Torque converter alignment / tranny removal

Hi All,
i just swapped out the I6 motor in my 98 xj with one from a 99. The engine runs great but i messed up and the torque converter wasn't seated right on the ouput shaft from the tranny. It grinds on the larger output shaft as the engine runs and it wont turn into gear (for a split second i tried to put it in park but it made a terrible noise).
Now i am worried about the damaged, regardless ive decided that i need to get back in there to see if i just need to push the torque converter in farther or if i need a new tranny. I am going to pull the tranny today but i havn't had to do it before. I heard that the transfer case linkage is very difficult to get too is that true? what else should i know before lowering the tranny? Is it easier to remove the linkage from the center console rather than the tranny?
Thanks alot for the help in advance / let me know if anybody else has make this mistake and if it resulted in tranny destruction and ill plan on replacing it.

I think I probably dropped an old engine on your leg last Thursday evening... sorry

My bet is that the tranny fluid pump is fouled up, but nothing else is. From what I could tell from those exploded diagrams we were looking at, it would take some really serious effort to screw up anything on the mainshaft, but not really that much to nuke the pump. So I think if you pull the tranny back a bit, remove the TC, replace the pump and front seal, and throw it all back together, it should work. I could be completely wrong though :dunno:

I'll probably be heading to Everett's in Brockton early Saturday morning if you still need a tranny and want help pulling one. I'll have to recover my jack from a friend's garage though.

Would the Pump make a grinding noise like that of a torque converter not lining up when it spun? And wouldn't the tranny still go into gear if it were broken?

You need to check the TC for possible damage too.

IF you didn't fully seat the TC into the front pump, either or both are likely damaged.

Follow Kastein's recommendations.

To update, I guess i had just lost my mind last week when i tried to put the tranny in drive because the transfer case was in neutral :dunceit was about 3 in the morning). BUT now it drives, still rough turning though. and i feel periodic grinding by the front of the bell housing. I am wondering if it is because of a bad pump. There is also something wrong with the starter because it sounds like the drive sprocket is hanging up when i start and getting stuck because there is a loud rattle. Could that be causeing the grinding too? i think i need to pop it off and further investigate.

You may just want to check the bolts on the inspection plate on the front of the tranny. I had a loose one once and it made all kinds of horrible noises. That might be a quick painless option.
Oh and on the transfer case neutral thing, it happens! When i was in high school my friend had a mazda 626 sedan, we were trying to move it from park to reverse for 45 mins and thought it was dead in the water until we realized the driver door had to be shut to put it in drive. he had only wanted to move it backwards about 10 feet on the driveway so he hadnt shut the door. crazy.

Wallyman said:

You may just want to check the bolts on the inspection plate on the front of the tranny. I had a loose one once and it made all kinds of horrible noises. That might be a quick painless option.
Oh and on the transfer case neutral thing, it happens! When i was in high school my friend had a mazda 626 sedan, we were trying to move it from park to reverse for 45 mins and thought it was dead in the water until we realized the driver door had to be shut to put it in drive. he had only wanted to move it backwards about 10 feet on the driveway so he hadnt shut the door. crazy.

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Hey, what bolts are you talking about? was it one of the small ones or the big 18mm ones that made the noise?