Engine Removal
 

If I’m working in a two car 21x21 l, 8 foot ceiling garage with my car parked straight on in the right bay, and I’m only pulling the motor and leaving the 350 auto trans, is there any reason I can’t just pick the 400 over the left fender of my Lemans? I know the fender is a couple of inches higher than the nose. But, I think I’ve got room. Was going to use a plate on the intake for the pull. Was thinking lift it a bit, roll the car back an inch or two, and , then straight up and back into the left bay. That way my disabled car stays indoors. I need to re-gasket the pan and possibly replace the rear main. Provided I can prove it’s leaking. I think it’s a pan gasket leak out the back door. Thoughts?


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That will work. Take the front tire off and you can easily pull the motor by pushing the engine lift in the engine bay perpendicular to the fender. I've done it numerous times with my car on the lift by raising the lift high enough to push the engine feet under the lift and pulling the motor. You can put some extra long bolts through the trans bellhousing and rest on a 2" x 4" that's placed across the frame.

The lift especially if the tire is still on could be an issue not sliding in enough. I have a piece of galvanized pipe that fits in the frame to use bell housing bolts to keeptrans us.

Ask yourself one question.

Am I willing to risk damaging my fender ?

Personally I’d move the car so I could remove the engine from the front. I see the method you’re thinking of using as being very awkward. You won’t have the ability to adjust the engine hoist position and if you find you need to move the car forward or back to facilitate the engine removal.

Pull the car halfway out and pull the engine, then push it back inside.

I think it will work, but I would tend to agree with b-man, having done that in a similar sized garage. I was worried about moving the car out onto the driveway due to the slope (actually worried I wouldn't be able to roll it back in). Trick I learned at work moving semi trucks around saved me on that deal: stick a long pry bar under the tire and lift up... it's a lot easier than trying to push on the bumper. (I can move a loaded 50,000 lb straight truck by myself with that method.)

“Trick I learned at work moving semi trucks around saved me on that deal: stick a long pry bar under the tire and lift up... “

Now that sounds like something Archimedes would have said:thumbup:

I have done that method (several times), so I agree totally with B-Man.

a) Tow strap on the rear axle and connected to one of the Tow Hooks on
my F-150 gets the car 1/2 way out of the garage. Concrete 2" flat "Blocks" to keep it from rolling backward any further.

b) Remove the hood, radiator, etc.

c) Pull the engine after you have the bolts removed on the block and the starter. Also remove the distributor cap.

d) Locate the Cherry Picker under the engine and use a tilt screw engine position setup to get the engine out of the car over the radiator mount area.

After the engine is mounted on a proper engine stand, move it to the side of the garage and use "friends or a vehicle with a "Push Pad" attached to the
front engine of the push vehicle.

Reverse the steps when the engine is re-installed.

Done this at least 5 times over 20 years at my present location.

Tom V.

you can definitely pull the motor from the side & have enough room to pull it back while on the puller. ive done it a few times on 2nd gen firebirds in a 20' wide 2 stall garage. mainly on 79-81 with the longer nose that sometimes doesnt allow the puller to reach under the car far enough before the pump cylinder hits the nose. with the nose removed thats not an issue.

remove the front tires & lower the car down as much as possible & the entire engine with oil pan & all will lift up & over the fender. in this pic i didnt have to shorten the chain on the puller but doing so will give about 6" of extra lifting if needed.

No reason you can't pull it from the side, during my career as a mechanic I've had to reach through the passenger door of a few vans to extract the engines from the side. Being that you're not trying to pull the transmission out with the engine, chances are pretty good you'll not cause any body damage. I wouldn't ever attempt to do it with a transmission attached, as many people on here yank both out. I'm not sure why they do it like that, it just makes the job harder.

When you need to move an engine crane slightly sideways, I've used a large bar or pipe, even a 2X4, to put it under the front of the legs to slide it sideways a few inches. That's totally your choice whether you want to try that, or not. It's sometimes easier than trying to move the car, which isn't possible if it's on a lift.

