Hey there... Well, I've never pulled an engine before, and I could use some pointers. I'm going to remove my 300 and get my car ready for a nice 455. The hood, fenders and windshield are off the car so no worries about denting anything. I'm going to rent an engine hoist from Pep Boys. Does anyone know a website or a good book that goes through the process step-by-step? This newbie could really use that... I'll have a few friends to help out-- but they are just as mechanically inept as I am! There are a lot of basics that I don't know-- little details like: should i disconnect the tranny, should i remove the radiatior, where do I connect the engine hoist, how do I safely remove fuel lines, how can I keep from crushing my hands :eek2:, etc. Thanks!:TU:
Rule 1 is safety. When using the hoist either use a plate that bolts to the top of the intake manifold or use a chain. One length of chain works fine, but 2 lengths in an "X" pattern over the top of the engine is safest. Be sure it is pretty heavy chain, too. No doggy leash stuff! Rule 2 is prep! Unbolt and remove anything that is mounted around the engine. That include the radiator. With the nose off the car it isn't too much to also pull the radiator support. Without the fenders bolted to it it'll be kind of loose and floppy. It could easily get damaged. In my Riv the engine and trans go in and come out as a unit. Not so sure on your car. When hoisting the engine go SLOW! Wiggle and guide it as you go up and forward. Drain the radiator. If pulling the trans, drain it as well. You'll still end up with a puddle of trans fluid in the driveway. If leaving the trans in be sure to support it from underneath with blocks so as not to twist your trans mount when the front support (engine) is removed, causing damage to it, your trans and driveshaft. It is just a matter of being sure everything is disconnected: Trans linkage Wiring harness throttle setup exhaust Be sure to put all nuts and bolts into ziplock baggies AS YOU REMOVE THEM. And LABEL them with a Sharpie. This adds some time now, but saves many hours of frustration later when you leed to locate the correct fastener and they are labled seperately for you.
Well, no matter what, if you want, you can remove the engine seperately from the transmission. I mean, you just support the tranny and unbolt it, they come apart, but the issue is supporting it. You can just put a jack under the tranny pan but it's not a good way to treat a tranny you want to keep:grin: If you think it out, you can rig something up. The biggest and only concern I ever had yanking an engine without the tranny (I never have pulled out the tranny with an engine) is space. Where am I gonna put the engine/tranny? It's long, can I swing it around and even get it into the area I want it? I always pull the engine seperately because I have no room to put a tranny. Then of course is the issue: if you want the tranny from one engine to go one the other, how do you pull that off? Gonna hold the tranny up by hand? I avoid the entire issue by using a small trolley jack with wooden supports on the pad that I cobbled up that supports the tranny while the engine is removed. The jack lets you raise or lower the tranny to align the guide pin. If you put the jack in from the side you can move the tranny a bit left and right. Works for me. The Buick 455 has a lug ring on the driver's side rear of the block that I find really handy. It's right on top of the bellhousing flange:TU: Then I ran a chain to a bolt hole in the head, for the alternator bracket. I use a thick chain, and many washers... I get away with that because I have pulled/installed a Buick 455 in this car, oh, about a half dozen times; I know how it's gonna tilt, and where to use a pry bar to slide it into place. A trick I use is to loosely bolt the motor mounts to the motor mount pads instead of the engine. Maybe it's because I pull the motor alone, without the tranny?o No: But that saves me aggravation. I just use a drift pin to locate the motor mount holes on the block. Remember- chock the wheels. Get kitty litter, good leather gloves, thick wall trash bags, and various empty bottles like milk jugs to catch fluids. Some soup cans work well to catch stuff in lower clearance spots. Take pictures of electrical connections- you may forget how things went. I have. Don't re-use crummy 30 year old hardware when new grade 8 stuff is available. Don't skimp on that- break one bolt off in an engine block because you wouldn't spend 2 bucks on a new bolt and you'll wish you had. Use anti-seize compound on everything you re-install. Check and make sure that nothing is being ripped out by the engine lift when you pull the engine- I have ruined kickdown cables by accident. The biggest bit of advice I can give is: if something looks rickety, or unstable, STOP RIGHT AWAY and re-think it for a few minutes. Start thinking about the engine falling to the ground or on you because of that shaky or sketchy rig and you'll be amazed at how quickly you decide on an alternate and safer solution. Good luck, it's not that hard, if I can do it anyone can:TU:
About the chain, even if it's a Geo Metro 3 cylinder, don't use a chain that you wouldn't feel comfortable towing with.
