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Engine swap advice???

its pretty interesting but of the few engines ive pulled they've all come out the top with no problems. its probably more hassle to drop from the bottom.
 


well i don't have an exact measurement. but the general one would be high enough so u can drag the engine out from underneath the car. my dad and i just lowered it on to a big piece of cardboard and slid it out from underneath the car
 
ctracer said:
its pretty interesting but of the few engines ive pulled they've all come out the top with no problems. its probably more hassle to drop from the bottom.
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what engines have you pulled from what cars? cause when my dad and i did his it just did not want to come out of the top haha. i think it had to do with they way the engine was mounted or something like that i can't remember exactly what it was though. i just know that we tried everything to lift it and it didn't want to come out that way.
 
mwinters29 said:
what engines have you pulled from what cars? cause when my dad and i did his it just did not want to come out of the top haha. i think it had to do with they way the engine was mounted or something like that i can't remember exactly what it was though. i just know that we tried everything to lift it and it didn't want to come out that way.
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a few w bodies.
also a few grand nationals but those are completely different, lol.
there are a few hard to reach/hard to find bolts. and did you guys pull the engine and the trans all at once?
 
Check this out. It is the easiest way to remove out motors.
http://www.grandprixforums.net/how-pull-engine-billboost-style-47220.html

If you go through the bottom. You have to jack the car over 3 feet. Then trying to slide the engine/subframe and transmission out all at the same time.. That's over 1,000lbs. Unless you have a car lift.. Even then..you'll need some way to lift the engine to get it off the subframe.

The instructions linked above, don't even suggest taking the hood off. Because then you'd need to realign it and there's no need to take it off. I personally don't pull the oil filter adapter, it's much more of a hassle and there is just enough room to pull the engine w/o taking it off. On the rear main seal, I have come across many more rear engine cover leaks than I have rear main seal. I would change the rear cover gasket (and rear main since you'd have the cover off anyhow) at the same time. This is a common area to leak and appear to look like an oil pan gasket leak.

Advance sells a lower conversion gasket set for ~$36.
http://www.grandprixforums.net/common-part-numbers-pulleys-goops-gaskets-39796.html
The kit includes front engine cover, front main seal, oil pan gasket, rear engine cover, rear main seal and I think the oil filter adapter gasket as well. Kinda funny because it's cheaper than the oil pan gasket by itself. If you are looking to ensure your oil pan/rear cover/rear main seal don't leak. I'd highly suggest buying this coversion set and doing the rear cover/rear main and oil pan gaskets. If you don't see any moisture by the front cover...leave those alone.
 


bmx6454 said:
i dont believe i have/or can find any jacks that can clear an engine lol
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go to an auto parts store like auto zone or something. if they don't have them there they probably could order them. my dad has 4 (you put one in the vicinity of each corner of the car). you will use a normal hydraulic 3 ton jack to get the car high enough for those first. it might be easier using 2 of those.
 
ctracer said:
a few w bodies.
also a few grand nationals but those are completely different, lol.
there are a few hard to reach/hard to find bolts. and did you guys pull the engine and the trans all at once?
Click to expand...

you i think we did both at once. and i forgot to consider the weight of the engine until bill boost said it (late night las night haha). we probably didn't drag it out on cardboard. we might have pulled it out with a 3 ton jack I'm not sure though.
 
I've done a few 3800s and every one I pulled through the top. Seems like a lot of wasted work to drop the subframe.... The only thing i've even had a little trouble with was that one annoying bolt on the back side of the engin. Long extension takes care of that though(so I hear). Although I got good at pulling them using 3 swivels...lol
 


so, would it be a hell of a lot better to bring out the trans and engine as one piece, and then separate them, and swap, and drop? or leave the tranny in? and very nice write up. one question, where does the two engine lift spots go? cause i took them off when i did my head gaskets, and cant seem to find exactly where they go, and im probably gonna need them lol
 
There's no reason to pulling both, unless you need the trans out. It's not any easier, but it can be done fairly easily. There's one more trick on 98+ cars that I have when doing both at once. All it does is waste 7-8 quarts of trans fluid though.

The lift brackets go on the front driver side and rear passenger side. However you could also bolt directly to the end of the head.
 
The most difficult bolt is the one that goes through the engine and into the bell housing on the right side of the motor. It's the bolt closest to the differential.

Bill has a trick for this bolt. He lowers the cradle a bit and uses a long extension with a universal.

I didn't use the trick. I just rocked the motor forward, removed the rear manifold, knelt on the LIM and reached down. Biggest obstacle was the torque required to loosen the bolt. It actually made a pop sound when it broke loose.

The oil extender can be left on the motor. There's plenty of room. Removing the manifolds and radiator made it much easier to lift the motor out.

Removing the engine from the bottom is a lot more work.
 
Rico said:
Bill has a trick for this bolt. He lowers the cradle a bit and uses a long extension with a universal.
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No I don't... I don't touch cradle bolts at all unless I am pulling a trans or installing a cam in the vehicle through the wheel well.

Rico said:
I didn't use the trick. I just rocked the motor forward, removed the rear manifold, knelt on the LIM and reached down. Biggest obstacle was the torque required to loosen the bolt. It actually made a pop sound when it broke loose.
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It's not that hard. Heck..I once took that out w/o having the tire off, simply lowered the ps pump and used a ~12" extension under the exhaust manifold to pop it free. This bolt is easy. Hardest part for most is finding it and I have pics of that.

Radiator is tucked up under the core support, if you don't remove the core support with a sawzall... pulling the radiator isn't needed. I don't even pull the fans. That's a lot of extra labor for no real gain in space. Exhaust manifolds..yeah..i leave them on too.
 
Here's a fairly stock one coming out (with trans)
IMG_7286.jpg


IMG_7288.jpg


If you didn't see it on the engine when I lifted it out..it didn't come out. One note..which is the little trick I mentioned.. Unbolt the master cylinder from teh booster (don't drain or unhook lines, just the two 15mm that hold it on and then it'll move to give the trans more room to move with the motor. If you aren't pulling the trans..leave it alone.)


IMG_7289.jpg
 


Bill

How the heck did you get the extension around the rear tranny bracket. I swore you said you lowered the cradle...or did you remove the bracket first? My bad.

I removed the radiator on my second extraction because the motor spun and hit it on the first extraction. Didn't do any damage but could have. I also have the larger radiator from ZZP and it can get in the way. I revamped my pulling outfit to prevent this from happening. A hook and chain requires the picker to be at the perfect angle unless you have a puller that spins.
 
The bracket holds the diff of the trans to the engine. If you are removing the backwards bolt to seperate the trans and engine, it makes sense to remove the bracket holding the trans to the engine first and have a straight shot at the bolt.

I use the leveler to make life a little easier and I find that putting one hand on the drivetrain and jacking the hoist with the other works like a champ for me. I think I've only had a helper for maybe 5 out of a hundred or so pull/installs.
 
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