Pulling the motor from the top?
O OK thought so... because when I changed my motor mounts to poly "which was a bitch" I thought the only thing holing it it was the tranny... it should be a piece of cake
Jack it up enough so when You hold tranny up maybe 6 or 8" above where it's sitting on chains/ hoist which should be with the tail housing lower than the engine by maybe 8 or 10" it will clear the radiator support. I've done it maybe 15 times by Myself ,,,,,,it's really not hard at all to do . Before You do pull it out , drain the trans fluid or buy a device to push into where the driveshaft was in the tail housing or You'll have trans fluid all over the place ,,,,,like half of what the trans holds.
It's really easy to pull from top but also remove hood. You can pull engine with balancer on, tranny together You just want the trans lower than the engine with the chain/hoist holding it up,,,,,and drain the trans fluid
It's really easy to pull from top but also remove hood. You can pull engine with balancer on, tranny together You just want the trans lower than the engine with the chain/hoist holding it up,,,,,and drain the trans fluid
Last edited by chrisfrost; Jul 17, 2013 at 05:47 PM.
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 11,258
Likes: 146
From: Pace, FL
Alright, I bought the Harbor Freight 2-ton crane tonight. The 1-ton was out of stock, and I wanted to do this weekend.
Tomorrow will be unbolting the trans and all the electronics to it and rigging some kind of valley cover support thing to bolt the chain to. Not buying the QTP or TPIS thing (though they look nice and you can swivel it on the hook).
Does anybody have any advice for that?
Tomorrow will be unbolting the trans and all the electronics to it and rigging some kind of valley cover support thing to bolt the chain to. Not buying the QTP or TPIS thing (though they look nice and you can swivel it on the hook).
Does anybody have any advice for that?
TECH Regular
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 414
Likes: 0
From: San Diego
Well when i pulled my motor and trans i went from the top and had the car on jack stands. I pulled the radiator, intake, starter, alternator,water pump, valve covers, power steering pump. Basically i had it stripped down to a long block. I would recommend u take off the heads and ballancer as well. The problem i ran into is getting the bell housing on the passenger side to clear the posts that the engine mounts on the block connect to. Also id use one of those adjustable bars on the chain that is connected to the engine so u can adjust the angle of the engine as u pull it. If u leave the heads on u will probably hit the cowl a little bit. Also its like installing headers get the car as high as u can safely cause if u dont like me you will have to have someone under the car bench pressing the tranny so it doesn't scrape the ground while u are trying to get the bell housing to clear. Thats what i can think of right now if any of u guys have questions just ask or hit me up.
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 11,258
Likes: 146
From: Pace, FL
That sounds good.
How'd you connect the chain to the engine is more of my question. I see a lot of folks use bolts on the front of the engine and I guess the bellhousing? Or use the valley cover bolt holes with grade 8 fasteners?
The central connection sounds the best as I can pivot the engine, but I don't know how well that will hold with the trans connected... Or what to use. I've seen plates with a hook welded to them lol.
How'd you connect the chain to the engine is more of my question. I see a lot of folks use bolts on the front of the engine and I guess the bellhousing? Or use the valley cover bolt holes with grade 8 fasteners?
The central connection sounds the best as I can pivot the engine, but I don't know how well that will hold with the trans connected... Or what to use. I've seen plates with a hook welded to them lol.
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die
Verdad Gallardo
TECH Regular
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 414
Likes: 0
From: San Diego
When i did my engine swap when i pulled the old motor i just pulled a head bolt in the back and one in the front but across from it like that pic a few posts up said. When i put the new engine in since i was using head studs and everything was torqued down so i just did the same thing except with the valley cover. The only issue i had with the diagonal chain method was that when ur pulling the engine up and ur trying to get everything to clear ie bell housing and the k-member posts for the engine mounts is the chain thats hooked in the back would hit the cowl. This is where one of those adjustable tilt bar things would be nice so u could just change the angle of the motor so u can make it clear the obstacles. Oh and i just gotta say it when ur putting ur chain bolts in either the head or valley cover please make sure they are tight not finger tight cause i knew a guy who did that and dropped a brand new crate engine on concrete after he lifted it off his engine stand. Also use washers between the head on ur chain bolt and the actual chain. Sorry if im saying things that everyone knows but i just dont want any one to drop a new engine.
TECH Regular
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 414
Likes: 0
From: San Diego
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 11,258
Likes: 146
From: Pace, FL
I'm going to have to go look and see. I'm going to pick up the bolts and chain in the morning. Will probably swing by Home Depot for the bolts and see what kind of chains they have, then might swing by NAPA.
On The Tree
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 179
Likes: 0
FYI, pulling the master cylinder is not necessary to remove the engine from the bottom. Just disconnect the spindle from the upper control arm, disconnect the shock from the LCA, and leave the UCA/shock assembly bolted to the car.
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 11,258
Likes: 146
From: Pace, FL
That's good to know. I will probably drop the k-member when I go to reinstall everything. My jack stands don't give me enough room to grab the engine + trans together. And pulling the engine out of the top with no trans still means fighting with a trans under the car...
