Pulling the 5.9 with the at 545 still bolted on

[cadillackid]

most times the bolt circle of the COnverter is smaller than that of the flex-plate, plus the distance between converter and flexplate varies.. so they have adapter rings.. and also the hub adapter on the engine that accepts the converter Pilot..

chances are a 643 was mated to a 5.9 in a factory application. and those are the pieces you will need. sometimes the engine housing was adapted down from an SAE2 to an SAE3. for the AT545.. if thats the case then you just remove that adapter ring and you now have SAE2 pattern.. then you just need the hub and spacer adapters and not a new flywheel housing.

the way to tell is if there are 2 sets of concentric bolts around the transmission bell. so it looks like engine-housing -> ring-of-bolts -> smaller ring-of bolts(from trans to housing).. that means they had a 2 to 3 adapter... my 444E was that way.

this shows the adapter riung on the converter


this shows my SAE2 to SAE3 adapter (that held the 545).. on my engine.. notice if you look close the trans bolts up to a set of smaller holes on that adapter.. and then the adapter is bolted to the engine housing. if I hadbeen going to a 643 I wouldve removed that ring and then gone straight to the housing.



-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

The 643 is worth upgrading to, if your 545 is out. GO FOR IT!

[Rivetboy]

OK, here is the cart for the 5.9. Also the tooling to hold the AT 545 in the HF jack. Still need to strap the trans to the jack . The jack clears the jackstands easily too. Dumb luck on that one. Cart still needs some gussets but it came out good. Need to jack the bus up two more inches to give clearance for the trans jack under the front axle. Then the cherry picker will be hooked to a ratchet chain fall anchored to my truck and slowly ratcheted forward to get the bellhousing ears clear of the mounts. Finally I will lower the whole shebang into the cart and away we go. Will not be able to continue today but next Friday it should come out.
More pictures coming!

[cadillackid]

lookin good!! nice tools you are setting up to make it smooth!!

side-note - after you mentioned the jack-wheels i checked and sure enough just like yours mine are not drilled in the center.. lol no wonder it didnt want to roll.
-Christopher

[ApeWriter]

Hi Rivetboy and everyone,
I'm following this thread because I'm actually pulling the same engine out of the same model of bus, starting this coming weekend. We're swapping the engine out because there's a hole in the block.
We already have the front end taken apart, but we haven't really considered all the details that will go into uninstalling the engine and pulling it out. We were imagining needing a forklift, but I also considered the dolly idea. We're not pulling our transmission; just the engine.
Anyway, could I hit you up if I have any questions during the process? It sounds like we're both aiming to do the job this weekend, but you seem to be a lot more prepared than we are.

[Rivetboy]

Sure, ask anything you want. Don't forget to support the transmission. Also are you on Cummins quik serve? You need the serial no. of your motor and there is tons of good info. If it is a 12v before you put it back together take off the front gear cover to see if the killer dowel pin has been fixed.
Good luck!

[Rivetboy]

Also my take is it easier to pull the engine with the trans still bolted to the engine as some others have mentioned.. The HF trans jack was a good investment for me but maybe you could rent one if you did not want to by one.
The reasoning for this is it alot easier to line up two tabs on the bellhousing than it is to line up the trans and rebolt the tourque converter and screw all the bellhousing bolts back in.

[Rivetboy]

Put the cart in the hoist to see if it will work as planned.looks good but might trim the corner back a little.

Made a list of what was procured from HF home depot or ebay plus about what was paid

Hoist. 200
Cart 100
Cart steel wheels 90
trans jack 880 lb 175
New wheels for jack. 25
2 20 ton. Bottle jacks. 45
Ratchet straps 20
Pair of 12 ton jack stands. 100
10 feet 3/8 3000lb test chain. 35

Grand total 795 plus tax
Batteries not included

Since all of this is life safety it is a good deal
Plus i know that all of this equpment will serve me in the future

[Rusty]

Cart looks good, one thing as woodworker concerns me:


I worry the wood will want to break at the grain lines. Hate to see your motor fall.

[Rivetboy]

It is not quit finished as plywood is going on the inside secured with screws and a couple of pieces of allthread to sandwich the wood on to the motor. also bracketry to go off the mid engine mounts down to the cart.

[Rivetboy]

Also on the back half the oil pan goes down about 8 inches.

[Rivetboy]

And the front motor mount will be screwed down to yet to be installed blocking

[ApeWriter]

Originally Posted by Rivetboy

Also my take is it easier to pull the engine with the trans still bolted to the engine as some others have mentioned.. The HF trans jack was a good investment for me but maybe you could rent one if you did not want to by one.
The reasoning for this is it alot easier to line up two tabs on the bellhousing than it is to line up the trans and rebolt the tourque converter and screw all the bellhousing bolts back in.

I'm not replacing the bus transmission because the transmission in the truck that we're pulling the engine from has been promised to someone else. Do you still recommend pulling the bus transmission along with the engine if we will have to separate the two eventually anyway?

[Rivetboy]

What you will find out is that the at 545 is bolted to the bellhousing which in turn is bolted to your 5.9. If you seperate the bellhousing from the motor the transmission will be swinging in the breeze, Reread how I plan to do it and look here tomorrow or sunday on how it worked out for me.
I would strongly suggest entertaining the option of pulling them as a unit.

[Rivetboy]

Here some pictures of todays final prep. Tomorrow will be jacking the bus up 2 inches for tranny jack clearance 3 8 plywood screwed in to 2 x to alleviate Rustys concens
Thanks Rusty
Here we go tomorrow

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by Rivetboy

Here some pictures of todays final prep. Tomorrow will be jacking the bus up 2 inches for tranny jack clearance 3 8 plywood screwed in to 2 x to alleviate Rustys concens
Thanks Rusty
Here we go tomorrow

Aw, shucks. Thanks.

Now, I don't like those 3-ton jackstands. That one on the leaf on the left.

Hate to be that guy, I was OSHA rep at my old job and saw all those funny squish videos. Old habits.

[Rivetboy]

Actually they are 12 ton jack stands the ones in the front are picking up the load and they are firmly nested into the shackle/ spring area. The holy smoke jackstands in the rear are not holding anything they were just slid underneath so they will be handy to offer extra protection when we jack it up today.
This is not my first rodeo either

[Rivetboy]

So when we pull the motor today the bus will be sitting on 4 each 12 ton jack stands and 2 each snug 20 ton bottle jacks.

[Rivetboy]

This HF 20 ton air bottle jack is wort every penny
Is this enough rusty 😄

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by Rivetboy

This HF 20 ton air bottle jack is wort every penny
Is this enough rusty ��

Geeez, nothing like calling me out. I've pulled motors, and sometimes they get stuck or you miss something and yank the vehicle a bit...

But yes, thank you !

My next trip I'm getting that jack. Coupon locked and loaded.