Something just occurred to me (a bit late now), but when bolting up a line-bored engine to a stock/orig. bellhousing/trans. assembly, since the crank/flywheel/clutch center is now likely a bit higher in the block (?), would this minor misalignment be significant? If so, what is the standard procedure to compensate?

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

Daniel;

I line honed my block and used the stock bellhousing with a Centerfo Force clutch and pressure plate. I just used a clutch allignment tool and standard procedure and everything was fine. Line honing the block shouldn't cause you any problems.

Rono.

  Ron Lane,  Meridian, ID

I seriously doubt that very small amount of offset would ever be any kind of an issue... /Duck

BOO- YA!!!

I don't think the line bore would upset anything, but I like to put a dial indicator to the clutch housing. Warped clutch housings are not that uncommon and can usually be corrected with a little shimming. Misalignment puts stress on the input shaft bearing. If its really off, it can even cause a transmission to jump out of high gear.

Kenneth

Fredricksburg, Texas

Regardless, I'm thinking it still could be wise if I invested the extra labor to remove the bellhousing, install it on the new block and measure crank center runout (I HAVE an engine stand adapter that allows turning the motor nose down). If any factory misalignment AND the align hone boring change should stack up, even if I don't experience any obvious transmission problems down the road, the research I've done indicates it might still shorten input shaft, clutch & bearing life. I should likely make sure offset dowels that fit the Y-Block bellhousing are available first, though.

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

Daniel, why put yourself through it? .003 or 004 thou wouldnt even show up, never mind the twisting of the bellhousing over the years, ball race clearances and gearbox face alignment due to years of normal flexing and load. if you put anything under a microscope you,ll come up with something and guess what, make no difference to anything, as for offset dowels, you,ll be first to do it! Sorry to seem so direct but just cant see why? Best regards bill.

  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia

Bill,



Pro: 1. With bellhousing removed, it would likely be easier to clean/repaint.

2. A certain "peace-of-mind" from knowing what your crank center/face runout really is. I would kick myself if the trans. failed in a couple years due to misalignment (I typically drive it around 8K miles a year), since the old guy who rebuilt it has retired, and chasing down rare NOS parts is a real pain.

3. I live in a remote rural area, where the penalties of aggressive driving are moot (more or less), and thus thrash it routinely. The stress of misalignment would catch up to me sooner than most.



Con:

1. 3/8" offset dowels apparently not generally available. May have to contact the manufacturers.

If no easy way to correct the problem, then I wouldn't want to know about it.


6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

Daniel:

Since you seem inclined to check, I have a suggestion.  Take the dowels out, bolt the bellhousing to the block, indicate it, and when the concentricity suits you, tighten the bolts.  Then drill/ream the dowel holes to the next bigger size, either metric or fractional.  I know it makes your engine/trans a mongrel for interchangeability, but at least you would know.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

Good lookin' Customline Vicky you've got there .. like the color ..

Doing Fords for 45 years. '56 Customline Victoria

E.J. in Havana FL

The factory manual has a proceedure to check run-out between the crank and bore of the bellhousing. I'd have to look it up but I think the acceptable number is around .015".

JohnF's idea makes a lot of sense (no surprise). You could get it perfect and make it permanent.

I regularly surface truck bellhousings and they are so out of whack you wouldn't believe they would even run!

http://ford-y-block.com 

20 miles east of San Diego, 20 miles north of Mexico