pulling an engine is not a difficult proposition...especially on an older car (hardly any wiring, simple intake/carb setup, no egr/air pump/excessive amount of vaccuum hoses/ect) the amount of disassembly will all depend on how much clearance you have. with the radiator out, you probably would not have a problem pulling the engine with the accessories still bolted to it. you'll probably need to remove most of it if you pull the tranny at the same time, though. if the tranny does have to come out, i'd do it now...slipping it out of the bottom is harder, and you save the time lost fooling with some of the harder bellhousing bolts, and the converter ones. most stuff sould be pretty obvious- unbolt the exhaust manifolds/headers at the head flange, unbolt the engine mounts form the frame pads, take care of your wiring, and remove all accessories in the way. (the PS pump and the AC are the only accessories that MUST be removed, and i just leave them hooked up to the steering box or condensor if possible) if removing the tranny, you'll have to take out the driveshaft, unbolt it from its mount, drain the fluid and/or plug the tailshaft, remove the wiring harness, remove the cooling lines, and remove the shift linkage. make sure you feel for EVERY wire or line that could be connected to the engine, it's pain to have to take care of that stuff once it's in the air (the ground straps on the back of the heads always gets me)
Cool... thanks for the tips!:TU: A lot of good points here. Lots of stuff that I should know. I'll just take it slow and try to keep from breaking any bones or windows. Perhaps I'll bring a laptop into the garage so I can ask some quick questions during the removal!:Comp:
Hey man, me and a not mechanically inclined buddy just pulled the 430 from our donar car a few weeks ago and neither of us had any experience other than reading this board and asking the same kinda questions. We used a 40$ tool kit from walmart that included deep well sockets and that has worked for everything so far. Well, we had to make a breakerbar extension out of a metal lamp tube to get the manifold and head bolts off. It worked. Anyways it only took us newbies about 3 hours and we removed the entire front end of the car except the fenders. lol As far as pulling the engine a few things made it much easier: a. using a leveler & bolting it straight into the intake manifold I dunno about your engine but we had more than enough manifold bolt to hold it securly in place that way and didnt have to worry about it slipping off the chains. ( picture illustrates that ) b. removing the transmission seperately. However with a little forethought that wouldnt have been difficult either. Our issue was the car being up on jackstands when we got ready to pull. It would have been a pain in the a to pull all the jackstands and then roll the car away from the engine / trans so we just split em up. Also we were about to stick the engine on a stand so the trans had to be off anyways. Definately be ready to catch some serious amounts of fluid & yes.. kitty litter is awesome for picking up the extra spillage. We used clumping scented litter and it was quite lovely. :laugh: Also we used a sharp pair of hedge trimmers to cut all the hoses and wires.
From pulling my dad's 258 in a CJ-7, I'll tell you to unhook and bolt everything that you can see could hinder the removal, then go SLOW!!! You probably forgot some stuff or missed it and will yank it out with the motor. raise it a couple inches, check, another couple, check again, etc.
I helped a guy with his 68 pull the engine. front was totaled.. biggest thing is to remove every wire and hose. you don't take the time and look at every nook and cranny. dont forget oil sending unit wire or line. his had a 2 speed and the height we needed to lift was a lot and we did it with the tranny attatched.. and no we didnt drain it first... needless to say it looked like we killed 3 people in his garage with the amnt of old tranny fluid. biggest thing is to go slow. oh and when separating the trans from the engine. dont forget the bolt near the starter.... I'm not sure of the count of bolts but it maybe a good idea to ask what the count of bolts are for the trans/engine connection. nate
HA!!! That thing's so small (Geo 3cyl.), you can just about reach in and pull it out with your hands!!:grin: :grin:
