Stupid questions thread.

[First opel 1981]

Soo much easier this way, and you don't have to jack up the rear, except to disconnect the driveshaft.

One Out - Opel Photo Gallery

Thats a lotta lift to get that motor out.
A word for anyone who hasn't ried it yet, the car doesn't need to be lifted quite that high. Don't be scared.

[yellaopelgt]

Hence why I suggested raising the rear wheels.....Kinda like this. A set of 15x8 rims are under the back wheels.
motor_going_in_car_003 - Opel Photo Gallery

[hrcollinsjr]

Thats a lotta lift to get that motor out.
A word for anyone who hasn't ried it yet, the car doesn't need to be lifted quite that high. Don't be scared.

You are correct, he could have lowered it several inches. Notice where the legs of the hoist are. When you pull the engine behind them, you don't have a lot of extra clearance unless you want to lay the engine over. All the engines I've ever extracted I've done like what Ron posted the link to. Oops, except for that one that I brought out the top.

Harold

[First opel 1981]

You are correct he could have lowered it several inches. Notice where the legs of the hoist are. When you pull the engine behind them, you don't have a lot of extra clearance unless you want to lay the engine over. All the engines I've ever extracted I've done like what Ron posted the link to. Oops, except for that one that I brought out the top.

Harold

Oh yeah, I forgot my trick when using a cherry picker.
I put the cherry picker in from the side straddling a tire so the engine can be removed through the front. Also, you can snake the engine out through the tire well if you want to keep the car lower to the ground. It doesn't have to be as high when you snake it out as it does coming out the front.

I admit to being very poor back when I worked on Opels regularly. I rarely had access to a cherry picker and used jacks only. For the life of me I can't remember how I did it either. It sounds so difficult now that I think about it.

[yellaopelgt]

Granted.... Ron also did that on a hill!!! You are a bigger man than me sir...... He couldnt put that motor on a creeper....it would have rolled down the hill!
The way I do it, the motor goes in from the side. I just "feel" safer doing it this way. I usually do it by my lonesome. (its Joe time.....)
Joe

[jeff denton]

Did you ever hear about, or see the pictures of, my GT suspended from the shop ceiling by bungee cords? Freaks people out, works awesome. You don't even need a jack to do it. Takes a bunch of bungees and eye hooks screwed into the bottom chord of the trusses. Do put a jackstand or four under it before you roll underneath, though, please.

[hrcollinsjr]

You may have to remove the carb to remove the intake. It's also helpful to get a 15mm box end wrench and bend it about 20 degrees to the side. You can either buy one that is bent or bend it by heating up the shaft to red hot with a propane torch and reefing on it.

I prefer using a flex socket. A universal with a regular socket doesn't work very well but a flex socket works great. If a heat shield is in place you don't have much choice unless you remove it. I've trimmed the heat shield before just enough so that a wrench can fit in behind.

Harold

[namba209 (R.I.P.)]

Granted.... Ron also did that on a hill!!! You are a bigger man than me sir...... He couldnt put that motor on a creeper....it would have rolled down the hill!
The way I do it, the motor goes in from the side. I just "feel" safer doing it this way. I usually do it by my lonesome. (its Joe time.....)
Joe

I have to admit, I did have to jack the car higher than shown in the pic. The cherry picker was anchored in the ground and the car did roll forward about 6 inches when I finally got it high enuff to use a come-a-long and winch the engine out from under it. To drop the V-6/T-5 in, the package is raised high enuff to clear the radiator support, then the car winched forward and the engine/tranny dropped in from the top. So I've put them in and taken them out both ways.

[jeff denton]

Happy New Year, friends! I have a stupid question. That is the topic, right? Would anyone like to come over and give me a hand with this big bottle of Black Velvet my wife gave me tonight? It replaces the last one which took me two years to polish off. I don't drink enough these days...

Anyway, this thread gives me an idea. Let's start a thread called "Officially Just Exactly How to Pull the Engine Out of a GT." Every experienced member gets one paragraph to continue the ongoing, incredibly (every single nut and bolt) detailed process. A moderator could rearrange the order when we argue about getting steps mixed up or added late. Resolved arguments would be deleted to free up ten gajillion megabytes of memory so that the text includes just strictly real good information. I know, every minute detail is already archived in this great site already, but you'd have more time into the usual recommended "searching" for each instruction, and tip, and shortcut, and word of wisdom than it would take to actually rebuild and restore three GTs and a Kadett or two!

