You are quite right! The bolt that was still "installed" was just 1" long and the threaded hole had another inch to go, so I bought a pair of 2" bolts and matching lockwashers and installed them. They held fine, and I was sure to torque them on the light side.
I couldn't believe how different the car felt after that! I mean, the gap at the base of the trans and b/housing was probably only a couple thousandths of an inch, like maybe 1* off flush mounted. The car has never felt so smooth, quiet, and composed on the highway at 70mph, and, perhaps more importantly, the shudder is gone!
I can't believe it's taken me this long to spot this problem. I've been down there many times lately, servicing the shift linkage, inspecting u-joints, etc. with my head RIGHT NEXT to the bolts.
Oh well, I'm glad to have it fixed!
Still going to be looking into an overdrive swap though
I couldn't believe how different the car felt after that! I mean, the gap at the base of the trans and b/housing was probably only a couple thousandths of an inch, like maybe 1* off flush mounted. The car has never felt so smooth, quiet, and composed on the highway at 70mph, and, perhaps more importantly, the shudder is gone!
I can't believe it's taken me this long to spot this problem. I've been down there many times lately, servicing the shift linkage, inspecting u-joints, etc. with my head RIGHT NEXT to the bolts.
Oh well, I'm glad to have it fixed!
Still going to be looking into an overdrive swap though