hi all,
i was trying to get my gearbox(56A)into my ute yesterday but had some trouble with the bell housing hitting the tunnel. the engine is already in the car and was wondering if it would be easier to take the engine back out to put gearbox in then put it all back in or if there was another way? am i just not trying hard enough?!
cheers

somtimes i have to prop the front of the motor up a tad to getter a better angle,make sure u dont crush your heater hoses and stuff at the rear of the head but.

yeah I've tried both ways and engine out was so much easier

Engine out would be easiest but still a lot of work just to get a gearbox in. Give greendogs advice a go. In the past I've undone the engine mounts a little but not totally out, and jacked up the front of the engine a little and it slid right in.

alright thanks guys ill have another go this week when i get a chance and let you know how it goes.
thanks again

This may sound silly but have you disconnected the exhaust from the header/manifold...............this sounds all to familiar, depending on how the exhaust mounts it will cause a bind wherein the back of the motor will not drop down enough to mount the tranny without the bell housing fouling. Mounting a tranny with the engine in is a slam dunk, I've had the tranny in and out of the coupe numerous times over the years, swapping the tranny shouldn't take more than an hour...................don't know how different a ute tunnel is to a coupe or sedan but it should be easy.................if the exhaust is still connected undo it, you'll be shocked how much the motor drops.

Tom

Thanks for the advice Tom but yeah the exhaust has been removed all the way up to and including the manifold (new extractors ready to go in).

Just an update i had another look this afternoon to see if i could jack the motor up at the front to give me more room to move but the head was already sitting on the firewall so i removed the head and bingo the engine can now tilt back as far as i need for the gearbox to slide in. Just waiting on another pair of hands to give me a hand putting it in/lining it up.

Thanks for the advice again, Torin

a series box mounting is one man job really they are so light you can do it. something dosent sound right you shouldnt have to take the head off?maybe there is an issue with your crossmember or mounts.

All that needs doing is lower the rear of the engine (remove motor mounts). Lower it about 1 inch and the transmission will slip past the tight manual tunnel.

I could just be a novice! but seemed to be the way that it would only work for me