Could this work? It might be awesome. We could give points to members who throw in Safety Tips when necessary, Photos when a thousand words are just causing confusion, and bonus points for great ideas that we agree should have been in the FSM. Points for minor attempts at humor in the process could be negotiable, points deducted for bad humor.

If our awesome administrator and moderators and members like this idea, I'd be glad to start it with this basic step one.

Step One: Pull your GT into a clean, uncluttered, well lighted and heated garage. Have Mom's permission to park her car outside for two days to two decades. Garage must have basic hand tools as well as recently certified fire extinguisher (two points for jeff), four huge truck jackstands (two more points for jeff) and well stocked first aid kit complete with safety glasses, eyewash, and phone number of local suicide prevention hotline (two more safety points, and maybe one for humor?). Also recommended is an internet access PC locked on to gt.com and several postdated checks made out to Gary Farias as donation dues. (edit: points could be given for suggesting donations along with the experienced advice; three more points for jeff)

Okay, somebody else's turn, what is step two? I have ten points already, if everybody agrees suicide isn't the best cure for opelitis. Just nine points, otherwise, maybe even one less.
This could be really fun, and very helpful to our members. It has to be taken seriously to be most effective. Contributors should be required to accept that their step might need editing or re-arranged to keep it truly step-by-step, and cheerfully acknowlege that their step might have to be deleted for replacement with a better one.
No huge hurry on this, it could take time to get it all arranged into a really thorough, helpful "manual". Eventually perhaps illustrated, printed and published, with all proceeds going to The GT Racing Team of Kalispell, MT. The Braille version's proceeds could go to a similar but hopefully more meaningful charity, and video versions in various languages would benefit the attorneys and accountants of the producer and director.

Or not, it's just a thought. Again, Happy New Year! Come on over, please grab a bag of ice on the way. The kids didn't refill the cube tray again, the money for the big new fancy fridge with automatic ice got spent on tires for the Limited Sportsman car last summer....
(another edit) Hmph. Nobody showed up to help. Resorted to using icicles off the gutter. Five inches of new snow today, bring your skis tomorrow. Whiskey bottle still nearly full, but Capt. Robbie Knievel has competition ready and willing for next year. I'd do that for $25 mill in a nanosecond, my Honda XR500 is ready already. His dad was fun to party with, he was a REAL daredevil! No computer analyzed preparations back in his day. RIP Evel. Feel free to ask how well I knew that knucklehead. What a guy.
Happy New Year, my friends! It will get better this year. Positive Attitude. Okay, back to topic. There are no stupid questions. Let this be a year of intelligent answers.

[tomking]

Happy New Year, friends! I have a stupid question. That is the topic, right? Would anyone like to come over and give me a hand with this big bottle of Black Velvet my wife gave me tonight? It replaces the last one which took me two years to polish off. I don't drink enough these days...

Anyway, this thread gives me an idea. Let's start a thread called "Officially Just Exactly How to Pull the Engine Out of a GT." Every experienced member gets one paragraph to continue the ongoing, incredibly (every single nut and bolt) detailed process. A moderator could rearrange the order when we argue about getting steps mixed up or added late. Resolved arguments would be deleted to free up ten gajillion megabytes of memory so that the text includes just strictly real good information. I know, every minute detail is already archived in this great site already, but you'd have more time into the usual recommended "searching" for each instruction, and tip, and shortcut, and word of wisdom than it would take to actually rebuild and restore three GTs and a Kadett or two!

Could this work? It might be awesome. We could give points to members who throw in Safety Tips when necessary, Photos when a thousand words are just causing confusion, and bonus points for great ideas that we agree should have been in the FSM. Points for minor attempts at humor in the process could be negotiable, points deducted for bad humor.

If our awesome administrator and moderators and members like this idea, I'd be glad to start it with this basic step one.

Step One: Pull your GT into a clean, uncluttered, well lighted and heated garage. Have Mom's permission to park her car outside for two days to two decades. Garage must have basic hand tools as well as recently certified fire extinguisher (two points for jeff), four huge truck jackstands (two more points for jeff) and well stocked first aid kit complete with safety glasses, eyewash, and phone number of local suicide prevention hotline (two more safety points, and maybe one for humor?). Also recommended is an internet access PC locked on to gt.com and several postdated checks made out to Gary Farias as donation dues. (edit: points could be given for suggesting donations along with the experienced advice; three more points for jeff)

