gen 3 coupe motor fit problem

[jwhit]

i started putting motor in tonight 302 with t5 speed motor looks fairly straight and level but tranny shifted toward pass side about 1" any body have this issue?? also looks like
i will cut out brace in tunnel so i can install shifter

[bil1024]

Yep gotta cut, I had no idea about it till I called FFR, the coupe is really not set up for the 302 anymore it seems, also the trans tunnel hole for the aluminum panel needs to be cut

[jwhit]

Yep gotta cut, I had no idea about it till I called FFR, the coupe is really not set up for the 302 anymore it seems, also the trans tunnel hole for the aluminum panel needs to be cut

did you have issue with tranny crooked

[edwardb]

Depending on your final shifter location, you may have to do some adjusting with the cross braces on the transmission tunnel and the cover. But the rest should be OK. The entire engine/trans is offset to the passenger side approximately one inch. If you look at the motor mounts, you'll see the one on the PS is shorter than the one on the DS. That way the driveshaft lines up properly with the differential, where the U-joint is off-center toward the PS due to the ring and pinion gear inside. All by design.

[Dave Tabor]

Before you cut anything- send a picture of the trans tunnel.

Dave

[jwhit]

Depending on your final shifter location, you may have to do some adjusting with the cross braces on the transmission tunnel and the cover. But the rest should be OK. The entire engine/trans is offset to the passenger side approximately one inch. If you look at the motor mounts, you'll see the one on the PS is shorter than the one on the DS. That way the driveshaft lines up properly with the differential, where the U-joint is off-center toward the PS due to the ring and pinion gear inside. All by design.

mine has whole engine / tranny angled not just offset almost like somthing wrong with mount locations ? i am going to check motor mounts again tonight but i think it is almost impossible to mount them in wrong
my boxes were labeled passenger side and driver side ,but i guess there is chance they were wrong ?

[jwhit]

Before you cut anything- send a picture of the trans tunnel.

Dave

shifterlocsl.jpg

here is what i got

[edwardb]

mine has whole engine / tranny angled not just offset almost like somthing wrong with mount locations ? i am going to check motor mounts again tonight but i think it is almost impossible to mount them in wrong
my boxes were labeled passenger side and driver side ,but i guess there is chance they were wrong ?

Hard to tell much from your picture. Blurry and not the best perspective. Assuming the front to back location is correct, does appear though for your engine/trans combination that cross piece is going to have to come out for that shifter location. People have moved the shifter around on the T-5 by fitting an S-10 tailshaft. But that's something you probably wouldn't want to pursue at this point.

For the engine offset, strongly encourage that you think in terms of getting it properly assembled versus there being something wrong with the chassis or chassis mounts. Anything's possible of course. But I highly doubt that's the issue. I'm assuming you have the kit provided Energy Suspension SBF motor and transmission mounts? It's been been a few years since I used those, but I don't recall left or right being marked on the motor mounts. But it should be pretty obvious. Look at the motor mounts and look at the mount locations in the chassis. The bolt and guide pin locations are different on each side. The mounts will only work on the proper sides. Mount them on the engine accordingly. When installing the engine, the bolts and pins should drop through the matching holes and slots. With that done, your engine should be slightly off to the PS as already mentioned. For the transmission mount, the Gen 3 Coupe uses a mounting plate that has multiple orientations depending on your engine/trans combination. The instructions are a bit confusing, to be honest. Turn it end-for-end and flip over however necessary for the Energy Suspension trans mount to align with the mounting slots. In the right location, the trans will also be over to the PS and the tailshaft pointing at the U-joint flange on the diff. If your engine/trans line isn't parallel with the chassis front-to-back, you have something mounted incorrectly.

[Tuftster]

As Paul said, try flipping the trans mount around, others have seen same issue when installed per the manual with a 302. I also had to lengthen the trans crossmember holes slightly to get it to fit properly (w/ TKO). Also make sure your engine mounts are seated properly on the block. I know the Dart blocks have webbing that interfere with the supplied mounts that require some massaging.