Whatever you decide, good luck with the extraction and install.

Make sure your hoist will go high enough before you start, so you don't get caught with the engine dangling and no where to go with it.

Last time I pulled mine the rented hoist's boom was too short to pull from the front on my '71. I did exactly as above except I used a 2x2 that was all I had available.

I'll only do it with two people now, but I used to pull them like this by myself. I'd put a few heads on the back of the lift for counterweight since the engine gets quite high pulling it over the fender when the car is on the lift and the lift is raised to get the engine lift legs under the car lift.

Definitely like the idea of the wood/pipe cross member to hold the front of the trans up. Then no matter what the car remains mobile. On a front side pull I had always just put a jack under the trans. Of course I’ve got the block of wood to slide under the left co trip arm so I can can have the left front wheel off during the pull. I’m investing in a two ton folding picker and a two ton stand. Tired of renting and the HF 1500 lbs stand I have here is a joke. Has to have two angle iron front legs under the engine to keep it from turning a flip. Forget about rotating a complete assembly. Which I’d like to do. Yank it. Flip it. Gasket it. Reinstall. Go inside and wait for Spring. Guess we will need to check jib/boom height before we begin. And , I’ve got my old 6Xs here to hold her down. Say a pray and give her another whirl. Just my luck getting to pull the motor on a just finished car. Too high strung to let it be. Lastly I’d rather risk a fender and inner wheel that can be hammered, dollied, repaired or re-pop replaced than risk smashing the one year only, not re-popped core support and header panel. That header is some fragile glass. As always I appreciate you folks and all you have to offer. The life and times of a Pontiac enthusiast can be a pretty lonely place. Not many of us left. Thank God y’all are in here! I’ll keep y’all posted. Now, somebody make me feel good about that BOP two piece seal! [emoji23]


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https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...48939428f5.jpg
Couple for posterity before I violate her for the first time. Legend of Quint Stires lives on in this one. Those are his ported and match flowed, matching date code #16’s right there. Don’t think he’d leave it leaking either. Thanks again for the input! Merry Christmas!


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In your second picture you are on the last hole on the boom slider section.

The boom will see a lot of stress with the extension being all the way extended like that.

I made an square tube insert that internally made the extension better supported and the rear bolt location inside
the boom was farther back towards the rear of the hoist. Not in the last hole closest to the engine..

Food for thought for the membership.

Tom V.

Pretty car ... prayers sent!

yes im aware of the location of the boom, this is a 2 ton puller & the last spot is 1/2 ton. an aluminum head/intake pontiac doesnt weigh over 500lbs so it was safe. i was more worried at first about the lift plate on an aluminum intake than the boom/stand being stressed or breaking, but i also know lift plates are safe after using them multiple times with the trans connected to the engine.

ive pulled quite a few pontiacs & sbc's etc with the boom in that location when needed for the extra reach, no signs of over stressing the boom or puller itself... it is never even close to tipping over or needing extra weight put on the base. but i do keep it at 1-1.5 ton when the extra reach isnt needed. ;)

Remember Quint well for the Dallas events! I know he even out a 200R in one of his "driver's" way back when.

He was a super cool dude. He broke his arm about 20 years ago. Was out of work and money. Had listed a set of 16s on Craigslist for $350. I jumped in the truck and drove like hell from Lubbock to Wichita Falls. They were the most beautifully ported iron heads I’d ever seen. Gave me the grand tour. Saw the white and orange GTOs. The round light red Firebird in his back yard. All the parts and projects. Dude had it going on. Hated to see him go. So I thought I’d run the 16s as a tribute in one last high compression ion iron head build. She came in at 10.66/1, was a bear to tune but, happily screams on 93 octane @ 36°. Quint did me righteous.


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I always pull mine from the side.
- Remove the tire
-use a small jack to raise the tranny, after loosening the cross member bolt.
- use the tilt mechanism bolted to the head's intake bolt holes, ( I shorten the chain a bit)
- use a couple of big ty-raps to hold down the hood hinge... which makes it much easier.