When I pulled the motor to beautify everything and replace those sagging mounts, I didn't have any trouble getting the tranny to motor bolts out. Now I'm screwed, the bolt that holds the tranny dipstick will not fit. With the motor up where it needs to be there isn't much room between the firewall and the back of the motor. I tried a little shorter bolt with no luck. I contiplated drilling a hole through the firewall but couldn't get myself to do it...it looks so nice now. What would be the easiest way to get this bolt in. I know I can't be the only one this has happened to.
This will sound crazy but you can take the bolt out of the trans mount and raise the tail of the trans and then you can get the bolt in without having to take out the cross member.
Since I don't have an automatic in mine, I assumed ( yeah ... I know) that it was a lower bolt. After looking at the diagram in the manual, though, it looks like it's an upper bolt, and if you believe what the manual says, the bolt for the dipstick bracket goes into the head. There is a bolt for the vacuum modulator line that bolts to the bell housing, and it's higher up.
This bolt is the passager side of the top 2 and holds the dipstick tube. I tried raising the tail of the tranny and it made it worse. It closed up in a hurry, I only had an inch to raise in the back. Would because it's a power glide make a difference? Everything is so tight. I got fed up and slid the cross member back enough to remove the mount, lowered the tranny and was able to get a bolt in, not the right bolt though a little shorter one.
I dont know if this helps, but for me when tilting upwards, I get the top two from above, in the engine compartment. Seems like i remember doing dipsticks like that.
I can usually get them all from below with a swivel and long ext. if I tilt down, but not always. This is just general RWD model thoughts though. I've had to do a little of each on more than one car.
