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Engine removal out the bottom...how to support engine and remove bolts at same time..
I am going to be swapping out engines pretty soon, and have been looking around for the in/outs of taking the engine out the bottom of the car. I have seen a lot of people say they go out the bottom, and that it's easier. I found the sticky in this forum about removing it out the bottom, but don't understand how the engine is being supported. I will be using an engine lift to lift the car off of the engine/transmission. If I sit the bottom of the engine/oil pan on some type of dolly, how am I suppose to get the bolts out that attach the k-member to the frame? The same thing for putting the other engine back in. I'm not sure how there would be any room to put the bolts in if the engine, and part of the k-member are sitting on a dolly. Any help is definitely appreciated.
I just helped a friend who took my engine out of the bottom by himself in about 3 hours....start to finish.
We lifted the car with a cherry picker off the k-member and engine still bolted to the k-member. He did use a jack to slightly lift the k-member to loosen whatever bolts needed to be so it would then be free from the car. Then when it was free we used the cherry picker to slightly lift the engine and K......then slid a wooden dolly under it, then lowered it onto the dolly and rolled it out. It seemed so damn easy and a smooth removal I don't even remember the details too much....
Did it all in the driveway with the car sitting on the ground.
I just helped a friend who took my engine out of the bottom by himself in about 3 hours....start to finish.
We lifted the car with a cherry picker off the k-member and engine still bolted to the k-member. He did use a jack to slightly lift the k-member to loosen whatever bolts needed to be so it would then be free from the car. Then when it was free we used the cherry picker to slightly lift the engine and K......then slid a wooden dolly under it, then lowered it onto the dolly and rolled it out. It seemed so damn easy and a smooth removal I don't even remember the details too much....
Did it all in the driveway with the car sitting on the ground.
.
Thanks for the reply. I'm curious to know if you left the rear wheels on the ground, or if you put the back end on something to make the car a little higher, so that you could lift the car higher in the air, in the front. Did the car have to go real high in order to get the engine out? You didn't happen to take any pics did you?
I've done it a few times out the bottom. For removal (in a dinky garage no less) the wheels were on the pavement. For installation, I slipped a couple Rhino ramps under the rear tires. Either way will work.
Just make sure there's not tons of slack in your ratchet strap/chain so that when the cherry picker hits the top of its travel, the car is at least high enough so the engine can roll out. Also, you don't have to tear the front end apart like mine is. This was a project.
Thanks. This is a very good question. I am thinking about rebuilding my LS1 (into an LS6) in a year or so, as I've got over 200K mi on mine. I was thinking I'd need a two post lift to smoothly get the engine out, but it looks like this is entirely possible to do in the driveway. I welcome any other personal accounts and pics of the procedure (also seen the sticky myself already).
I just helped a friend who took my engine out of the bottom by himself in about 3 hours....start to finish.
We lifted the car with a cherry picker off the k-member and engine still bolted to the k-member. He did use a jack to slightly lift the k-member to loosen whatever bolts needed to be so it would then be free from the car. Then when it was free we used the cherry picker to slightly lift the engine and K......then slid a wooden dolly under it, then lowered it onto the dolly and rolled it out. It seemed so damn easy and a smooth removal I don't even remember the details too much....
Did it all in the driveway with the car sitting on the ground.
.
A friend of mine helped me do this exactly when I swapped my LS1. It was super fast and simple.
I used three Harbor Freight moving dollies, one under each control arm and one under the trans pan. Used a jack on each side of the car, lowered them until the weight was on the dollies, removed the K member and trans crossmember bolts and jacked the car up. Simple.
Same thing here on the dolly. Just used one but built a frame on top with some scrap 2x4s so that it slides right under the kmember at regular height. It is narrow enough to still get to the kmember bolts on each side. Just did it once a was surprised how easy it went. Still have to reinstall so anxious to see how that goes.
Thanks for the reply. I'm curious to know if you left the rear wheels on the ground, or if you put the back end on something to make the car a little higher, so that you could lift the car higher in the air, in the front. Did the car have to go real high in order to get the engine out? You didn't happen to take any pics did you?
I do have pics somewhere. I'll try to find them.
Yes...the rear tires stayed on the ground. As we lifted the front end we gradually moved jack stands further and further back towards the rear tires. When the front end was high enough to get the engine to roll forward and clear of the car.......the car was resting on the two rear tires and the two jack stands that were positioned somewhere underneath both car doors. We lowered it down some so it wasn't pointing towards the sky until the new engine went in.
05-18-2016, 06:15 PM
Engine removal out the bottom...how to support engine and remove bolts at same time.. 
