some of the posts in this thred remind me of the stupid stuff I used to do when I was a younger man. One in particular was in my Winnebago RV, 454 chevy equiped. Rod started seriously knocking on top of a mountain out west. Limped at 35 mph to a chevy dealership and purchased a new 454 crate motor for $1600. Drove it across the street and parked it in a Wall-mart parking lot. From inside the RV, I stripped the bad motor down to the short-block, tied some rope around it, straped it over my shoulders, and physically lifted it out... Solo! Bought a cheap skateboard at the wally-mart to get the new engine up front, still inside the RV, and re-installed via the same method,,, only this time it was a long block!!! Fortunately, gravity was on my side going into the engine bay. MAN!!! That sucker was heavy!!! Took about two hours of lifting and nudging to get it lined up, but once it fell into place, bolting it all back together was a breeze. Did this overnight. Wall-mart opened up @ 7:00 am, and I was first in line to get 6 quarts of oil, a filter, some heater hose, and a new air filter. Parts counter at the chevy dealership opened at 9:00, and I was first in line to turn in the core. Shop mgr was AMAZED at what I had done, and I drove it 400 miles before exhaustion set in and I had to pull over for some sleep.
I would agree with the consensus to buy a cherry picker. I bought one at Farm & Fleet in Illinois for under $150, it goes together in less than an hour, and can be taken apart in under 15 minutes for storage in a very small flat box. At my age, I'm not going to bust my back trying to lift too much weight. I did that when I was younger, and those days are over. Once you've got one, it's just another great tool to have in your garage. Unfortunately I sold mine and already wish I had it back. Stupid thing to do but I wasn't thinking ahead at the time. :spank:
also agree with the consensus about the engine hoist, consider it an investment that will pay back many times over when you consider all the other alternatives that could turn out on the negative side. Have done it all ways over the years and my body reminds me of that every now and again. Safety is No.1 Good luck!
hell i only expected to use mine on the removal and installation of my engine, have all ready used it on 3 different cars, as far i i am concerned i believe that it has paid for its self 3 times over
Was that $109 a sale price or its normal price? About how high can it reach? Stupid question on the way... ou: Can the engine be hoisted out and back in with the transmission attached (assuming the front cowling is removed)?
I just had to throw in my crazy engine removal schemes. A chain and a come-along over a tree branch. Twice.. two different trees. A childs backyard swingset with angle iron on the top run for strength. The boom from a post hole digger on the three point hitch of a Farmall tractor. A chain hoist in a barn. and craziest of all was this god-awful contraption build out of galvanized pipe and tees and elbows. That one failed and broke the windshield. If you rent a cherry picker three times you just about pay for one. And rest asured if you have it.. you'll get your moneys worth. As far as arm extension, I've used mine on an old blazer that sat pretty high, and a buddy borrowed it to pull engines out of his boat. Dual cheby 250 six bangers .. go figure.. If you buy a load leveler it makes pulling the engine and tranny together much easier. You can angle the entire assembly as it moves up to help clear the trans tail. Sometimes I pull the engine then drop the trans on the ground afterward. I put them back in as a unit though. 109 is a great price. I think I paid 189 and that was some years ago.
it was $20 off at Pepboys (sorry not autozone) so it came to a $109.99 total, they also had an air powered hoist for 80-100 more. yes, i removed my engine with the tranny and installed it with the tranny, was fine, but i was using a load leveler (wouldn't do it without it). im not real sure how high it will go, but i had the car jacked up and i was able to clear the core support just fine and it seemed that there was plenty of extension left
Update! I thank everyone for your replies. In the end, it wasn't necessary because I removed everything from the frame(fenders,wells,core support,etc.). Then followed up with a cousin who's built like a silverback to give me a hand to lift that sucker out. Easy as pie. :TU: Mmmmmm..... pie.
