Engine transmission pull

greg75vette

greg75vette

The Traffic Baron
Joined
Jun 9, 2009
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Location
Lindenhurst, LI, NY
Alright guys, not sure if you've kept up with other posts I have done, but long story short, I'm pulling my old L48 and 4speed out of my '75 and putting in an LS1 and T56.

I'm looking to make a checklist of how to pull the original engine and transmission together (or separate if it can't be done together) for my reference as well as for people in the future.

I've never done anything like this, so I'm hoping you guys can put some good info in. I'll take a stab and let me know what I've missed.

What's needed:
Engine hoist, balancer, assorted hand tools, PB blaster, wheel chucks, jack and jack stands (if lifting the rear end in this fashion), Any more?

Begin the tear down:

Electrical
First disconnect the battery at the battery to prevent shock.
Remove main cable running from battery to starter.
What other electrical connections should go here? Let's go for some specifics.

vacuum lines
Pull the line off of the brake booster.
Disconnect Vacuum canister lines (canister under brake master cylinder)
Pull off reference vacuum for headlights. (Location?)
Pull the line for the wiper door. (Location?)
Pull the line(s) for the HVAC system. (Location?)
Any other lines?

Fluid Lines
Disconnect fuel lines at the mechanical pump (Passenger side front)
Disconnect radiator hoses
Disconnect power steering lines from steering pump.
Anything else?

Mechanical bits
Disconnect or remove shifter (May have to dig into center console)
Remove driveshaft?
Tape yoke to back of transmission to minimize fluid loss?
Remove Mechanical fan
Remove 'Z bar' and assorted link from driver's side of engine
Disconnect exhaust (Headers: at the block, stock manifolds: at the flange)
Remove radiator shroud?
Disconnect throttle cable
Remove carburetor if using lifting plate
Remove hood

Anything else?

Begin positioning:

Install lifting plate or tabs
jack up rear end (better angle for removal)
Position hoist, run chain from hoist to lifting block or tabs
Put SLIGHT tension in chain but DO NOT lift as of yet.
Disconnect transmission rear mount at the crossmember
Dissconnect motor mounts

Slowly lift engine/trans as a package out
This is very important: As you pull the package out, Check for anything missed and still connected!

Anything else?

Work engine/trans loose and place to the side.



Alright guys, Please give as much detail as you can think of. Like I said, my goal is to have this as a reference for others in the future for new guys (like myself).
 
I think you're making this more formal than it needs to be. Pulling the engine/tranny is actually pretty straight forward, and the two will come out easily as a single assembly.

Rather than a detailed checklist, just split the job up in 2 categories: Under-car work and Top-side work.

I do the under-car work first, and simply get under there and disconnect anything holding the engine/tranny in the car, which includes draining fluids, dropping exaust, disconnecting shifter, pulling driveshaft, disconnecting fuel line, pulling tranny mount bolts, and pulling out the engine mount bolts. Once you have inspected everything on the bottom to make sure there is nothing holding the engine/tranny in, go to the top side and pull everything connected to the engine, including yanking the radiator, removing the pulleys off the front of the engine (they have to be off to clear the radiator support when you pull the engine/tranny as an assembly), hoses, and electrical. I like to remove the distributor cap so I don't break it against the firewall, and I pull the carb so my chain doesn't touch and bend the throttle lever.

When everything is loose and clear, yank it out, keeping a drian pan under the tranny tailhousing if the yoke is not secured in some way.

I've done it in as little as 59 minutes with air tools working by myself on a hoist. If this takes you any more than 4 hours you're not drinking enough beer.

Lars
 
Well, IMO, having done about what seems like 50 engine in/outs over the years...I would do them separately, it's awful hard to get any car up high enough to clear the cross support/radiator with the tranny on it, the angle is just too much between the ground and the firewall to clear the tail shaft and get the engine nose high enough...you need a awful high jack stand to do that....I tried that ONCE years ago on a freeking B body to boot, with a engine bay enough to house a OTR Diesel....even IT was a bitch....

I know guys say they do it that way....best of luck...

