i just got finished staring at my car for about an hour wondering how bad it would be to take it out of the bottom, i want to put in a new k-member, TC, and paint the engine bay, is there a link to the write up?

 

Like this. I took it out the top. Believe me, out the bottom it much easier


http://www.mustangmods.com/data/6571/eng1_001.jpg
http://www.mustangmods.com/data/6571/eng1_002.jpg
http://www.mustangmods.com/data/6571/eng1_003.jpg
http://www.mustangmods.com/data/6571/eng1_004.jpg

 

1BadAir, looks like you got a little stuck in the third pic there

But seriously, looks like I am going to try this when I finally decide to do my rebuild GREAT POST!

 

That was my buddy. Plenty of room in there. He was hooking up the grounds on the drivers side head cause I left the harness in the car. I wouyld recommend removing the harness with the engine. We unhooked the brake lines from the ABS module. Only took about an hour to get the engine in and bolted up enough to put the car back on jack stands. We had the whole thing done in about 2 hours

 

It is much easier coming out the bottom...saves alot of time and it comes out as one piece

 

Yeah, but I hate cracking open a perfectly good braking system. Why is it so bad out the top? Is it just because of the windshield cowl?

 

Two brake lines or... the list is too long.
I tried the top... I couldn't believe how easy it was out the bottom! No Joke

 

Well, I would like to know the 'or....' part. I'm trying to figure out why folks think it's so bad out the top. Is it just that you'd rather disassemble the engine out of the car rather than pulling the headers, accessories, heads, etc. with the block in the car?

 

You answered your question. Why spend time pulling accesories in the car when you can do it right in front of you. By the time you unbolt headers, heads, tranny, and misc. other things I could have the motor out and tore to a bare block. Brake bleeding is rediculously easy, I have no clue why you would think it would be hard. Pump, bleed, pump, bleed, go...... Not hard at all. There are also things that are 10 times easier to get off out of the car, like the power steering pump. Super easy to get off out of the car. Biggest pain in the *** in the car. When you drop it out the bottom, it's right there in your face. No hassling with making your TQ wrench fit and everything goes back properly instead of half assed. No way would I ever pull an engine from the top in a F-body. It's merely a waste of time.

 

I don't think brake bleeding is hard. I've done it countless times. Another one of my cars has had incessant brake problems (old rice) so I'm reluctant to mess with brakes. However, I've bled the brakes on a friend of mine's 01 SS after a line lock install. Despite the amount of fluid that drained out during the install, bleeding was surprisingly easy/quick.

I'm not doubting the utility of the bottom removal method. I just wondered what were folks' specific complaints about the out the top method. I agree that out the bottom seems to be the better choice. I was just looking for the reasons why the top was so bad; I don't necessarily agree with those reasons.

 

I just installed the complete front assembly from the under side by myself. but I removed the old engine from the top and as a shortblock with the trans attached. I prefer going in from the bottom because (like mentioned above) you can work on the engine much easier outside of the car including attaching all of the sensors.

Pulling a engine from the top is relatively easy but requires you to remove all of the accessories, headers and intake for clearance purposes.

 

Get your hands behind the intake to unhook the Cam sensor, vacuum lines, etc... Then try to take the coil packs off, the intake off, the headers, all the accessories, the radiators, bla bla bla. I just did it and it SUCKED.

When you actually get into it, you'll change your mind half way through. It was effortless out the bottom.

 

I've done it both ways and out the bottom is by far the best way. I even left the entire exhaust system on my engine when I did it (my exhaust ends just before the axle.) Just be sure to unhook all the necessary hoses and wires; it's good to have somebody else watch closely while you carefuly raise the car. The copper braided ground wire on the driver side of the engine is easy to miss. Remove the PCM and unhook the two wire harness plugs inside the passenger side kick pannel. Here's my complete write-up:
http://www.freewebs.com/pimpmaro/
Click on "Technical Articles" then "Engine and Kmember Removal." Thanks to pimpmaro for editing and hosting it.

 

that was a fun week end pulling your motor, hurry up and come home with the ati already.

 

Greensburg, PA huh? Where were you when I yanked mine???
I picked my car up by the radiator support without a problem.