Debriefing - 3 spd trans trouble

[LA 66]

I figured out what tore up my 3 spd. When I crawled under the truck to start pulling the trans, I noticed an 1/8" gap between the bellhousing and the gearbox. The head of the bottom bolt on the passenger side was broken off and the top bolt was missing. The other two were VERY loose. This wiped out the pilot bearing and damaged the bearing retainer on the trans.

Word to the wise - If your trans starts jumping out of gear suddenly, check ALL the hardware. I thought I had, I know I remember tightening up a couple of bell-to-block bolts.

[ICEMAN6166]

whenever i change the oil i spend a few minutes investigating other things underneath, looking for loose bolts etc.


i had a clutch chattering issue on a truck once, the 6 pressure plate bolts had loosened some, lucky i caught this before they came out all the way.