would engine fall when I remove tranny?

[teddyyyy]

I have a 1972 F250 2wd, with the t18 tranny.

the factory repair manual says the removal process is (page 16-23-3):
"
4. Disconnect the drive shaft ....
5. remove the transmission rear support
6. remove the transmission attaching bolts
7. move the transmission to the rear until the input shaft clears the clutch housing, and lower the transmission
"

I have 2 questions:
the manual also shows that the engine+ tranny only has 3 mounts in total, 2 motor mounts on the 2 sides, I assume that the "rear support " referred to above in step 5 is the 3rd mount, (the 3rd support in the motor mount diagram does correspond to what I see on the rear ). if I remove the tranny mount, would the engine tilt to the back ? it seems that the part of the engine behind the 2 mounts is heavier.

second question: the tranny is blocked by 2 cross members below (one supports the tranny mount), actually the t18 tranny lowest point is lower than the second crossmember on which the mount sits. so how is it possible to move the tranny "to the back"?


thanks

[sargentrs]

The "rear support" referred to in #5 is the crossmember, bolted to the frame rails, that support the rear transmission mount. Remove the bolts at the frame rails, slide it backwards and you can angle it out. My 302/3 spd had enough room that I could just slide it back and leave it without taking it all the way out. Remove the bolts at the frame, remove the bolt at the transmission mount to crossmember, jack up the rear of the transmission for the mount to clear that crossmember, slide the crossmember rearward and remove it completely. I go ahead and then remove the transmission mount from the tranny, it's just 2 bolts, so that sucker doesn't poke me in the hands, legs, or chest, if I drop the tranny. When you remove the crossmember, the engine/tranny will tilt downward at the transmission as the motor mounts have a rubber pad between them. When you remove the transmission, the engine will tilt back upward some.

[marvin2]

When I bought my 68, the motor was in and the transmission had been removed. I noticed that it some of the throttle linkage was pressed against the firewall from the motor tilting backwards (probably sat like that for years). My recommendation would be to put a jack, jackstand, block of wood, etc. under the motor to support it on the backside once you have the trans removed. Don't know if this is overkill, but couldn't hurt.

[sargentrs]

I've also had it in the other direction to where the engine tilted forward slightly and I had to jack up the front to stab the tyranny.

[tnlprt]

I would support the rear of the engine as more than likely it will tilt towards the rear of the truck when you remove the trans crossmember

Do you want to trust 40 plus year old motor mounts to not rip apart when the engine tilts

[chad67]

I've taken things for granted twice in the last couple of months and gotten in trouble. First, I was trying to get a tranny unhung from an engine I was pulling when the transfer case (which someone else had unbolted without my knowledge) fell on my legs. Then I was putting another tranny in my DD when I had a jack under the tranny to drop the old one. I unbolted the crossmember from the car and CLANG! The tranny mount was completely separated and the crossmember fell before I unbolted it from the mount. I assumed the mount was good and would hold it until I unbolted it. I was pretty mad at myself for making such a rookie mistake. Do yourself a favor, secure everything. Even if it "should be OK".