Bellhousing to Engine

The bellhousing is the cast aluminum shroud between the Ford Zetec engine and the gearbox that covers the clutch and flywheel. The very first bolt of the project connected the bellhousing to the T-9 gearbox; now it is time to connect the bellhousing to the engine. The process went smoothly, however, the thermostat housing that was bolted to the engine and described in my last post had to be removed to make room as the bellhousing is drawn forward. The bellhousing was raised about four inches off the ground on wood blocks, and then the engine was hoisted to the proper height. A metal gasket is sandwiched behind the engine near the top because the bellhousing is slightly larger. The gasket has a large round hole for the starter. Two washers are placed between the engine and bellhousing on the bottom bolts as spacers to fill the slight gap created by the gasket at the top. Three different bolt lengths are used, so be careful to put the right bolts in the right threads. One of the bolts near the top passes through the black battery negative cable.