Removing gear shift lever

[JoeK]

I'm removing the motor and tranny from my '68 2000. I've got a couple simple questions.

So, question #1 is, how do you remove the the shifter lever? When I put a wrench on the bottom and turn, the whole lever turns. I had the SO try to hold it, but no luck. Do I put a vice grip on the handle where it'll be hidden by shift boot, or is there a flat spot for a wrench when I remove the center console?

The only other thing is the tranny mount bolts. My book says to remove the bolts from the mount to the frame support, but I think the bolts are welded in and I can only remove the nuts. That would mean I'd have raise the rear of the tranny when I'm lifting it out, so the bolts would clear. Would it be better to remove the bolts from the tranny to tranny mount, assuming I can even get to them?

Thanks,

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[SLOroadster]

Ok here is the trick. If you look at the base of the shift lever you will see a small wrench flat, a 14mm will fit nicely. Below you will find a 14mm nut. Hold the nut with one wrench while turning the top flat with the other. Don't use a pair of vise-grips, they will chew up the chrome. While your at it, you might invest in the aluminum shift lever bushings, your shifter will feel much more positive. Oh yeah, the center consol must be removed to do this correctly. It will make your life much easier.

Will

[JoeK]

Thanks guys, that should be pretty easy. Any help on the rear mount? What about leaving the frame bracket bolted to the tranny and mount, and just removing the 4 bolts that hold that bracket to the frame? Could that give me headaches aligning things during install?

[SLOroadster]

You need to pull the crossmember to allow the tranny to pivot up enough to clear the frame as you remove it. Leave everything on the engine except the carbs. It will make your life much easier. I can pull an engine in about an hour with 2 people working, its realy easy.

Will

[Scott Smith]

I am in the same boat. Can the engine and tranny be removed as one unit??

[S Allen]

Yes, the tranny and engine can come out together. That is the way it gets done most of the time. That is the only way I do it. Joe, temporarily support the rear of the tranny with a jack. Remove the six bolts holding the tranny mount to the frame. Remove the two bolts holding the tranny mount to the tranny. There should be nothing welded unless some PO made some modifications.

Steve

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[JoeK]

Well, I got the motor and tranny out. It wasn't as easy as I thought it'd be. I may have different headers than some, but they got hung up on the frame bracket where the motor mounts sit. I ended up having to remove the accelerator linkage T bracket, to make space for the bell housing. Did I do something wrong?

The one thing I defineatly did wrong, which I noticed after, is I forgot to disconnect the fuel return line. It ended up pulling the aluminum tube from fuel T. Hope that won't be too hard. Maybe I could JB weld it back in? I know that's what ZTherapy uses to make nozzles.

At this point, I may end up putting the tranny in first when I re-install. At the very least, I'll get somebody to give me a hand during the re-install. I just want to make sure I don't damage the paint when I put it back in.

[SLOroadster]

Yes you most certainly did something wrong. The trick is to pivot the front of the engine up as you move it forward and up. Remove the radiator brackets to buy some room. The engine will sit at what looks like an extream angle as it comes out, but with practice and some patience, you will figure it out. You will have a heck of a time installing the tranny to the engine in the car. I don't know if its even possible. BRE did it as one thing, everyone that I have talked to does it as one unit as well. Having a comp pan makes it a little more tough, but its still not bad. It will make more sence when you put it in.

Will

[DatsunBucky]

I was always too lazy/cheap to drain the trans fluid, and what I ended up doing was to put two baggies over the tailshaft, held on by rubber bands. This contained any fluid leaking out when the trans tilted up. Then I folded up a rag or two and taped them around the baggies to cushion the end from banging into something and rupturing the baggies. Ditto to reinstall.

IIRC, I undid the two nuts holding the trans to the rubber mount, and only had to lift the trans a little to get the threads to clear. I felt doing this made it easier going back together since once the threads dropped into their holes, the fore/aft alignment was done.