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*pulling my motor* what steps to take? need advice!


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I am pulling my L6 motor this weekend since something is wrong in my motor and some oiler was sitting in my oil pan.

I guess the first thing I will do is take lots of pictures of how everything is hooked up. I will then drain the radiator fluid. Disconnect all electrical connections.

What I don't know is if I should leave the transmission attached to the engine and drain it's fluid as well or seperate the engine from the tranny and pull the engine straight foreward and then up.

This will be my first engine pull but it seems pretty simple. I don't need to remove the transmision but I will if I have to.

Thanks for your help.

OTM

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When I pulled my L6 I did it with the transmission attached, and I think it went pretty smoothly that way. I just followed the instructions in my repair manual, and it didn't take more than a few hours.

 

You don't have to drain your transmission, but if you don't you will need some type of a plug for the rear end (something similar to the end of the driveshaft) otherwise it will go everywhere.

 

Have fun and good luck!

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I assume you're doing this alone? The most useful thing to keep around, of course, is an assistant who is familiar with the procedure, or is at least actively involved. I have drafted my sweetheart to help me with such things on several occasions, and it's good to have someone around "just in case", but have learned not to ask her to touch anything, especially anything greasy (OK, you can chuckle now).

 

Keep padding of some kind around. I have a "rag blanket", an old cheap quilt that I use for such occasions. Fold it in half and lay it on the fender for protection from wires swinging around, roll it into a cylinder for when the rear of the tranny starts to move around, that sort of thing.

 

Also, have a 2x4, or something of similar dimension around to put between engine and bodywork, or tranny and fender, or what-have-you. It's useful as a guide and a little bit of leverage, especially when the tail of the tranny is exiting the tunnel.

 

I also rope the motor, usually from its' rear someplace, one length starboard and one length port, so that I can control it from the pump on the cherry picker, as well as tie it off to prevent it from swinging aroiund if I need to step away for some reason.

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I put the rear of the car on jackstands and chock the front wheels. This makes it so you don't have to drop the back of the tranny quite as far down to clear the tunnel.

 

Remove the shifter handle if you can.

 

Definitely pull the radiator otherwise you WILL hit it with the engine, better to be safe than sorry.

 

If you're renting a cherry picker be sure to get an engine leveler with it, this will give you the ability to tilt the engine/tranny to whatever angle you need and have it stay. A really big swivel also helps with rotating the engine but if you use one make sure it can handle the load.

 

Wheelman

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I have an electric fan...one of those cool things that was already on the car when I got it.

the shifter handle takes a full 20 seconds to remove and I am a pro at it since I have had the tranny out twice. I like the idea of lifting the rear. Very good idea and I will use it. I have some nice SUV jackstands that will do fine for that. I was putting 2x4s under my wimpy little car stands but it did not seem safe for pulling the tranny out of the back of the car.

Thanks for the help and maybe this thread could be stickied for all the newbies like me that have never pulled a motor. Lots of good info.

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If you still have the engine lift hooks on the car, DO NOT USE THEM!

 

mine sheared off as I was pulling one of the previous engines out of my car, and luckily it didn't do much, but if they had sheared while the tranny/engine was in the air, it could have killed some one. Use grade 8.8 bolts wherever you can, to attach the chain.

 

be very careful.

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First Off ive done this i am only 16 its not quite that complicated

 

I would recommend taking a picture of the wiring aswell as tagging them just in case. Also i used the engine hooks on my motor they never sheared off or anything but i guess from a 30 yr old motor its to be expected. And for the love of god take of the transmission and engine with it aswell it is a biatch to get it aligned

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yeah...efi has a few more wires...lol the only wires that control my engine are coil wire, distributor sensor wires, and the main power/ground wires. I have the oil sender wire, water temp wires, and I think that is it.

 

Yeah its pretty simple for you then i think the only other real annoying part is getting the exhaust bolts off

 

Since your taking the transmission off aswell you need to remove the clutch line from the right side of the transmission along with starter wires and stuff

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