Well my brother and I have decided to try to pull the motor out of my 87 then rather pay the 1600 for someone to do it. I have heard to pull the engine and trans all out at one time instead of just the motor, is this correct? Also are there any good books out there that explain this, I already have a Haynes manual.
To remove the engine and transmission as a unit, you would need to remove the clamshell hood, that's for sure. Otherwise, it would not pose a problem to pull them both as one. It sure will make it easier for you in the long run.
put a bad boy motor back in!! For now, I've decided to leave my ZO6 alone until it needs major motor work, then, in goes the cam, heads, intake, yada, yada.
Back to your question....I agree with Ken, easy is good. Just need a good lift and some good help or time to read a lot.
Well i would get all that work done to it but my budget is very very limited. It is just a stretch for me to just get it rebuilt to stock specs. So your opinions are remove the hood and pull engine and trans together? Some people are telling me that is not the way to go and it will be almost impossible to pull both out of the car together.
If you're just going to use the car as a daily driver for cruising, put it back together to stock specs. Me personally; if I were to go through the work of pulling the motor, there would be no way I would put it back together to stock specs. My attitude is "I've gone this far, may as well go all the way."
If you're just going to use the car as a daily driver for cruising, put it back together to stock specs. Me personally; if I were to go through the work of pulling the motor, there would be no way I would put it back together to stock specs. My attitude is "I've gone this far, may as well go all the way."
I'm with Edmond, and that's exactly what I did. I took me 8 mos. and a lot of the IRS's money I recently found out :L but I'd do it all over again. The car is smokin fast
As for your question I left the hood on and the tranny in initially. Then I pulled the tranny and had it rebuilt. I would not pull the hood. It's heavy as hell aand I've heard that they are very difficult to realign. Don't forget to take the wiper motor cover off or you may break it. I pulled the intake and heads before the motor came out. Back in with the heads but no intake. I also hed the exhaust manifolds off in and out.
If you have a stick trans, it requires significant distance to separate it from the engine (due to the length of the input shaft extending thru the clutch) so it's probably easier to pull the two together or drop the trans out the bottom first. You'll need lots of vertical clearance and lifting distance (regardless of whether you pull the hood) to get the motor and trans out together. A chain hoist mounted very high up will do much better than an engine hoist due to the required lifting height. The motor and trans will need to be tilted almost vertical to get them out together.
If it's an auto, only a few inches are needed to separate the engine and trans, leave the torque convertor with the trans and the splice plate with the engine. Don't know Corvette splice plate hooks up but most cars have only 3 or 6 bolts holding it to the torque convertor and they are accessible from the inspection cover at the bottom. After separating the convertor and splice plate, support the trans and engine then unbolt the bell housing (a 4' long extension will come in really handy for the top bolts via the bottom - with the trans tilted downward).
This just scratches the surface. Read up on it. The Helms or GM manual will serve you much much better than the Haynes, inspite of the $80 or so it will cost on e-Bay.
Hope this helps
PS Check out GM crate motors (tall or short blocks), they're more affordable than you might guess, compared to paying for a rebuild
MoonUnit is right about the hood thing, it is a pain in the A$$ to realign the hood. I had my car all apart when I gave her a new paint job. The hood really got me angry. I have also have pulled my trani 2 ways. I dropped the trans from under the car the first time i removed it (which really sucked let me tell you) The second time I pulled it out with the motor (much easier) So yes It can be done.
A few tips when removing the motor and trani together
The hood has got to come off unfortunately
It helps to remove the radiator and shrouds
As moonunit said, take off wiper motor cover (i didn't, now i have a short)
Disconect all hoses and wires
Take off the exhaust manifold and remove the entire exhaust system
Remove all wires to trani, remove drive shaft, and unbolt the driveline support
After you remove the driveline support, place a block of wood under the trani
Take off the shift linkages
Bolt the chains from your hoist to the exhaust manifolt bolts
Have some sension on the chains before you take out the motor mount bolts
Make sure the lift is on a smooth surface, has to be able to roll
Then pull it out. helps to have one guy working the lever, one guy balance the motor, and one person roll the hoist.
Maybe this will help a bit, it's not that difficult, just have to finesse it a little
If it's an auto, only a few inches are needed to separate the engine and trans, leave the torque convertor with the trans and the splice plate with the engine. Don't know Corvette splice plate hooks up but most cars have only 3 or 6 bolts holding it to the torque convertor and they are accessible from the inspection cover at the bottom. After separating the convertor and splice plate, support the trans and engine then unbolt the bell housing (a 4' long extension will come in really handy for the top bolts via the bottom - with the trans tilted downward).
This just scratches the surface. Read up on it. The Helms or GM manual will serve you much much better than the Haynes, inspite of the $80 or so it will cost on e-Bay.
Hope this helps
PS Check out GM crate motors (tall or short blocks), they're more affordable than you might guess, compared to paying for a rebuild
I have an auto. I had never pulled a motor from a Vette before. I just started at the top and took lots of pics (most of which were of no value later, cause I changed almost everything) wrote detailed notes associating them with the pics by # and started tearing it down. I kept the parts orderly and bagged and labeled nuts and bolts also associating them with the notes by #.
I don't recall if I had the manuals at that point but I never reffered to them if I did. I did at all in my garage at my home by myself. It took a few days, not pushing it and trying not to get angry and frustrated.
Make sure you talk LOTS of pictures and notes. Label everything!!!!!!!!!!!! Bag all bolts seperate.
A cheap Poloroid or digital camera works well. I used a Haynes and got by.
I also pulled my hood. But first marked all edges of the hinges with a paint pen. That way you can get the same alignment when you reinstall it. Have a Buddy help with this, two is even better. When I went to reinstall the motor, it seemed alittle overwhelming but things come together well if you tagged all the hoses,lines and wiring. Plus you'll be glad that you bagged all the bolts seperate.
I stayed stock also. Mines a daily driver that I use to bid tree service work. 50 to 300 miles a day. Nice job, paid to driver my vette
Ok, now THAT'S smart. I used a Dymo labeller and wrapped descriptive labels around everything (or used #'s to show that THIS wire attaches to THIS port). But color coded... that's great.
[RICHR]
Ya, but chill, how is the project going? I think we'd all like to know, if you get a minute. And of course it would be nice to know if you find any of the responses to you're questions helpful
I really don't think there are many people here who sit in front of the computer all day, unless that happens to be their job. We spend time sharing information back and forth to give and recieve help and opinions from other enthusiasts. It's a lobor of :love
Thanks for all the suggestions im going to talk to a couple people and see what they think and i'll let you know how it goes....i really dont want to have it rebuilt but if it has to be done it shall.
So, Vettefan87, why do you want to pull the motor anyway? Or did I miss something.
Is it drinking oil? Or won't pull hard? Knocks? Difficult to start?
I've pulled a lot of engines, usually after the oil consumption exceeds a quart per hundred miles. Or the rod knock overpowers the stereo. Or the cam gear strips or the timing chain breaks and it won't start.
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