spidey senses

Now that the rear gasket is back on the flywheel housing went back into place. But a few of the bolts needed some TLC

I bought this "thread restorer" tool years ago, and I am always surprised how often I use it.

Not a new bolt but a great result. 

After the housing was back in its time for the  Flex Plate to be installed and torqued down.

Next was the tranny to be jacked up into position. As i was bringing it up, my spidey senses started to tingle. As I raised it,  it was starting to list to one side.  This thing is not a light piece and if she goes over I have a world of hurt ahead of me. I quickly threw a couple  4x4 posts up above and safety strapped the tranny to them.

Feeling like I wasn't in harms way any longer I unstrapped the tranny from the tranny jack and let it hang.

Suspended up off the ground I could take the jack out and see what damage has been done
 

A wee cotter pin, made of what felt like cheap aluminum, was the only thing holding that behemoth transmission from flipping on it's side. And that pin sheared.

I drilled the hole a little larger and put in a heavy duty pin, reattached the jack to the tranny making sure the lateral balance was correct. 

The transmission slipped into place(with some carefully placed swear words by yours truly)

Then with the help of Ron and Jeff we bolted the tranny in place and the flex plate to the torque converter. Next step is to fill the tranny with oil(change the filter) and try a road test.