Team Chevelle banner

McLeod Muscle 5 speed install.

16K views 85 replies 24 participants last post by  5speeds 
#1 ·
Well folks, I took the plunge and bought McLeod’s 5 speed. It’s going in an original 1970 4 speed SS396 with center console. I got the Muncie M20 out of the car today and I’m setting up to find concentric on the bellhousing tomorrow. The instructions only ask for concentric. Not parallelism. I called McLeod about it and was told to follow the directions that come with the transmission.

My first impressions of the transmission are that it is only slightly bulkier than the M20. If you have a center console the shifter measures exactly where the original is. So I have every reason to have confidence about shifter location lining up.

I have replaced all the body-to-frame mounts with urethane pucks from Energy Suspension. The top shifter rail and top plate are a bit tall but the overall case is convex from top center to the top starboard and port side of the transmission.

I currently have the original 402 big block in it with a Comp hydraulic roller and Edelbrock Performer RPM Air Gap. It dyno’d at 420hp and 500tq with the stock oval port heads (no head work) It’s an L34 package and perfect for the McLeod with 500/500 restrictions on HP and TQ. It also has the original 12 bolt with 3.31’s in the back.

I’ll post more as I go but will get pics of a side-to-side comparison ASAP. I went with this transmission because of the narrower top than a TKO. I know those are better built but didn’t want to take a chance of having to cut the car to make it work. McLeod informed my that they designed the case with GM A-bodies in mind.

More to come guys! Thanks.
 
See less See more
#58 ·
I guess Freddie is right. It is offset equal distances (almost) from the center. Looks like you need .014 offset dowels and point them straight up.once you put the offset dowels in the needle shouldn't vary more than a few thousandths all the way around.
 
#59 ·
So I zeroed it out at 6 o’clock and made three rotations with the dial indicator. These were repeatable as well.

6= .000

3= .011

12= .023

9= .009

I also did what you said BLM with a set of dial calipers. It’s only about four or five thou out the whole way around. I don’t think it’s oblong just slightly enlarged.

Big Gear Head, With these measurements I’m thinking I need to get the .014 offset dowel pins. Also, Does that mean I point the high side of the dowel pins up to the sky since the most run out is at 12 o’clock? I understand it’s half the TIR, correct? Tell me if I’m wrong guys. I appreciate the info. Thanks
 
#65 ·
Jody,
Thanks for that explanation that makes perfect sense. He said the parallel was only .003. The limit is .002. Strange that .001 excess could cause that much effect. Guess that is why the tolerance is so low.
 
#67 ·
The industry standard "parallel alignment +/-.001" or .002" TIR" spec tolerance is low as most input shafts stick out 6"-7" from the maincase and this magnifies the mis-alignment total.

If I do the parallel bellhousing mis-alignment task, there is a big difference when a bellhousing has .003" TIR vs .0005" TIR and shifting at the 7500-8000rpm mark. If you only shift at 4500rpm, it is just that much smoother being only 1/2 thousands off!

Another bellhousing alignment tip I'll share; dependent on the application and bellhousing mis-alignment, I may use a .007" offset dowel with a .014" offset dowel combo or maybe a .007" and .021" combination offset dowels. Do not always think you must use the same size offset dowel pins to correct the bellhousing concentric mis-alignment.
 
#72 ·
I'm going to assume the T5/Mcleod 5 speed are very similar to the center position of the T56, which I'm familiar with. I needed my shifter over at the left side location and moved forward also to clear my bench seat (no console). Height was a concern so I was forced to saw the oem T56 shifter low and bored a flat iron plate with a 3/4" hole to fit snugly over what was left of the shifter stub, which only extended up maybe 3/4" above the seal plate. Now I welded a shifter arm adapter to that plate where I wanted it, maybe 2.5" to the left and 2" forward. All's well with this but getting a good plug weld on that stub isn't exactly easy. Failed the first attempt and the shifter broke off in my hand with spirited shifting. I came up with a fix....drill/tap a 3/8" hole down the stub and run a grade 8 bolt down there. Now I just welded the adapter plate to that bolt and installed. After I was happy with the position, I drilled a 1/8" hole down along side that bolt and sunk a roll pin. This way that bolt can't back out. If I ever have to remove it, I'll have to drill that roll pin out and just twist the shifter back out.
This was all necessary because I couldn't find an offset shifter shallow enough to fit and look like oem from the topside. Besides, the cheapest shifter I could find was $300.
Keep in mind, the more you offset, the more the shifter will "rock" and that can interfere with your boot or the bottom of the console. That's probably why McLeod limits the offset.
 
#73 ·
Thanks, the numbers McLeod gave me are:

The offsets range from 0” offset to up to 3” left or right in 1” increments. And 0” to 3.1” forward or backwards in ½” increments.

So if that put your shifter in the correct spot it looks like it is achievable from McLeod.
Thanks again.
 
