So i have a 1990 mustang gt. its my first 5.0. i drive it every day. i need this car in my life. i wanted one my whole life as far back as i can remember. so i was driving and heard the throwout bearing start to whine and squeal. i decide to fix it my self. the job itself was not too hard to remove the exhaust system, drive shaft, crossmember and transmission which is a t-5 by the way. as i suspected the throwout bearing was toast. i swapped it out with a timken bearing which should last hopefully. this was my first remove and replace throwout bearing job on anything i have owned. now for the life of me i cant get this input shaft to pass through the clutch plate to seat this tranny for installation. its like the bearing slides down through the clutch fork. things arent lining up properly at all. any advice to remedy my problems. also tips to adjust my clutch from scratch, it feels way tight with the new bearing installed.
the bearing rides on the fingers of the pressure plate the input shaft from the transmission passes through the throwout bearing through the clutch fork through the pressure plate through the clutch disc seating in splines on the clutch through the pilot bearing to the crank. what is keeping every thing from lining up the clutch remained un removed throughout this repair. does the clutch cable need to be engaged or unengaged from the clutch fork?
You should use a clutch alignment tool or an old input shaft snout when tightening the pressure plate down. Then, when installing the trans, you may find it gets partway in and won't go further. At that point, push the clutch fork forward, or hook the cable up and have a helper step on the pedal, and the trans will slip the rest of the way in. Don't try to draw it in with the bolts.
Connect the clutch cable , and this will help to keep the clutch fork centered as you install the transmission.
I caught that the clutch was never removed , which is good for you .
I usually will turn the output shaft to align the splines into the clutch , and everything slides right in .
I also apply a small amount of anti-seize or grease to the input shaft to help lube it as it goes into the clutch disc.
From reading your post sounds like you may have pressed the clutch while trying to seat everything, (you said pedal was tight with new bearing, you would not know that if you had not depressed the clutch) Not the end of the world but your will probally need to use a clutch alighment tool as previoulsy stated. You can get them at parts stores many have loaner tools.