[jwhit]

Hard to tell much from your picture. Blurry and not the best perspective. Assuming the front to back location is correct, does appear though for your engine/trans combination that cross piece is going to have to come out for that shifter location. People have moved the shifter around on the T-5 by fitting an S-10 tailshaft. But that's something you probably wouldn't want to pursue at this point.

For the engine offset, strongly encourage that you think in terms of getting it properly assembled versus there being something wrong with the chassis or chassis mounts. Anything's possible of course. But I highly doubt that's the issue. I'm assuming you have the kit provided Energy Suspension SBF motor and transmission mounts? It's been been a few years since I used those, but I don't recall left or right being marked on the motor mounts. But it should be pretty obvious. Look at the motor mounts and look at the mount locations in the chassis. The bolt and guide pin locations are different on each side. The mounts will only work on the proper sides. Mount them on the engine accordingly. When installing the engine, the bolts and pins should drop through the matching holes and slots. With that done, your engine should be slightly off to the PS as already mentioned. For the transmission mount, the Gen 3 Coupe uses a mounting plate that has multiple orientations depending on your engine/trans combination. The instructions are a bit confusing, to be honest. Turn it end-for-end and flip over however necessary for the Energy Suspension trans mount to align with the mounting slots. In the right location, the trans will also be over to the PS and the tailshaft pointing at the U-joint flange on the diff. If your engine/trans line isn't parallel with the chassis front-to-back, you have something mounted incorrectly.

i think i will try to loosing mounts on block to see it that will give little wiggle room if not i will take off and enlarge holes where the bolt to block to get little more play i guess i will just cut cross member in tunnel to fit shifter
i order kit to fit 302 with t5 so i assumed all would be good .
thanks for input

[Jeff Kleiner]

Like Paul I have not ever seen the Energy Suspension mounts labeled as drivers or passenger side but it's easy enough to check to make sure that you don't have them swapped---they'll bolt on to the engine either way but of course only one way is correct. The drivers side mount will have the pin below the stud and the passenger side will have the pin rearward of the stud.

Jeff

[edwardb]

i think i will try to loosing mounts on block to see it that will give little wiggle room if not i will take off and enlarge holes where the bolt to block to get little more play.

Shouldn't be necessary to cut, trim, enlarge, whatever to get the engine where it's supposed to be. You haven't responded to the suggestions about making sure the mounts are on the right sides, sitting in the mounts correctly, the rear transmission mount is installed correctly, etc. Cutting metal should always be the last resort and more often than not problems like these are because of an assembly error of some kind. Builders don't want to hear that, but it's been my personal experience plus while observing others. Good luck and hope you get it resolved.

[jwhit]

Shouldn't be necessary to cut, trim, enlarge, whatever to get the engine where it's supposed to be. You haven't responded to the suggestions about making sure the mounts are on the right sides, sitting in the mounts correctly, the rear transmission mount is installed correctly, etc. Cutting metal should always be the last resort and more often than not problems like these are because of an assembly error of some kind. Builders don't want to hear that, but it's been my personal experience plus while observing others. Good luck and hope you get it resolved.

i will check but i dont think mounts can go on wrong side and still line up with mounts since there is a pin that lines up with bolt that are different on left and rights,i thank you for the suggestion
20180124_165842.jpg20180124_165836.jpg

[jwhit]

had to cut brace no big deal problem was in motor mounts i just elongated holes where the bolt to block since the was zero play before
20200127_175430.jpg20200127_175457.jpg

[bil1024]

had to cut brace no big deal problem was in motor mounts i just elongated holes where the bolt to block since the was zero play before
20200127_175430.jpg20200127_175457.jpg

That looks like mine, think your good, mine lined up with the rear so I am assuming I am in the right position, used stock convertible mounts and had no issues