comongoose
New member
Are there any write-ups or guides for the easiest way to pulling the motor out and putting a new one back in? any advice is much appreciated.
Pulling the motor write up
- Thread starter comongoose
- Start date
UR LOSN
New member
Pulling the motor is simple.
one step at a time.
1. drain ALL fluids.
2. disconnect battery
3. either take your power steering lines off, or take the 2 bolts out of the pump, as well as AC compressor.
4. unclip wiring harness, make sure to disconnect it from the starter
5. disconnect rear exhaust manifold.
6. remove passenger side nuts from bottom of motor mount
7. remove bolts going from Tranny backet to back of motor(right above CV joint on passenger side)
8. go under the car and unbolt the starter. you will need to rotate the motor and disconnect the flexplate bolts.
9. Double check that ALL electrical connectors have been disconnected, along with all fuel lines.
10. Remove intake, and all throttle linkages from TB.
11. remove all bolts holding tranny to the block. all of these are on the top of the tranny
12. attach a chain to the specific engine lift brackets....and slowly put tension on chain. gently pry/shake motor away form the transmission to get dowl pins out.
13. when motor is free of tranny...check clearance of wires around motor.
14. continue to lift motor up and out...constantly checking around motor and engine bay.
It is a simple process, but there are several steps that need t be taken care of to make sure the motor can come straight up and out.
one step at a time.
1. drain ALL fluids.
2. disconnect battery
3. either take your power steering lines off, or take the 2 bolts out of the pump, as well as AC compressor.
4. unclip wiring harness, make sure to disconnect it from the starter
5. disconnect rear exhaust manifold.
6. remove passenger side nuts from bottom of motor mount
7. remove bolts going from Tranny backet to back of motor(right above CV joint on passenger side)
8. go under the car and unbolt the starter. you will need to rotate the motor and disconnect the flexplate bolts.
9. Double check that ALL electrical connectors have been disconnected, along with all fuel lines.
10. Remove intake, and all throttle linkages from TB.
11. remove all bolts holding tranny to the block. all of these are on the top of the tranny
12. attach a chain to the specific engine lift brackets....and slowly put tension on chain. gently pry/shake motor away form the transmission to get dowl pins out.
13. when motor is free of tranny...check clearance of wires around motor.
14. continue to lift motor up and out...constantly checking around motor and engine bay.
It is a simple process, but there are several steps that need t be taken care of to make sure the motor can come straight up and out.
comongoose
New member
wow...thanks a lot ur losn..that does seem pretty easy. I was thinking about dropping it down with k member but this seems easy enough.
UR LOSN
New member
you can do it that way too, but it is more of a pain....as you have to move the body away from the cradle....
I had pulled the motor out of my camaro through the bottom. I tell you what.. it was easy, and more of a pain. trying to roll the entire front suspension with motor and trans still bolted together...was a little tough. then you have to go through and disconnect the steering shafts, brake lines..... its more work.
once the motor is out the top... the trans is right there being held in by the axle shafts, 2 bolts on the mount, and tranny cooler lines. it can be pulled in less than 20min after the motor is up and out.
I had pulled the motor out of my camaro through the bottom. I tell you what.. it was easy, and more of a pain. trying to roll the entire front suspension with motor and trans still bolted together...was a little tough. then you have to go through and disconnect the steering shafts, brake lines..... its more work.
once the motor is out the top... the trans is right there being held in by the axle shafts, 2 bolts on the mount, and tranny cooler lines. it can be pulled in less than 20min after the motor is up and out.
Sabrewings
New member
I always wondered... Once the engine is out does the trans want to sag on the passenger side, since it no longer has a mount over there? Does this make reconnecting the two difficult?
UR LOSN
New member
Nice quick write up manSounds like you've done it a couple times
a few:th_biggrin2:
nope..no problems at all. the trans will sag. the passenger axle will sit on the cradle....
that being said, try not to move the vehicle toooooo much after that. as the axle band will come off. other than that...
when reconnecting the 2... just have a jack and a 2x4 under the trans pan to help lift it back up.
Last edited:
comongoose
New member
lol....been there, done that with the LT1, but i went through the top and learned how much easier it was from the bottom when I started hanging out with a buddy who owned a local f body chop shop. He also had a fork lift which made things 100X easier. Ya i just got my l26 today and I am getting ready to pull the l67 out, swap the top, drop her back in, and get her done. BTW Does the rear exhaust manifold really have to come out first because in your pic. it looks like its still hanging on?
Sabrewings
New member
Thanks UR LOSN. Answers what I thought might happen. Hopefully I never have to do this, but we'll see.
UR LOSN
New member
sorry, I guess I should clarify things better. you have to disconnect the rear manifold from the Down pipe. you can keep the rear manifold on the motor.:th_thumbsup-wink:
I think I am going to make a How To(with pics) here shortly as I am pulling another motor out of a friends car within the next few weeks.
comongoose
New member
thats a good idea, and probably will become a major sticky. I was thinking about doing the same, as I am going to document the whole project of my car anyways. I am planning on using this as part of my portfolio for grad school.
comongoose
New member
WOW UR LOSN, you were not kidding about those bolts on the connecting bracket!! I couldn't find the second one for a long time and thought there was only one. I was so frustrated that the tranny and motor wouldn't split form one another. Then my buddy found it, and it took us almost 30 minutes to get it out. Like magic the two were able to split. I can't believe that one bolt holds the tranny and motor so close together. Also a good tip is to take the hood off, I barely got my motor out with the hood on. Anyways the only problem I had besides that bolt was I snapped off all the flex-plate bolts when pulling it apart, since I was man handling it, but that doesn't matter since I got a whole other set on the new motor. I actually lucked out because the motor was seized but the flywheel spun really easy even though the crank wouldn't. I guess the crank snapped? lol...BTW I noticed that the torque convertor was painted blue. Is that a stock color or do you think the previous owner had a rebuild to the tranny and/or stall? Thanks again for the help LOSN.
Bio248
DUI BABY
i put a strap around the tranny and pulled it up so that it wouldnt sag. i was then able to roll my car around without worrying about anything.
comongoose
New member
Ok, so I am now starting to swap the tops and I noticed that my l26 i picked up with only 26k miles on it had an immaculate valve-train. Then I took the heads off and noticed and abundance of carbon build up and flaking all over the top of the pistons. Is this normal on newer motors? My old motor that seized up looked clean in the combustion chambers and piston tops. Isn't that ironic? Also does nay one have any good tips for cleaning the heads and block that mates with them?
comongoose
New member
Should I at least shop vac off the carbon build up?
comongoose
New member
lol...too late already cleaned them, I just vacced up the flakes and cleaned around them.