Transmission jack confusion

[Rich Z]

Well, the drivetrain noise on the C5Z has gotten worse lately, so I'm going to need to try to figure out exactly what is causing it. But like it or not, one way or another, I'm sure the drivetrain is going to have to come out. So I'm steeling myself for that chore by reading up on what I'm going to be facing and what tools I will need.

I'm sure I'm going to be needing at least one transmission jack, so I've been carefully looking over all the units available to try to figure out which one (or two) will be best for me to work with. But the problem is that I am missing something very basic about these things. The issue is with the head or platform that the transmission (and/or differential) actually rests upon.



I believe having the capability of tilting the platform will be beneficial, especially when trying to line up the shafts to re-install the components (trans, dif, and torque tube), but apparently most platforms I see only have the capability of tilting in one direction. In the pic above the tilt screw will tilt the platform up or down in the left or right direction. This particular platform may have another adjustment, but ordinarily it is to just move the platform laterally in the opposite direction, but does not effect any sort of tilting.

But I'm just not getting it. Those brackets on the sides of the platform look like they would be a problem in that the edges would contact the underside of the transmission. Meaning the transmission will sit on the edges of those brackets. I feel like the transmission should actually be positioned front to back in the pic above so it will rest FLAT on the platform. But if I do that, then the tilting adjustment will not tilt the transmission the way it would be needed to try to get the shaft aligned properly.

So what am I missing here? Yes, there are some transmission jacks that come with platforms that do tilt in both dimensions, but there are so many with just a single adjustment that I feel like I just have to be missing something basic with the way these things are supposed to be used.

Anyone have experience using a transmission jack that can help straighten me out with this?

[mrr23]

i've always used the dual tilt jacks. the brackets on the side are used to sit on the pan where the bolts go in for support to keep it from shifting around. the c5 trans pan has a round center on the pan.

you can see it here

[mrr23]

[Rich Z]

Actually, I've got a manual tranny in mine...



Plus I have that brace on transmission as well.

So trying to fit a transmission jack platform in there is going to take some figuring out.

Man, I've been looking over the pics I've taken during the period I was working on all this stuff, and honestly I felt a wave of nausea thinking about doing this..... Getting too old to be doing this sort of crap. Maybe I would feel a little better if I actually knew what it is I need to fix or replace.

Of course, I've been looking at videos and pics of guys doing this stuff in their driveway laying on their backs and they seem to have been able to do it OK. Just a touch of "wimplash", I guess.

Thanks for the pics.

[Cor66Vette]

I can't comment on which trans jack to use, but your comment about guys on YouTube doing it in a driveway reminded me of the time when I was 17 and removed and later reinstalled the trans from my '61 Vette in my parents' driveway. Of course that was much simpler a task, and I'm not comparing what I did to the complexities of what's ahead of you. It just brought back some memories of when the necessity to think and re-think things wasn't in the picture. Good luck with your job.

[Rich Z]

Well, heck, I pulled the car out of one bay in the garage and pulled it into the bay with the lift, and the drivetrain didn't make even a peep. Go figure......