Re-Installing 5sp transmission

[GrantCee]

Tips, please, for installing the 5-speed transmission in a Gen1 SWB with 2.6 engine.

The tranny has to be rotated counter-clockwise so the starter bulge in the bellhousing will clear the firewall. What's the easiest way to make that happen without damaging the clutch or the input shaft?

[IncorpoRatedX]

I've always put a jack under the engine and tilted it down to mount the transmissions, but all of my 5 speed mitsu installs have been on RWD vehicles, not 4WD vehicles. What you're suggesting makes it sound like the engine is tilted forward reducing your working space.

also, if you add a 1.75" body lift it makes working so much easier.

[GrantCee]

Update: thanks for the tip, that did the trick! (Well, once I remembered that the transmission needed to be oriented on an angle to match the now downward-pointing flywheel, anyhow!)

Using your trick, the starter hump in the bellhousing had no problem clearing and the tranny was cinch to put in.

Now, "the rest of the story": I had the KM145 transmission rebuilt this summer, and a few weeks ago the transmission locked up at a stop. I pulled the transmission, took it back to the shop, and invoked the warranty. When I reinstalled the transmission the first time, the input shaft was pristine — not a mark on it. When I pulled it out this time, though, there was a groove warn in the input shaft where the pilot bearing rides. The transmission place said that the pilot bearing had bound up the input shaft, and if the tranny was in 4th gear and the clutch pushed without downshifting, the 4th gear wouldn't disengage. Sounds reasonable, especially since I saw the damage before taking it back to them.

This time, instead of trusting the cheap $4 bearing that came with the Sachs clutch kit (supposedly a quality part), I ordered up a Nachi (which I'm told is OEM) bearing and installed that before reinstalling the tranny.

I hope this is the last time I have to pull that thing for a long, long time!