Torque Converter Seating

[JerrySab]

Dropped engine in this afternoon after a comically long gasket replacement effort. I know the torque converter can be tricky to dial in. And, prior to lowering engine into the bay, I was pretty dang confident the TC was as far into the bellhousing as possible.

Engine goes in, manage to get the 4 posts on TC and input shaft all linedup, engine is on its mounts.. and there’s about 3/16” gap between bellhousing and block. I’ve read and heard caution about using bellhousing bolts to pull this together, but I did assume the gap in an instance where tc wasn’t seated properly would be more like 3/4”-1”.

am I overreacting? Or should I lift the engine back out and get tc in there deeper? Pic for reference.

 

[pjtoledo]

is there still a gap between the torque converter and the flex plate? or is firmly against it?

a couple years ago I had a lot of difficulty seating one. since it's awkward there I fashioned brackets for the bolts to assist in lifting & maneuvering it.

when it's finally in correctly you should be able to freely move the studs in the holes.

 

[RonD]

Assuming all spark plugs are out of the engine
Turn the crank using pulley bolt, 1 full turn to see if bell housing slides in farther, just in case input shaft or pump wasn't aligned

But you are correct, 3/16"-1/2" probably wouldn't be torque converter not seated correctly, most likely just the tight fit of the alignment dowels or sleeves

 

[Jazzer]

Using emery cloth on the alignment dowels, and lightly oiling them might help.

 

[JerrySab]

Great, super helpful y’all.

 

[JerrySab]

Putting a bow on it,
TC was in fact NOT seated correctly.
pulled motor out and got it thumped in the rest of the way before (hopefully) doing any trans pump damage.