Remove Engine on a GT?

[Duke]

My method worked well enough, but I was taking everything out from under the car. I first put the car in the air and as someone mentioned before I used the steer crossmember because my car has no usable jack points due to rust. then I removed the rear end with the drive / propeller shaft with it.I then removed everything that either could be damaged or would keep the engine from dropping. I would suggest checking two or even three times and don't forget to undo nuts where the engine mounts to the crossmember. Then with a cherry picker I supported the engine with chains looped around the mounts on the engine. Then remove transmission crossmember and engine crossmember. Work from the inside to the outer bolts on the engine crossmember and get the two bolts up in the engine compartment first, also watch out it might look like a nice and snug fit but it comes out rather easy. Then I put a piece of scrap 1/4 inch sheet metal under it and lowered the engine and transmission onto it and laid it over toward the driver side. Then I pulled it out the passenger side with just enough room to clear and dumping a little oil. But I was doing this in a barn with gravel floors and about a foot and a half space in front of the car. And I don't know if it makes a difference or not but I felt glad that I didn't have the radiator in there at the time.

[nobody]

This is a subject with some very different views to it. I for one see nothing safe about getting a car 3 feet off the ground and getting under it. Not that long ago I pulled and put back in a 1.9 base block with a 5 speed attached. At no time was the car able to fall or did I have to get under it with it that high. There is only one trick to pulling the combination together, pull the head before removal and install it last. It took me 20 minutes or so each way doing it by myself. I posted some pics of this in the 2.0 build up thread.

[birds_of_fire]

Originally Posted by greensmurf20 discovered the lovely tool called "ratchet wrench"......damn them things made that so much faster, went from 5 minutes takin the top bellhousing bolts out, to about a minute!!!

Yea no doubt man i carry these things in my backpack WHEREVER i go. BTW i pulled my motor yesterday out the top. took EVERYTHING off including head and pulled it out with nothing more than a 4x4, some rope, and a hefty friend on the other side of the board. Piece 'o' cake. walked it down to my basement hanging on the 4x4. Ripped 'er open last night and discovered a rod bearing had been spun. WOOHOO. No big deal. Now onto the rebuild.

[greensmurf20]

when you pull the motor out the top, all you need to do is pull the radiator and such from the front, pull alternator and disconect everything, yank the hood latch mechanism and the motor can come out with manifolds and head still attatched.

[birds_of_fire]

Originally Posted by greensmurf20 when you pull the motor out the top, all you need to do is pull the radiator and such from the front, pull alternator and disconect everything, yank the hood latch mechanism and the motor can come out with manifolds and head still attatched.

much heavier with everything attached though. with no cherry picker this was about the only way i could pull it. The truth is though, i pulled the head cuz i thought i had dropped a valve--valvetrain's fine so i pulled the block and found the spun rod bearing.

[GOLDOPELGTS]

I was able to lift the car using a conventional floor jack, put the front tires on a floor ramp and the continue to raise the car, placing 4x4 and 6x6 timbers under the ramps until the car is high enough to slide the engine out and/or under. The car was then lowered until the engine cradle is raised high enough to bolt to the car. The first attempt took 12 hours. The second, I got smarter and rented an engine hoist, and completed the same sytem in 4 1/2 hours. Critical aspect is to make certain the ramps are solid on the timbers.

[nobody]

pics may help a bit... I spent more time taking pics than pulling the motor. took 20 minutes

[jeff denton]

Guys, there is no reason to be afraid of getting under something that is PROPERLY and SAFELY lifted and blocked up. Why, just today I had a Kenworth dump truck front end three feet off the floor while I slid the trans back under it. What if it fell? Well, why would it fall? I know what I'm doing... Just be careful, think about what you're doing, don't be in a hurry. Some of the above stories illustrate another absolute rule. Don't be alone when you're doing these things. You may need help, at least to hand you a phone so you can dial 911.

[bosco]

If you have a cherry picker and some decent jack stands I can't imagine it being much easier than dropping the engine/transmission out the bottom, then sliding it out from under the car. No banging around, no twisting this or that or scratching this or that, just undo the engine and tranny crossmember mounts and let it down. Then, with the car in the same position, the new engine w/tranny attached lifts easily back up and every thing lines up just right. My teenaged son helped me and was surprised at how easily we could change out an engine, and it was our first time.