I never leave accessories on the engine, all that shit is stripped naked.....you can drop the p/s pump and leave the lines on it, no brackets.....
same with a/c comp, you don't have to pull the lines, just coathanger it up outta the way and forward....I drop the crank pulley too...but leave the balancer...

IF a stickshift, just pull the bellhousing bolts, and drop the starter off there, but if a auto you obviously have those flex plate bolts...3 of them....

on/around the starter you will find a ~10 ga BLACK wire going to ground, that's for the WSW, blower, relay....it's a GROUND on the starter or engine/bellhousing for the above, it does NOT go on the battery post on the starter....

I strip ALL the crap when pulling a engine, just less shit in the way to get tangled up with especially when working alone....that is from dizzy down and forward, ALL of it....except the engine mounts, those are only two bolts through the frame,

I have NEVER used a balance bar, I just pick a nice balance point on the chain and stick a couple screw drivers through the links to keep it from slipping, sometimes every vertical inch in critical, and don't have some 8-12 inches of extra room for that balance bar.....:crutches::friends:
 
I always pull them together with a jack under the tranny so it doesn't scrape. The trick is in getting a proper load leveler and a proper cherry picker with a long boom and more importantly long legs.
 
Thanks for the replies guys.

Lars,
Do you completely undo the motor and transmission mounts before the engine is secured to the lift? I'm concerned the engine/trans would slip off the mounts if unbolted too early.
I do like your approach of just focusing on one area and completely undoing everything until it is done. I guess I kind of made a pointless post and should have just asked outright. Oops. Live and learn.

I never thought of stripping the engine down more would be more helpful, but consider that on the list. It makes a lot of sense doing it that way.
 
Yeh, the engine just sets there free, pull all the bolts, not a issue....talking of the two bolts fore/aft facing on the mount horns, and the two vertical in the tranny tail.....NOT the mounts themselves to the tranny/engine....

:smash:
 
mrvette said:
Yeh, the engine just sets there free, pull all the bolts, not a issue....talking of the two bolts fore/aft facing on the mount horns, and the two vertical in the tranny tail.....NOT the mounts themselves to the tranny/engine....

:smash:
Click to expand...

Oh no! I meant the ones you speak of. Probably a good thing that's clarified though.
 
greg75vette said:
Lars,
Do you completely undo the motor and transmission mounts before the engine is secured to the lift? I'm concerned the engine/trans would slip off the mounts if unbolted too early
Click to expand...
You just pull the bolts out of the mounts and the engine sits there - you don't remove the engine mounts. On the tranny, I pull the entire mount out so that the tranny is resting directly on the crossmember. This gives you a little vertical space to play with while pulling it. When you pull it, stick a floor jack under the tranny tailhousing from the front of the car - this allows you to adjust the tranny tailhousing height as you come forward, and it keeps the tranny from dragging on the ground. The rolling jack also makes the fore/aft movement very easy. I've done this pull countless times, and I've always just used a chain - no load leveler. The only point of interference can be the fuel pump - you might consider removing it to make the pull easier.

Lars
 
Alright, I think I got this, haha. Looks somewhat straight forward.

I have another lingering question: do you guys jack up the rear end in any way to get a better angle? I've seen pics of guys doing it that way, but no one mentioned it.

I'm assuming no because then unbolting the mount would allow the engine to slide forward, correct?
Or od you undo everything, grab the engine with the hoist, then jack up the car slowly?
 
NO, get the car far as you can in the air, on 4 jack stands....under the fixed frame, not the suspension components....I typically set the front stands under/near the sway bar U brackets/frame mounts...and in the rear on the frame just forward/under the Trailing arm mount....hard to get stands tall enough to hold shit further back, much less a stability problem....

open the doors when you do this, as sometimes stresses will put undoo strain on the latches/hinges....

:beer:

OH, edit.....don't forget to push hell outta that car when it's on the stands and visually check each one for stability....I dropped on once, obviously I wasn't under it, but it bent hell outta some suspension parts....

do this on CONCRETE not assfault....
 
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Noted Gene. That's where I've been jacking her up lately (a whole lot less frame flex). I always give a hip check into the fender to check to see if she's on there well. Last thing I need is a car on top of me. My father has a hatred for asphalt, so we don't have any. In fact the driveway I'll be doing this on is 3500 mix, so I think I'm good, haha.
Do I want the car as high as I can in order to allow the engine/trans to come out more vertical?
 
