[thingstodo]

I'm not going to number the steps for a task any more. It's depressing. Dates work better, don't you think?

I need to get the transmission back into SalvageS10. I have the truck on a set of ramps, and it is blocked well.

Contrary to post 134, the transmission is not that tight to the steering linkage - I have 3 inches of clearance between the steering linkage and the highest part of the transmission. How do I move a ... 150 lb? .. transmission on uneven grass, beneath a truck, by myself, safely? And I have 3 inches of vertical height to play with, so I can't use a wheelbarrow or a wagon.

My creeper is low enough, and would work if the truck was parked on at least gravel. But it's on grass. I tried anyway and it did not move with me on it (a bit over 150 lbs, granted, but close enough for a test)

I scrounged a piece of plywood - half inch thick and about 3 x 4 feet. It looked promising. I just could not figure out what sort of wheels to put it on. All of my casters have wheels too small. And if I use wheels large enough to work, the plywood is far higher than the 3 inch clearance that I have. So I tried to skid it across the grass. The grass was even a bit wet. No dice with me as the test weight.

So I went for a walk around the yard. I re-discovered a lot of junk ... and a piece of 1/8 inch plate that is maybe 24 inches by 32 inches. Best of all, it is painted and quite slippery. I tried it out on the wet grass and can ... sort of ... slide. Actually I slid over it about a foot and it slid on the grass an inch or two. Good enough for a start.

I think the plate is a keeper idea ... now to get it to slide. After a quick supper I found inspiration in the garage. It had some old broom handles and shovel handles (I am not kind to my tools. I break things) If I can get the plate to roll on top of the handles, using the handles as really long and wide caster wheels ...

A quick test shows it works WELL. So I gathered 4 or 5 of the old handles, trimmed them to length (they can't be longer than the distance between the truck ramps) and spaced them on the ground in front of the truck.

I backed the trailer with the transmission on it directly in front of the truck, slid the metal plate under the edge of the transmission, and tilted the trailer to slide/dump the transmission on the ground with the plate beneath. It worked OK. The transmission ended up too far to one side, but it is easy to slide on the plate. I remembered to remove the dipstick and oil fill so that the transmission fits under the truck.

I wedged a roller under the leading edge of the plate. Then I spaced the rest of the rollers about 6 inches apart between the transmission and the truck. And then I lifted the back edge (furthest from the truck) and pushed the plate and transmission. It did not slide easy for the first foot or so, but I was not under the truck yet so I could put some weight into the shove. After that the rollers did a good job and it rolled into position. Every 6 inches or so I had to take a roller from the back and put it in front.

Darn, a few pictures would be useful here!

The day ended with the transmission in about the right place (it's getting dark, so it's not perfect). The dip stick and oil fill are back in place so I don't lose them. The support bracket for the transmission is beside it. The transfer case and drive shafts are laid out and I think I have all the pieces and all of the bolts.

Now all I need to figure out is how to LIFT the transmission on the 1/8 inch plate, up into position beneath the truck, and adjust it so that I can put the bolts for the transmission support back on ... with the transmission resting on the metal plate ... maybe I can overhang it?

But that's another day.