trevmust

How hard is it to pull a 1998 3.8L buick V6 from a 98 Firebird?

it and the transmission are leaking so I want to rebuild them until I can afford to buy a better driveline for the car.

DVP

Unhook everything from up top. Pull the driveshaft and torque arm, unbolt Trans struts, crossmember and kmember from underneath.

trevmust

thanks. I assume you've done it before

DVP

Just dropped the one outta my car. Was easy enough for me. Others might have some tricks that make it faster.

trevmust

thnx

DVP

Don't forget the hard brake lines from the block since you will be dropping the Kmember also.

trevmust

I need to know if the car is a 3 channel or 4 channel ABS... :/ Do I need to drop the K-member for sure?

What I want to do is drive the car up on ramps, then jack up the rear end and put jackstands under the rear so I have room to get under, yet the car isnt too high for me to get into the engine compartment.

Jenson

iTrader: (32)

You'll definitely want both ends in the air. The front will need to get really high to clear the motor/tire combo to roll it out. I dropped my K member on to a dolly so the car didnt have to be as high the last time I did it. 3 channel is abs, 4 channel is traction control. I dont believe 4 channel to be an option on V6 cars.

BlackBirdDaddy

iTrader: (16)

I used the engine puller to lift the front of the car while I had a floor jack with a dolly on top of it under the engine and then just lowered it out of the way.

Here are some pics of how mine came out:










Here is what now resides in that spot!

Jenson

iTrader: (32)

That's exactly what I did last time too, works great.

trevmust

Where did you lift from on the front of the car?

DVP

Cherry picker is the best way to do it if you dont have a lift. Usually lift cars by the core support or bumper bars. Honestly not sure on these cars though.

The back being lifted up worries me. Guess the rear bumper touches before its high enough to clear the motor enough to slide out?

BlackBirdDaddy

iTrader: (16)

Right, and that is why you really don't want to do this with jack stands on the rear. I made a couple of blocks that the tires can pivot on. SAFETY FIRST.

Jenson

iTrader: (32)

I had the front bumper off so I used the bumper support. Thought about making a strut tower bar to use though. My rear end pivoted nicely in the jack stand. Placed them as far from center as possible, with the radius in the axle along with a little grease, just cuz I have tons of it.

trevmust

I could always take the rear bumper off lol

Jenson

iTrader: (32)

With the rear of the car on the ground though, the angle of the car is extreme to get it all out. Picture this / versus only a slight increase in angle with the entire car lifted.

trevmust

the car would be on axle stands

DVP

Makes more sense now. Good to know if I ever have to do it without a lift.

trevmust

so if I had a strut bar thing and lifted off the front too, would that put less stress on the car?

or if I had a two-post, could I just lift the body off the engine?

Jenson

iTrader: (32)

If you dont have a strut bar just use the front bumper support. Yes a two post lift is ideal and you can lift the entire body right up.