Pulling Motor/Tranny/Diff from bottom on CTS-V
01-02-2012, 12:18 PM
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Pulling Motor/Tranny/Diff from bottom on CTS-V Did this over the holiday break and thought I'd share some notes from my experience. These are the general steps I did. Some could be skipped probably, but this was the most straightforward method without evacuating the A/C compressor.
*obligatory reminder to disconnect battery*
First thing I did was remove the exhaust/headers. This required removing the coil packs, and spark plug wires and disconnecting the steering shaft and tapping it upward to free it. DO NOT TURN THE STEERING WHEEL AFTER THIS STEP. I was able to get the headers out with sparkplugs in, but if you cannot, remove them.
Remove intake tube/filter. I did not do this step because I was pulling magnuson supercharger at same time and had removed them the previous day.
Remove intake manifold or disconnect knock sensors from wiring harness behind intake if you can access it.
Remove shifter ****, and undo the two bolts in front of shifter holding it to chasis. From underneath undo shifter linkage (could probably skip). Shifter should hang freely with transmission so that when you lower drive train it drops with everything.
Next step is to remove the radiator and water pump.
Remove the front shock pillar mounting bolts on both sides. There are about 5 of them and they are around the strut tower brace bolts. Tires will lower a bit so support them until you are done and clear.
Disconnect the clutch master cylinder to slave cylinder line.
Disconnect the lower rear shock bolts. Stay clear or support tires as they will lower slightly.
Disconnect two bolts holding middle of driveshaft to chassis.
Remove starter (sensor behind it you will need to unplug)
Wiring: Undo it all, starter, alternator, bcm. As you're pulling wiring it will all make sense, and you will have more and more visability. There are 4 grounds on the back of the heads. 2 on each side. Make sure to remove these. On every wheel get the wheel speed sensor wiring un-routed to where it will not snag/pull apart when lowering the front or rear cradle. Undo the transmission wiring as well and the diff wiring if you have any. I did not. The PCM under driver side front headlight. It is fixed in place and does not need to be removed or disconnected. If you have already disconnected all other wiring, the harness should have enough play and clearance. Pay attention to how all the wires are routed, especially alternator wiring and wheel sensor wiring.
Brakes: Disconnect both lines at the brake master cylinder. Undo all brackets holding brake lines to body. There are a bunch, make sure you get them all. Also disconnect all the brackets along the passengerside underneath the car holding the brake lines/fuel lines. When it's all disconnected, it should move pretty freely. The idea is that you're dropping the entire brake line setup and fuel lines with the motor/tranny/diff. While you're near the passenger side rear tire under the vehicle disconnect the fuel lines. Should be a feed, a return, and a EVAP connection. Also, in passenger rear tire well there is a bracket holding lines to body on 2 studs. Make sure to free it from the body of vehicle prior to lowering. Don't forget the e-brake. I removed the driver side rear e-brake from the hub, and it loosened everything up so I could disconnect the main cable from the part that is fixed to the cradle so you don't have to undo anything else.
Power steering: I disconnected the power steering lines at the cooler, plugged them, and was able to move them where I needed as motor was lowering.
A/C Stuff: To get the motor dropped without evacuating the AC compressor you will need to do the following things. There are 4 bolts holding the compressor to the bracket. Remove these bolts. You do not need to remove the bolts holding the bracket to the block. The high and low pressure lines run under the front of the motor by the front oil pan lip. They are held in place by a bracket. Remove the bolt holding the bracket to the oil pan. Also remove the bolt holding the lines together on the bracket so you can move each line independently. At this point, you should be able to move the lines/compressor a good bit. Now remove the 4 nuts holding the BCM down. You just want to be able to move it a little bit for clearance. Now when you're lowering the motor, you'll be able to tilt the compressor and move it forward to where the radiator is and the lines will squeeze between the BCM and the balancer and work the lines around the front driver side of the motor as everything is lowered.
At this point everything should be ready to begin raising the vehicle body off of the cradles. Bring vehicle to ground level with some weight on the tires (just a little). I did the rear cradle first. Put a jack under it and undo the 4 bolts holding rear cradle to vehicle. Slowly lower it until the weight is off of the jack, and on the rear tires. You will have to move the shocks a little as you raise the body of the vehicle to clear the rims.
Now go to front and undo the 4 bolts holding the front subframe to vehile while supporting with a few jacks or stands. I put a jack stand under the transmission, and two under the motor. I then lifted slightly with a jack, removed the bolts, and lowered about 1" to the stands. Now go over everything again and look for anything that is snagged or not disconnected. If all is clear, begin raising the vehicle in 1 inch increments until it clears making sure to check every inch of the system as you are raising the body of the vehicle. I had 2 extra sets of eyes for this part.
Hopefully this helps if you need to do it this way.
I'm happy to take pics of anything specific. Just let me know.
*obligatory reminder to disconnect battery*
First thing I did was remove the exhaust/headers. This required removing the coil packs, and spark plug wires and disconnecting the steering shaft and tapping it upward to free it. DO NOT TURN THE STEERING WHEEL AFTER THIS STEP. I was able to get the headers out with sparkplugs in, but if you cannot, remove them.
