Pulling the motor

[Todd L.]

I am getting ready to pull the motor and tranny from the 74. Should I pull the radiator first? This will be my first time pulling a motor. I have not disconnected any of the wires, hoses, vacuum lines yet. Just drained the oil and coolant.
Suggestions?

[Joseph K.]

Re: Pulling the motor

Todd,

Yes the Radiator needs to be removed but before you do that I would suggest that you take lots of pictures detailing everything.. Then get plastic bags and as the bolts come off label the bags and store them in a safe place. Also as you remove wires you need to label them with the blue masking tape. As you remove the parts document everything with pictures and notes. this will help you on reassembly.

Before you take the radiator out you need to remove the accessories on the motor and the fan shroud. After all of those items are removed you can remove the Radiator. It is not the easiest thing to get out of the car but with patience it will come out. stay in touch with the forum and NCRS members will get you through this.

Joe

[Dennis S.]

Re: Pulling the motor

Todd
You have a big block, which is a much tighter fit than a small block. Even after removing the fan, clutch and other items from the front of the engine, the fan shroud will not come out unless you disconnect the upper control arms and move them out of the way. You did not say you were planning on taking the front suspension apart. If you plan on pulling the motor and tranny together, then you need to think about first removing the radiator, fan shroud and support frame together as a unit. Three bolts on each side of the frame, two on the bottom. Just make sure your front bumper and supports are still attached to hold the fiberglass front clip. Don't put any unecessary weight on the fenders. Think assemblies, that is what the factory did. This will give you much more room to remove the engine & tranny together as a unit. Unless you have an engine hoist with an exceptionally long boom and legs, you will probably have to come in from the side, with a front wheel removed. When it comes time to put everything back in, just reverse the procedure. Oh, and use a good engine leveler...makes all the difference in the world.

[Todd L.]

Re: Pulling the motor

I'll be taking pictures and post them. Thanks for the help.

Todd

[Richard M.]

Re: Pulling the motor

I am getting ready to pull the motor and tranny from the 74. Should I pull the radiator first?

Hmmm, I thought it was a trick question.....

I'd take the hood off first, then the radiator, then the motor and tranny.

Rich
p.s. sorry, it's late, i'm tired and i can't sleep

[Jean C.]

Re: Pulling the motor

[quote=Dennis Stubee (41797);484304]Todd
the fan shroud will not come out unless you disconnect the upper control arms and move them out of the way. /quote]

Dennis,
It is necessary to remove the suspension parts before the shroud will be free? Geez, makes an engine pull on a BB much more difficult that I figured it would be.
Cheers,

[Tom L.]

Re: Pulling the motor

Pictures will be great, I'm planning on doing the same next winter on my '72 LS-5. It will be wonderful to learn from your experiences.

A question, as it was suggested are you removing the engine and transmission together? And do you have a standard or auto? Mine is an auto and was wondering if pulling them together was a reasonable task being as the size difference between the standard and auto is so great.

[Jim T.]

Re: Pulling the motor

When I alone removed the 350/300 engine from my 1970 I did not remove the hood or the radiator. I did not remove the radiator shroud, only the engine fan. I did not remove the transmision, turbo 400 automatic. Only unbolted and supported the transmission for a pull straight up lift out of the engine with the hoist. Installed the engine again with no problems. I did remove the two bolts from the hood up support and open the hood higher for the actual lift out of the engine. Worked out fine, saved a lot of work removing the hood, radiator shroud, and radiator.

I unbolted the torque converter from the flex plate and left it in the turbo 400 for the engine removal. Left the air conditioner compressor connected in the car supported by a brace.

I knew how to remove the radiator and shroud from previous radiator removals for radiator repair and cleaning, was not needed for engine removal.

[Joe R.]

Re: Pulling the motor

Oh, and use a good engine leveler...makes all the difference in the world.

Dennis,

Hopefully not hijacking the thread too badly, where is a good place to get an engine leveler? Any particular specs to keep in mind when shopping?

