have worked on the 93, but we had the bolts semi-stripped by then.

I think I'll just pull the engine/tranny/t-case out together and replace my driveshaft u-joints and rear t-case seal while I have them out.
 
jfiscus said:
I tried removing the motor mount bolts and dropping the engine some, still doesn't give me enough access on my 89. I think it would have worked on the 93, but we had the bolts semi-stripped by then.

I think I'll just pull the engine/tranny/t-case out together and replace my driveshaft u-joints and rear t-case seal while I have them out.

FWIW, when I had the engine/tranny out I replaced those top two bolts with hex heads (based on suggestions I'd read from other forum users).

I ordered grade 9, 3/8" diam, 16 threads per inch, 1 3/4" long, zinc yellow plated alloy steel bolts online, but had to buy 25. Also got black-oxide steel thick flat washers from the same source and had to buy quite a few those, as well, because they didn't sell them individually.

So if you decide to replace those bolts and don't have a good source, let me know, and I'll mail you some. Rick
 
tealcherokee said:
jesus man, i just stuck some grade 8's in there....

I probably went way overboard. I'm sure 8's are more than sufficient. After all the anguish son and I went to when we separated the engine and tranny in vehicle, I decided I wanted to torque them down a little extra before putting the assembly back in the rig. And grade 9 seemed about right for my intentions... :cool: Rick
 
FWIW, old_man uses a 3/8" 12-point socket to remove and replace those things...I'm going to be doing ti myself in the next few days (I hope) and think I'll replace them with 'real' bolts...
 
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