I once used a lifting arm on the back of a Ford 8N tractor, inside a garage. Except for the pulsating lifting which almost put the hook through the ceiling, it worked fine. (whew!) Just recently used a chain hooked to the front bucket on a mid-50's Fordson Major tractor (ie, huge old beast) to lift out the old 170 inline six and tranny from the Ranchero. Those leaky hydraulic cylinders actually came in real handy, slowly lowering the new 200 cid engine into place... :Brow:
I'm about to pull the 455 from the Electra and I have a few questions, BTW - I'll be doing this alone so my objective is not to kill myself. I did get a fold up cherry picker with an 8 ton jack, $159, a a leveler and an engine stand plus a few things extra. I have good ramps and jack stands. Anyway, I plan to remove all the accessories, smog stuff, radiator, fan and of course wires and all the obvious connections. I use my sawsall to cut the exhaust pipes and the Y member out of the way. Once the motor is on the stand I can soak the bolts. Does one hook the leveler chains to the corner manifold bolts or should I use accessory holes? Common sense tells me the manifold bolds would be stronger.. Does one need to remove the tranny cross member or will the TH400 slide out with the member in place if I just unhook the TH400? Or I could put my tranny jack under it to lift it over the member? Shall I just unhook the cooling line and leave them with the body? Once the pair is out, I'll remove the TH400 stuff and mount the 455 on the stand for some planned work and cleanup. Might as well paint it too. Forget anything? This should get me started, but ANY hints or advice is greatly appreciated.
I use the accessory holes myself. Use quality grade 8 bolts. The 455 weighs a little over 600 lbs by itself. I pull engines with all 4 wheels on the ground. I find it easier to pull the engine and trans as a unit. Remove the cooling lines altogether and get them out of your way. Use can buy a pair of inverted flare brass caps to screw back in the fittings on the trans. It'll cost you less than a buck for these. Pick up a tailshaft plug set at the local Pep Boys. Made by "Lisle". Find the one that fits and stick it in the tailshaft of the trans otherwise youll have 9 quarts of tranny fluid pouring out the tailshaft. I also have an assortment of rubber plumbing caps. These are available at most hardware store plumbing aisles. Theyre normally used to cap a plumbing pipe. They come in a variety of sizes and attach with a hose clamp. I use them to cap where the lower hose fits to the engine. I hate spilling any fluid. So if your not draining both sides of the block, these rubber caps really help. The old "stuff a rag in it" trick doesnt work. As far as the crossmember, unbolt it completely but leave it place until you connect the engine crane and leveler. Once the leveler is in place, tilt the engine until the weight of the tranny is off the crossmember. Then remove it. Its going to have to come out. Or use a floor jack to lift the tranny a little. Dont forget to remove the ground strap! I ALWAYS forget that one. I wind up testing the tensile strength of that strap with the engine crane!
You'll need at least one other person to handle the hood, one person on each corner is better. I'd use two short chains at each end of the engine, bolted to the heads at the front, and use the bellhousing bolts at the rear if possible, since you're pulling the tranny at the same time. Then hook the leveler to the centers of the 2 chains and hoist away. If you leave the crossmember in place, you'll likely end up fighting it to get the engine/tranny far enough forward to clear, so I'd go ahead and pull the crossmember. Pretty sure you can disconnect and leave the trans cooler lines in the car. Be sure to label everything in sight, baggie and mark all the small parts, because no matter how obvious it looks, you'll forget how something fits together after you go to sleep (been there, forgot that...)
Thanks Jason, What about the rear chains? I don't have too many accessories on the back of my motor. I do have a tranny plug I plan to use and I'll remove the cooling line as I'll have to unhook both ends anyway. I'll cap the tranny cooler and motor cooler holes. Does anyone happen to know what size the TH400 and the 200R4 cooling hookups are? Thanks Jason, some good tips. Last engine I pulled was a 327 is a 65 Impala, 1972.
Cylinder heads are interchangable left to right, so the same accessory holes are on the back of the heads too. The cooling lines are 5/16". You can probably leave them in the car, but they always seem to hook under the damn rad support. By the time i realize it, theyre bent. Removing the hood hood is the only part I cant do by myself. Thats what the wife is for. Jennifer is an expert hood remover! My last engine removal. About 4 weeks ago...
I'm not too concerned about the Electra as it's just a doner for the 455. The lables and pictures will happen next when I pull the 455 in the Skylark to replace it with the 72 455 once it's ready. I plan on using "something" and the cherry picker to remove the hood. I'm getting a fairly good plan in place and I'm in no hurry.