Remove intake tube/filter. I did not do this step because I was pulling magnuson supercharger at same time and had removed them the previous day.
Remove intake manifold or disconnect knock sensors from wiring harness behind intake if you can access it.
Remove shifter ****, and undo the two bolts in front of shifter holding it to chasis. From underneath undo shifter linkage (could probably skip). Shifter should hang freely with transmission so that when you lower drive train it drops with everything.
Next step is to remove the radiator and water pump.
Remove the front shock pillar mounting bolts on both sides. There are about 5 of them and they are around the strut tower brace bolts. Tires will lower a bit so support them until you are done and clear.
Disconnect the clutch master cylinder to slave cylinder line.
Disconnect the lower rear shock bolts. Stay clear or support tires as they will lower slightly.
Disconnect two bolts holding middle of driveshaft to chassis.
Remove starter (sensor behind it you will need to unplug)
Wiring: Undo it all, starter, alternator, bcm. As you're pulling wiring it will all make sense, and you will have more and more visability. There are 4 grounds on the back of the heads. 2 on each side. Make sure to remove these. On every wheel get the wheel speed sensor wiring un-routed to where it will not snag/pull apart when lowering the front or rear cradle. Undo the transmission wiring as well and the diff wiring if you have any. I did not. The PCM under driver side front headlight. It is fixed in place and does not need to be removed or disconnected. If you have already disconnected all other wiring, the harness should have enough play and clearance. Pay attention to how all the wires are routed, especially alternator wiring and wheel sensor wiring.
Brakes: Disconnect both lines at the brake master cylinder. Undo all brackets holding brake lines to body. There are a bunch, make sure you get them all. Also disconnect all the brackets along the passengerside underneath the car holding the brake lines/fuel lines. When it's all disconnected, it should move pretty freely. The idea is that you're dropping the entire brake line setup and fuel lines with the motor/tranny/diff. While you're near the passenger side rear tire under the vehicle disconnect the fuel lines. Should be a feed, a return, and a EVAP connection. Also, in passenger rear tire well there is a bracket holding lines to body on 2 studs. Make sure to free it from the body of vehicle prior to lowering. Don't forget the e-brake. I removed the driver side rear e-brake from the hub, and it loosened everything up so I could disconnect the main cable from the part that is fixed to the cradle so you don't have to undo anything else.
Power steering: I disconnected the power steering lines at the cooler, plugged them, and was able to move them where I needed as motor was lowering.
A/C Stuff: To get the motor dropped without evacuating the AC compressor you will need to do the following things. There are 4 bolts holding the compressor to the bracket. Remove these bolts. You do not need to remove the bolts holding the bracket to the block. The high and low pressure lines run under the front of the motor by the front oil pan lip. They are held in place by a bracket. Remove the bolt holding the bracket to the oil pan. Also remove the bolt holding the lines together on the bracket so you can move each line independently. At this point, you should be able to move the lines/compressor a good bit. Now remove the 4 nuts holding the BCM down. You just want to be able to move it a little bit for clearance. Now when you're lowering the motor, you'll be able to tilt the compressor and move it forward to where the radiator is and the lines will squeeze between the BCM and the balancer and work the lines around the front driver side of the motor as everything is lowered.
At this point everything should be ready to begin raising the vehicle body off of the cradles. Bring vehicle to ground level with some weight on the tires (just a little). I did the rear cradle first. Put a jack under it and undo the 4 bolts holding rear cradle to vehicle. Slowly lower it until the weight is off of the jack, and on the rear tires. You will have to move the shocks a little as you raise the body of the vehicle to clear the rims.
Now go to front and undo the 4 bolts holding the front subframe to vehile while supporting with a few jacks or stands. I put a jack stand under the transmission, and two under the motor. I then lifted slightly with a jack, removed the bolts, and lowered about 1" to the stands. Now go over everything again and look for anything that is snagged or not disconnected. If all is clear, begin raising the vehicle in 1 inch increments until it clears making sure to check every inch of the system as you are raising the body of the vehicle. I had 2 extra sets of eyes for this part.
Hopefully this helps if you need to do it this way.
I'm happy to take pics of anything specific. Just let me know.
Last edited by TexVette; 01-04-2012 at 10:48 AM.
01-03-2012, 11:38 PM
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great write up. seems to me like it is alot more work than it was to pull mine from the top. I also didn't evacuate the AC compressor or condensor. Just pulled the motor and trans together out the top. Saved time, by not having to disconnect the steering or any suspension. Putting it back in both times I installed with the trans attatched, but it was easier with the heads off. The motor mounts are a pain in the ***- mine also have custom made adapter plates to fit to the lq9 block.
01-04-2012, 10:54 AM
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Launching!
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Never pulled it from the top, but this way was pretty easy. For my purposes I wanted it all out which was a good decision. Also need to run my fuel system. To me, it just made sense to pull it from the bottom considering I had access to a full lift.
I also found my diff had busted some mounts. Like cracked through 1/2 aluminum.
Will definitely get some pics of this.
I also found my diff had busted some mounts. Like cracked through 1/2 aluminum.
Will definitely get some pics of this. 