engine and drivetrain Need help on Tii engine tranny alignment

[bnam]

First the "problems":

* Schatz and Krum had commented that the driveshaft was possibly of the wrong length as it was hard to get back on when they replaced the seals. I did loosen the diff and move it back 1/8" - -but not sure if that was enough. S&K had recommended shortening the drive shaft.

* Then faq member Conkitchen commented that my engine and airbox were misaligned.

Checking other pics I've seen Tiis where airbox boot and throttle body were in alignment and others where they are not aligned straight. The mis alignment on mine is about 5/16"

Is this because the engine is moved a bit forward? Should the airbox and throttle body be straight on?

If so, my driveshaft problem becomes worse. But, if I'm going to correct it I should get all these variables correct -- center the engine/tranny and center the diff before measuring for the drive shaft.

How does one move the engine back? Remove driveshaft, Loosen the engine and tranny mount bolts and lift the engine up a bit -- but how to push it backwards? What else do I need to check?

Thanks!

Byas

[Guest Anonymous]

If S&K suggested it... I would deff. listen, great shop with an outstanding reputation... Stuart is a genius with 02...

[FB73tii]

The engine does not move backward or forward (unless you had some **really** spongy motor mounts). The only way I know to relocate the engine is to fabricate custom motor mounts. The misalignment of the tii filter housing is strange, as I recall it was fine on my '73. How well do you know the history of this car? If is is not a tii shell someone could have mounted the air filter housing incorrectly. A disreputable person could take a non-tii shell and graft a tii VIN stamping into it.

If the drive shaft is the wrong length it needs to be fixed. That would show up as compressive or tensile stress on the guibo. Do a search on Guibo issues for more on this. drive shaft length has nothing to do with engine location.

Fred '74tii

[jgerock]

My car has the same mis-alignment between the airbox and throttle body.

Jim

[bnam]

Yes, seems I incorrectly made an assumption that engine could be moved.

As far as I can tell, this is the original Tii body. It did have an accident in its past and frame straightening was done (discovered the 2004 rcpts in the glove box). Car tracks straight etc so repair was functionally correct. But, perhaps the subframe was bent.

It would be good to have some reference dimensions from unmolested cars to see where mine is off.

Jim -- yes I saw pics of your car and assumed that that was how all Tiis were until I saw another one where the airbox was aligned.

Byas

[willys]

try the bolts where the big washers are - looks to me like you could easily slide the unit to the left.

Jeff

[OriginalOwner]

I'm the orginal owner of my '74 tii and as best I know, the airbox/throttle body has always been "misaligned" in such a fashion.

Cheers,

Carl

p.s. that little clip on the gas line going to the cold start valve .... never have seen anything like that ..... Great Idea !!!!!

[bnam]

p.s. that little clip on the gas line going to the cold start valve .... never have seen anything like that ..... Great Idea !!!!!

Thx! That offset clip holds the hose at a much more gradual/natural curve than the shorter ones.

This one was a leftover from Fiat Spider I restored. The FI spiders used these clamps to hold (coincidentally) the cold start harness to the intake plenum.

Byas

[bnam]

try the bolts where the big washers are - looks to me like you could easily slide the unit to the left.

Jeff

Jeff, you were right -- there was room for adjustment. This is another reason why I really value forums like this -- fresh set of eyes to see things that are right in front of me, but I don't see.

While adjusting it just now I realized there is so much play (between bracket and box, the angle of the bracket itself, and even the mounts on the body can bend fore and aft) that the alignment between the airbox and throttle body is not at all a reliable indicator of frame damage/misalignment.

A quick 15min and it is aligned to within an 1/8". Could have got it fully straight, but it required me to pull the box off again but it was story time for the kids.

Byas