Thanks,
Joe

[Paul J.]

Re: Pulling the motor

Dennis,

Hopefully not hijacking the thread too badly, where is a good place to get an engine leveler? Any particular specs to keep in mind when shopping?

Thanks,
Joe

The cheap ones work as good as the expensive ones. Mine came from Harbour Freight. I've used it many times with no problems.

Paul

[Dennis S.]

Re: Pulling the motor

Charlie
The BB fan shrouds are larger and have a problem clearing the bottom radiator tube and the front of the upper control arm cross shafts. I mean, you can tug and yank, scratching the shroud and damaging other things including the radiator. It is so much easier just removing the entire radiator package as a unit. Then you can clean, paint, properly reseal and assemble everything in the package together. It goes back in less than 5 minutes, complete. I have a manual tranny and fixed crossmember...didn't even scratch a thing. Of course, an auto has a removable crossmember, which probably doesn't need to be removed. I just decided to remove and install the engine and tranny together because I wanted to overhaul the tranny, properly install a new clutch and properly mount the tranny to the bellhousing using a torque wrench. I don't like working on those bellhousing or tranny bolts up in the tunnel.

Joe
I borrowed an engine leveler. Someone on the CF bought one similar and posted the following link. The L-shaped tabs may have to be modified for the attachments at the rear of the block...so as not to interfere with the firewall. I would remove the distributor and carburetor first. When reinstalling, leave out the exhaust manifold studs...they can only interfere or scratch something...the BB is a tight fit. If you place the rear wheels on ramps or raise the rear of the car higher with jack stands, the added angle really helps when installing the engine and tranny as a unit. Three sets of hands is great, four is even better.

http://www.amazon.com/OTC-4305-1500-...0226964&sr=8-1

[Joe R.]

Re: Pulling the motor

Paul & Dennis,

Thanks for the good information! I couldn't find an engine load leveler on Harbor Freight's web site, but I did find this one for what seems to me like a pretty good price on Summit Racing's web site.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-G1021/?rtype=10

Joe

[Paul J.]

Re: Pulling the motor

Paul & Dennis,

Thanks for the good information! I couldn't find an engine load leveler on Harbor Freight's web site, but I did find this one for what seems to me like a pretty good price on Summit Racing's web site.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-G1021/?rtype=10

Joe

That'l work. Mine is Item # 5402, and it appears from the web site that it is discontinued (although I recall seeing them in the store not too long ago). Northern Tool has one (in the link below) but the one you've found is the same design and a much better deal. I also checked Grainger and they're even more expensive.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...atchallpartial

[Todd L.]

Re: Pulling the motor

So the adventure begins. Right off the bat, I have drained the fluids and have disconnected the hood support; I loosened 3 of the 4 bolts holding the hood to the hinge. I put my wrench on the 4th bolt and, snap. I stopped there and called it a night. Enclosed is the broken bolt and a view of the front of the motor.

[Richard M.]

Re: Pulling the motor

So the adventure begins. Right off the bat, I have drained the fluids and have disconnected the hood support; I loosened 3 of the 4 bolts holding the hood to the hinge. I put my wrench on the 4th bolt and, snap. I stopped there and called it a night. Enclosed is the broken bolt and a view of the front of the motor.

Todd, Don't worry about that. It's not too bad to fix. Carefully center punch the seized part. Use penetrating fluid. Start with a 1/8" drill bit. VERY carefully drill the center of the broken piece. Be careful you don't drill a hole in the top of the hood. Increase the size of your drill bit a little at a time to just under the diameter of the bolt. When you get to a size that just barely leaves a bit of the piece left, with a small pointed round tool(I use a nail-set), begin to tap around the circumference of the piece, inwards & counterclockwise. It may work out, or simply crush it inwards to get the culprit removed.

If the threads of the plate get damaged and you can't get it out, you can always use a heli-coil there. I myself always try to get the old one out saving the original threads first.

Good Luck........
Rich