#74 ·
As long as we are talking Mcleod, I cant help but telling my tale. Last winter I installed a brand new transmission. It is a Legend. I used a Mcleod flywheel,clutch and pressure plate. Both the flywheel and the pressure plate were defective. The flywheel could not be installed and the pressure plate broke first time I depressed the clutch.
I had to send both items back to Mcleod for repair of the flywheel and replacement of the pressure plate. Both times I experienced extended delays in getting those issues resolved and spent hours on the phone. It took 5 weeks to get the flywheel issue resolved (poor machining) and in the mean time this held up a major project I was doing. At one point I got in touch with the person that handles these issues at Mcleod (after several unanswered voice mails) and she reported to me that it has been in her possession for a week but she hasn't even opened the package. No apology just excuses. I received no apology for the delay however after I sent an email to someone high enough up the chain they tripped over themselves saying how poorly they handled things.
Move on to second issue with the pressure plate exchange. With the help of Jody I was able to send the defective pressure plate back to Mcleod. This time it only took a month to exchange but they did nothing till I tracked down who I assume was the same woman who handled the first issue. Even at that after agreeing go exchange it under warranty she tried to charge me $300.00 for the new pressure plate.
So if one is considering buying a transmission from Mcleod and you have any issues I am assuming the way my 2 issues were handled is standard procedure. Also there is the quality control thing. If two out of three items are defective that speaks poorly for their quality control. I know I probably will not choose Mcleod next time. Just my 2 cents.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 71350SS
#75 ·
Wow, what a difference parallel makes. I’m within 2 thou on parallel.

Concentric turned out like this

6= .000

3= .006

12= .011

9= .005

I see what Jody was talking about with reciprocity now. North south = .011 and east west = .011. So half of .011 is .0055. Would I order .007 offset now? Thanks.
 
#79 ·
Yeah, I know what you mean. My neck hurt for days after I got mine dialed in. I don't know exactly how many hours I was under mine with my son turning the crankshaft for me, but for the average person it can be a real pain. I'm sure that people like Jody and Paul can get this done pretty quick because they've done it many times, but I'm slow and it can be confusing tying to figure it out.
 
#82 ·
Success ladies and gentleman!!!! First I would like to thank everyone on the forum for all their helpful information. It made a tedious and frustrating task a bit easier.

I will say as far as labor is concerned, this is honestly the toughest project I’ve ever taken on by myself. Namely parallelism. Especially considering that I did this all on my back. Ouch. I got it within a thou and a half, but that kicked my rear into tenders.

It also helps if your dial indicator is not broken. That was a big letdown when I found it out. I couldn’t get the numbers to ever repeat and it cost me an entire weekend. The weekend before last to be exact. I have worked on it every weekend for the entire weekend since I started this thread. I was able to get concentric within 2 1/2 thou. That wasn’t as tough to dial in but getting the dowel pins out with the engine in the car was torture. I will be finding parallel and concentric on every motor I have in the future BEFORE it goes into the car regardless of what transmission is going in it. Lesson learned. Passenger side pounded out with a 2’x3/8” rod with a hammer with the starter removed. Came out in 30 minutes. The driver side took a full day working on it with some vise grips and penetrating fluid. That sucked, but it’s done.

I just drove it today and I will say it’s great to have it done. I was only able to take up to 4th since I only it drove around my neighborhood. It has started to rain heavy on the west cost of Florida and I don’t want to take a test drive in a torrential downpour. I was also thrilled to finally get rid of my clutch chatter. It was bad before. Smooth and easy now.

It goes through the gears just a bit clunky but the instructions say to give about a 100 miles to break that in. First gear has no problem getting the car moving from a stop. Also, reverse is definitely a double clutch or a 1st-gear initially operation. I will be taking it on a longer ride tomorrow to see how it does at cruising speed. I will let you all know how it goes. Thanks fellas.
 
#85 ·
Awesome to hear and I know the feeling!
I still need to finish building the floor in my car but I am waiting until I have it broken in and the fluid changed.
I have about 400 miles on it, easy and some spirited driving and it is awesome! Did you have enough time to warm the transmission up? That gets rid of my notchiness in my car although it is a magnum and not the mcleod 5 speed.
Glad to hear it is going!
 
#84 ·
There really is not anything much better than the feeling of accomplishment after "doing it yourself". I don't drive the car as much as I used to but the urge to do a project myself is as strong as ever. Sometimes after a project is done, be it on the car or in my house, I find myself eyeballing the result for no other reason than to recall the effort that produced the final product.

Sitting in my kitchen right now, a kitchen I remodeled from ceiling to floor (including new hardwood) and moving a wall. Electrical, tile backsplash, cabinets install...I did all of it. Same goes for work on the car...walk out to the garage with a drink and just look it over after a recently completed mod.

Congrats to the OP on a job well done.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top