When I first started doing mechanic work in 1970 (we weren’t known as *technicians* then) I learned a great *trick-of-the-trade*.

My boss and I were replacing the clutch on this 1969 Chevy pickup.

After he had put the line-up shaft through the clutch plate to get it lined up, so the transmission shaft would go through it, we bolted the pressure plate up to the flywheel.

I pushed the jack, with the transmission on it, up to the back of the engine.

The transmission still had the bell-housing on it.

My boss was at the back of the engine. He guided the bell-housing up to the engine block.

We were very lucky; the transmission went right up to the block.

Well, almost.

It would not go the last ½ inch.

We put a couple of bolts in and tried to draw it up, but it was in a bind.

Removing the bolts so we could *shake* the transmission; sometimes this will cause it to line up with the pilot bearing.

We pushed up and down, right and left. The transmission was off the jack but we left the jack there so we could set the transmission back down on it and rest our arms.

We tried several times, and for several minutes (2 days to be exact, I think), but the transmission just wouldn’t go in that last half inch.

My boss had a large amount of tobacco in his mouth. He motioned for me to rest, spit a long stream of juice toward the left front tire, and said, “Let’s go get a cup of coffee.”

He was the boss, who was I to complain? :-)

When we returned from the café he said, “Now it will go in.”

I thought… no, I won’t say what I thought.

We returned to our creepers, slid back under the truck.

He took the tail of the transmission and raised it up just a little bit and pushed the transmission all the way up to the block.

“Now put the bolts in.” he said with a silly grin.

“What did you do!?” I asked.

“Nothing, we were just too tired to get it lined up. That’s why we got a cup of coffee…to rest up.”

Well, throughout the years, I’ve never forgotten that, and I’ve used that technique several times.

I’m not sure if I stopped working on a project to rest up or just show the vehicle that I’m smarter than it is.

About the Author

Tommy Sessions has been in auto repair since 1970. He publishes Bad Car Again Auto Repair Help Newsletter. He is in the process of setting up a blog for you to read the newsletter and get auto repair answers. Check the site often to get the details of how to get the Blog. http://www.badcaragain.com