Okay, somebody else's turn, what is step two? I have ten points already, if everybody agrees suicide isn't the best cure for opelitis. Just nine points, otherwise, maybe even one less.
This could be really fun, and very helpful to our members. It has to be taken seriously to be most effective. Contributors should be required to accept that their step might need editing or re-arranged to keep it truly step-by-step, and cheerfully acknowlege that their step might have to be deleted for replacement with a better one.
No huge hurry on this, it could take time to get it all arranged into a really thorough, helpful "manual". Eventually perhaps illustrated, printed and published, with all proceeds going to The GT Racing Team of Kalispell, MT. The Braille version's proceeds could go to a similar but hopefully more meaningful charity, and video versions in various languages would benefit the attorneys and accountants of the producer and director.

Or not, it's just a thought. Again, Happy New Year! Come on over, please grab a bag of ice on the way. The kids didn't refill the cube tray again, the money for the big new fancy fridge with automatic ice got spent on tires for the Limited Sportsman car last summer....
(another edit) Hmph. Nobody showed up to help. Resorted to using icicles off the gutter. Five inches of new snow today, bring your skis tomorrow. Whiskey bottle still nearly full, but Capt. Robbie Knievel has competition ready and willing for next year. I'd do that for $25 mill in a nanosecond, my Honda XR500 is ready already. His dad was fun to party with, he was a REAL daredevil! No computer analyzed preparations back in his day. RIP Evel. Feel free to ask how well I knew that knucklehead. What a guy.
Happy New Year, my friends! It will get better this year. Positive Attitude. Okay, back to topic. There are no stupid questions. Let this be a year of intelligent answers.

HMmmm? Hows the headache this morning Jeff?

[markandson]

Step 2:
Call Jeff Denton, request that wife check on him for signs of life. If conscious request he assist in removal of engine. When Jeff shows up, purchase more booze, discuss for 3 days whether engine should be pulled out the top or from the bottom. Project on hold, no decision.

[jeff denton]

Oh, no, no headache! I had to go to work at four and collect all the equipment strewn about at a very posh, exclusive resort near Big Mountain. Yes, my wife drove. Done in just three hours, then a nice nap. That was a thousand dollar day. They can be very long sometimes!

[MonkeyNutZ]

Stupid Question!

What is this? (GT)

[markandson]

Stupid Question!

What is this? (GT)

I've never seen one but based on where it is and the vacuum connection I would say it is an EGR Valve

[First opel 1981]

Stupid Question!

What is this? (GT)

Catalytic converter coupler? I recall seeing one of those once and it's stuck in my head that it went to a prehistoric version of a catalytic converter.

[markandson]

Catalytic converter coupler? I recall seeing one of those once and it's stuck in my head that it went to a prehistoric version of a catalytic converter.

Nope, no cats on the GT's, the short connection on the unit goes into the base of the intake manifold and I assume the longer end must have gone either to the exhaust system or the crankcase ventilation system. I am sure someone who really knows will pipe in here.

[tomking]

Its an EGR valve.

[First opel 1981]

Nope, no cats on the GT's, the short connection on the unit goes into the base of the intake manifold and I assume the longer end must have gone either to the exhaust system or the crankcase ventilation system. I am sure someone who really knows will pipe in here.

The only other Opel I owned was a 74 Manta. I ended up taking that engine out and putting it in GT#6.
If that thing I remember wasn't in the 74 Manta then I don't know what it was in. Maybe a 74 Vega?

OK, it's official. I'm getting old. I can't remember SHtuff.

[markandson]

The only other Opel I owned was a 74 Manta. I ended up taking that engine out and putting it in GT#6.
If that thing I remember wasn't in the 74 Manta then I don't know what it was in. Maybe a 74 Vega?

OK, it's official. I'm getting old. I can't remember SHtuff.

It's quite possible it came out of a 74 vehicle, the first year they started that kind of junk was '73 and in '74 they started using air pumps and stuff like that. I have one of those short pieces that someone cut and plugged, obviously to get rid of the EGR system.

[SpringGT]

Stupid Question!

What is this? (GT)

As some others have said, it is an exhaust gas recirculation valve used in '73 or later. The short end screws into the intake manifold and the longer tube goes down and screws into a threaded bung welded into the header pipe. It is vacuum-operated and allows some exhaust gas to be drawn into the intake at engine speeds above idle.
The valve usually becomes plugged with hard carbon in time and most owners just remove them and plug the manifold and header pipe holes, since they are no longer available. My '73 GT had one, but I'm not sure what other years and models had them.