id tighten down the head bolts as far as they go and just use them, valley cover bolts would end up being a mistake

p.s. should have taken it out the bottom, and you should for sure put it back in from the bottom

 

Successfully pulled motor from the top tonight. Ran a chain from drivers side rear to passenger side front with brackets that used 2 accessory holes each. Left the heads, valve covers, and front pulley on. Barely enough room - will remove front balancer from now on. Good luck. Without the pulley, job would have been much easier.

 

I pulled it tonight. It was pretty darn easy with no heads, no intake manifold, and no tranny. I was using an engine leveler with four chains. I had them on the far front and rear head bolts in the middle row. I just got a shitload of washers to close the gap between the head of the bolt and the deck of the block. It worked quite nicely, but now I have to figure out wtf to do with 65 washers.

The only clearance issue we were having was that the leveler kept hitting the bottom of the cowl. We resolved this by "tilting" it such that the front chains were taut and lifting the back of the oil pan with a jack. This kept the back chains loose until the engine was out from under the cowl entirely. At that point we just lifted it off the jack and pulled her out.

As a side note (something I was curious about but didn't ask), you don't have to remove the hood. We had to disconnect the struts from it for a minute, but that's all. We needed a few more inches on the boom of the hoist.

When putting the engine back in, I think we'll try it with the tranny and heads attached. I think I'll leave the intake manifold off just because it's no big deal to install and it could get damaged easily being a piece of plastic. I believe it'll actually be easier with the heads because the chains on the leveler will have to go farther forward and back on the engine. This will make the leveler stay farther down towards the valley cover instead of being suspended farther above it like tonight. I also think the tranny might make it easier because you'll be able to use it to wiggle the motor around, and it's easier to put a jack under than the oil pan is... plus, I really don't want to stab the tranny under the car.

Thanks everyone for your input. I've never pulled a tranny (except last weekend) or an engine. I've never done a rebuild or anything like that. Ask GuitsBoy... 18 months ago I didn't know my *** from last Tuesday when it came to cars. I feel awesome now.

 

Oh, I forgot to ask this really stupid question...

The engine is sitting on the floor in the garage atm. I have an engine stand, but I don't quite see how to put the engine on the stand. I'm assuming that you typically use the bellhousing bolts, but they're too short. The arms on the stand have a long tube on them, so I need longer bolts. I suppose it's standard fair to have to go buy different bolts for this purpose? If so, am I right in assuming I should use the bellhousing bolts?

 

Hey man, sorry I missed your call the other night, I was already zonked out. Anyway, glad to hear youre making progress. I havnt pulled a motor with the tranny still attached so im very interested in wether or not it fits back in that way. Im tired of having that heavy *** tranny drop square on my boys when it finally clears the input shaft.

 

Use longer bolts and attach to the bellhousing. Mount the bracket first and attempt to put the center of rotation (engine stand) at the center of mass of the engine (a few inches above the crank). When you've got the bracket bolted to the engine, lower the hoist to about the height of the stand and lift the stand onto the bracket. Then lower the hoist completely and disconnect. After what you've done, should be cake.

When you buy the longer bolts use the M10 coarse thread. I bought 10X1.25 (fine) and couldn't put mine in the stand last night. I think the bellhousing bolts are 10X1.00 - I will find out tonight.

 

Thanks for the info. When you say "bracket," do you just mean the four arm-type things on the stand, or is there some kind of an adapter that goes between the engine and the stand? I'm assuming it's the former, but I want to be sure before I do something stupid.

 

Yes, the four armed thing. Mount it first and move it around until you think it's approximately in the right place - then tighten it down.

And I goofed when I told you the threads you need on the longer bolts. I believe it is an M10X1.5 NOT an M10X1.0.

 

Great! Thanks a bunch, LS1Beginner. Obviously your username is in no way an indication of your knowledge.

 

We all have to start somewhere - enjoy.