Coupling assy

[rob love]

I have installed the engine/xmsn back into the 2VP carrier, and in the nice clear confines of the heated shop, I would like to solve a problem that I have always noticed with the alignment of the coupling at the differential. The angle never seems quite right, and with the one I am working on now, I have to raise the front of the engine almost 5/16 of an inch at the mounts to get the transmission coupling to line up to the differential. The manual states to tighten up the two rods to achieve this, but I can't help to feel that it would be better to have them on the same plane in the first place. While the manual states there should be no clearance between the transmission housing and the differential housing, I recall watching a later Cdn Army video saying there should be .005" clearance evenly all around. This makes sense as the engine must be able to rotate slightly with the torque of the mighty Ford engine. (Chevy would be a different story).

Short of raising the front of the engine or shimming the differential itself (not sure how well that would work) I don't see any other way of achieving this.

I have brand new motor mounts, so they are not the problem. I am really leaning towards making up a 1/4" or 5/16 spacer plate under each motor mount, but wanted to see what others thought.

Or am I worrying too much and should just jam them together tightly, put on the leather cover, and forget about it? Replacement gears may not be so available to the next guy working on it in 30 years.