Anything is Fixable: Dylan_See's TJ Build Thread

We’ve been wrestling with the torque converter for two hours; still can’t get get it to line up with the flex plate to bolt it in, and it’s definitely not a problem on the pump side because the torque converter seated great and the bell housing bolted up very easily. They’re not only capable of going on one way in the bolt pattern are they?

Tried every possible orientation of flex plate/torque converter, and three of them let me put in three bolts and one only lets me put in one. I have no idea how that’s possible.
 
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Tried every possible orientation of flex plate/torque converter, and three of them let me put in three bolts and one only lets me put in one. I have no idea how that’s possible.

New torque converter,old flexplate? It should only bolt up in one orientation.
 
Are you sure 1 hole isn't offset slightly? Meaning it can only bolt up one way? you might have to spin it until you find the correct pattern? And only start your bolts until you get all 4 in and started then rotate and torque down.
 
Are you sure 1 hole isn't offset slightly? Meaning it can only bolt up one way? you might have to spin it until you find the correct pattern? And only start your bolts until you get all 4 in and started then rotate and torque down.

One bolt is offset slightly, and I’m pretty sure I have the wrong torque converter. I tried every permutation of holes lining up and had the bolts loose, not torqued down. I think I got a converter with symmetrical holes instead of an offset one.
 
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One bolt is offset slightly, and I’m pretty sure I have the wrong torque converter. I tried every permutation of holes lining up and had the bolts loose, not torqued down. I think I got a converter with symmetrical holes instead of an offset one.

I will be taking it out tomorrow and eyeballing it. I may just order a new torque converter in the meantime.

That sucks....
 
Yup. I did in fact get the wrong part from AutoZone. Ordered a TC 703, which although their search engine says is for a 98, is clearly not offset for one bolt. I should have ordered a TC 783.

Well at least you know what is the issue...
 
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Too bad it'll have cost 250 bucks and an entire day to figure it out, but at least I haven't broken anything doing the install yet. On the plus side, my dad and I are getting to be really fast at lining up the bellhousing to bolt on. Not that I want to get tons of use out of that skill, but it's a current convenience I suppose. If this thing doesn't work once it's in, and has to come back out because of a pump or drum or gear train problem, my head just might explode.

With the collection of setbacks I have accumulated so far, I have no idea how @hear likes working on these things. The tinkering is loads of fun, but when every third bolt snaps off trying to torque it to spec and half your parts are the wrong year, it can get a little tiring. At least I'm on the home stretch here of the swap, which is good, because I have less than two weeks to get it running and driving normally again.
 
When I check TC Reman.'s website, their engine says 703 for a 98, and says that the mounting pads are offset, which makes no sense, because clearly that unit doesn't fit my TJ's flex plate. I'm honestly not quite sure what part to order. I'll figure it out, I guess.
 
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Too bad it'll have cost 250 bucks and an entire day to figure it out, but at least I haven't broken anything doing the install yet. On the plus side, my dad and I are getting to be really fast at lining up the bellhousing to bolt on. Not that I want to get tons of use out of that skill, but it's a current convenience I suppose. If this thing doesn't work once it's in, and has to come back out because of a pump or drum or gear train problem, my head just might explode.

With the collection of setbacks I have accumulated so far, I have no idea how @hear likes working on these things. The tinkering is loads of fun, but when every third bolt snaps off trying to torque it to spec and half your parts are the wrong year, it can get a little tiring. At least I'm on the home stretch here of the swap, which is good, because I have less than two weeks to get it running and driving normally again.

You should try piecing together a engine you don't know the year of at first and then part are missing or stuff was installed wrong...

There isn't much on mine that is original and I have to remember what stuff came off of...

When I check TC Reman.'s website, their engine says 703 for a 98, and says that the mounting pads are offset, which makes no sense, because clearly that unit doesn't fit my TJ's flex plate. I'm honestly not quite sure what part to order. I'll figure it out, I guess.

Any chance it was boxed wrong? Was there a year that the bolts weren't offset?
 
Sorry i didn’t see all the fun till now. I’ve worked on a number of years TJ transmissions, although I haven’t done a 98 afair. At any rate I’ve never encountered an offset bolt pattern, but before I did my first one I had read that I needed to mark the bolts first, presumably to help line it up on reassembly. It turns out that it has never mattered on any transmission I have ever done. I’m sure it is a thing somewhere….

I used a Pro King CR-90 when I did mine, FWIW.