IMO - formed by many many engine in and out of vettes

Pull them separately.

Never remove the hood - you don't have to.... It just adds time to the job and the potential to ding the paint

disconnect the battery FIRST

Just wire or zip tie off all the accessories to the fender walls.

Put a jack under the tranny

I have hooker headers one side comes off downward one comes off upwards.
 
gkull,
Thank for the tips. I haven't fully decided if I'm going to pull them together or not. I'm going to see how it goes as I begin to strip the engine compartment.

I'll probably remove the hood just for easier access because it will be a while before I put in the LS1. As far as paint damage, haha, I'm not worried about the paint. However, if I pull them separate, the hood will most likely stay.

The battery is the first thing to get disconnected, absolutely. And the accessories, I'll probably just yank because it's all going anyway. None of my accessories will transfer over.
 
the way i do it is all together with the hood and radiator removed and the the rear of the car on jack stands but only enough for me to have disconnected stuff and then the front of the car is lowered so the rotors are just above the engine hoist legs. i move the engine and trans in from the front and then swing the engine hoist around to the side of the car.....now i have done this in my garage that had an 8" cieling so i dont remember if my technique was due to height limitations or not. i also had the removeable transmission crossmember. i did seperate the trans and engine once but I wouldnt do that again it just wasnt any easier or faster for me.
 
Update

So I got a good amount done yesterday. Looks like I disconnected everything I could from the top. I pulled the accessories, carb, full distributor, drained the radiator, pulled the hoses, and a few other things I can't remember.

With what I've done, I noticed that the water pump sticks out more than I thought it would, so should this be pulled as well?

I believe Lars recommended pulling all of the accessories and pulleys so should I pull the crank pulley too? If I pull the crank pulley, do I need anything special or just unbolt and go?

I would have some pictures, but the image resizer quite working on my computer and there also doesn't seem to be one for vista :(
So far this is becoming rather fun :smash:
 
i just pulled the pulleys off and left the harmonic balancer and water pump in place. i think the pulley on the harmonic balancer is held on by (4) 1/2" bolts or they maybe 7/16"

i cant see how the water pump will cause an issue....did you remove the radiator and the radiator shroud?

this was putting it back in

00000309.jpg

and this was taking it out with the trans removed first

00000143.jpg
 
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Cool pictures. I haven't pulled the radiator yet, but it will go. Then I should be good to go once I disconnect everything on the bottom and pull the rad, that is.
 
greg75vette said:
Cool pictures. I haven't pulled the radiator yet, but it will go. Then I should be good to go once I disconnect everything on the bottom and pull the rad, that is.
Click to expand...

Yeh, the rad/shroud are a PITA no question, one good reason I packed it in some years ago and put a set of Dual Spals in there, so much more compact and makes easy with other work, including a cross support...

:clobbered:
 
mrvette said:
greg75vette said:
Cool pictures. I haven't pulled the radiator yet, but it will go. Then I should be good to go once I disconnect everything on the bottom and pull the rad, that is.
Click to expand...

Yeh, the rad/shroud are a PITA no question, one good reason I packed it in some years ago and put a set of Dual Spals in there, so much more compact and makes easy with other work, including a cross support...

:clobbered:
Click to expand...

Yeah you're not kidding. I just had to pull the rad and shroud in april. The core support was GONE and the rad was also stress cracked in the tanks. I screwed up the fins pretty bad on the first rad.

AGAIN, I screwed up the fins. I had cardboard down on the rad, but the cardboard slid along with the shroud and it was too late by the time a noticed. I am so happy that fucking shroud is out for the last time.

I'm thinking of a spreader bar too, but I want to see where the LS1 lands first.
 
Another update:

Engine and trans are out as of last Friday. Now I need to start prepping the engine bay, do a little clean up and mod the crossmember. Thank you to everyone who had input. Lars, you were absolutely right that I was trying to make this too formal (the engineer in me, I suppose). It took me longer than 4 hours total, but not significantly.
 
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