[greensmurf20]

not trying to flare a fight, but i do it as dave does, only i leave the trans in the car, and keep the engine complete. altho i have a header now, i may have to remove the manifolds to get the complete engine out, but manifolds can be left on if they're a stock set. i'll take pics when my engine comes out this winter for a regasket.

[kwilford]

Since it is clear that GT owners remove their engines both ways, I thought I would do the American Election 'thang (Southern drawl, like Gene in Jawja) and make it a poll. And which smarties do YOU eat last? (or is that a Canadian-only thing, since Americans prefer M&M's?)

[namba209]

Well now Keith that poses a problem for me, the 1.9 comes out and in the bottom but the 3.4 goes in and out the top. Do I get to vote both ways?

[kwilford]

Originally Posted by namba209 Do I get to vote both ways?

Hmm, well I COULD have set that up as an option, but I thought "now, who would prefer to do it BOTH ways?" But the "edit poll" feature won't let me change the setup. So maybe, just follow your conscience and choose what your Mama told you. Mama is spelled "Factory Service Manual". hint hint.

[nobody]

can I put in a vote for everytime I've done it a particular way?

[namba209]

O.K. Keith, you're gonna love this. The Opel manual says in and out the bottom, the GM manual says in and out the top.

[jlthunder]

Well here are my 0.02.
I took the GT engine & trans out the top(back in the mid 80's) before I had a FSM. The only manual I had was a Haynes Manual for the Manta. Since I took a Manta engine out the top, I figured "how hard could it be on a GT"? I got it out but broke the accelerator cross link. Luckly Bill Daley's used parts got another one to me. This past winter, I had to fix an oil pan oil leak. I supported the engine and removed the crossmember. With the crossmember removed, I saw how easy it would be to drop the engine & trans out the bottom.

I would recommend removing the engine out the bottom since you won't accidently hit any sheet metal, causing damage to the body. Like I said, just my 0.02

[greensmurf20]

ditto on dave, i need another 4 votes to make it accurate if we count how many times ive done it a paticular way.

[baz]

i found that if you use jag running gear without changing things a jack is not required
i could crawl right through no problem and i was 240 pound @ the time

[nobody]

I've done it like that at least 15 times and never even scratched the paint. One thing I have never heard any mention of is dropping the front sway bar out or putting it back in. The big OGTS bar adds a whole new degree of difficulty to this. I had more time in getting it to all line up than I've ever had pulling a motor. JM2CW

[greensmurf20]

i've never scratched paint either, my biggest problem is the splines on the clutch dont always like to line up with the splines on the input shaft. just rock the car a little bit or jiggle the motor once or twice and it falls into place quickly. i never woulda thought about removing my swaybar dave, as i was contemplating pulling out the bottom to see which really is easiest for me.

[soybean]

I've done it both ways and there seems to really be no difference in ease of either way. Granted, going in/out through the top I used an engine leveler and a floor jack. Going out the bottom the first time, I had the suspension out and it was a breeze. I hooked a chain to the back bolt holes that holds the suspension, hooked it to a pulley on my A Frame crane, supported the engine, unbolted the engine supports, raised the front of the car up and rolled the frame and car away from the engine. 20 min. tops for that part of disassembly. I guess it depends on the individual and their own tastes. Everyone has to try it at least once to form their own opinion. Jarrell

[West Coast GT]

Got a question.
When you all drop the engine/transmission out the bottom, do you lift the entire car three feet in the air, or do you just lift the front?

[bosco]

The one time I did it I had the front & rear on jackstands.....the front higher but I don't think it was 3 feet in the air. I used a cherry picker to drop the engine to the ground then hooked the cherry picker to the front suspension and lifted the car up high enough to get the engine to clear and slid it out to the front.

[namba209]

Unlike Bosco, I had my rear tires on the ground when I dropped the package on the ground and lifted the front end with my cherry picker by looping 2 1000lb motorcycle tiedown straps aroung the front suspension cross member. I had the front end fairly high, because I slid the engine/tranny out the side of the car, there was no room for the package to come out the front, that's where the cherry picker was. There is a pic of that in my photo gallery.

[Itsa '70 GT]

If one has a NICE car, or one that is decent enough to restore, definitely go out the BOTTOM; it's MUCH easier! But in my case,(see my photo gallery), out the top was NOT an issue...

Bill B.