[getmygoat]

Hi all,

Attempting to reseal the front pump on my turbo 350 '76 cutlass. Pulled the pump and replaced the seals no problem. However, reinstalling the pump not going well. I can get it to where the case of the pump meets the transmission case, but then it stops. Won't go in any more despite lots of jiggling. The first time, I was able to get the bolts started and started cranking them down fairly evenly. The pump seemed to be going in but the bolts were getting tighter w/o pump being flush and I started to worry maybe something was binding and didn't want to damage anything.

I've done some internet searching and it seems that in some cases a washer deeper in the trans can become dislodged and then the stuff behind the pump sits too far forward for the pump to go in.

I'm not sure if that's my problem or if I'm just being too timid cranking down those front pump bolts. Have seen videos where the front pump just drops into position with no resistance so I'm suspecting something isn't right.

Any thoughts on how to proceed? Ideally I could somehow determine definitively whether the rest of internals are sitting too forward or they are in ok position. I'd hate to wade deeper into the trans if not necessary.

Thanks for any insights.