Pulling engine advice
It has been many years since I last pulled an engine. I got a cherry picker and load leveler to do the job. Was going to use an engine plate that bolts to the intake (aluminum) but read a post stating that angling the motor while removing puts strain on the higher area of the lifted plate and possibly cause issues with bolt breakage or pulling out of the threads. It kind of made sense since I would be transferring the majority of weight to the two higher inclined bolts and I'm leaving the bellhousing on when I pull it. Anyway, I've decided to use the 4 chains and attach to the front and back of the upper heads. There appears to be some threaded areas there that I can put bolts in and use. Is this ok or should I use other attachment points? The car is a 70 chvelle with BBC (454) Also, any advice on marking the bolts on the hood when I remove it to make alignment easier when reinstalling? Any other bits of advice relating to this job would be much appreciated. The car body and paint are in great shape so I don't want to muck them up.
Rich
Rich
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I have removed and reinstalled the engine in my 69 four times in the confines of my 2 car (21 X 23) garage with 8 ft ceilings. Couple things I have learned along the way.
1. I acquired a Kwik Lift which is extremely usefull in a garage with 8 ft ceilings.
2. I back my car onto the Kwik Lift with the aid of an electric winch that I mount to the Kwik Lift.
3. After I have removed everything I need to remove with the car on the Lift I lower the end of the lift that has the front end of the 69 on it to the ground so the front end of the car can be rolled out into the driveway with the aid of the electric winch. However rear wheels are still on Lift with the winch still connected.
4. With the front end of the car outside I can raise the engine hoist as high as needed so now removed engine can clear the header panel of the car.
5. After the engine/hoist with engine attached is lifted as high as needed I use the winch to pull the car back up onto the Kwik Lift.
7. Now the 69 is back in the garage and the engine/hoist is out in the driveway. I lower the engine and transfer it to one of those small metal/square tube engine cradles which I have on a heavy duty homemade 2 ft X 3 ft wooden cart with 6 inch wheels. Push the engine on cart combo into garage bay #2 and heavy lifting is over.
8. Reverse this procedure when engine reinstallation time comes.
Gotta work with what you have.
1. I acquired a Kwik Lift which is extremely usefull in a garage with 8 ft ceilings.
2. I back my car onto the Kwik Lift with the aid of an electric winch that I mount to the Kwik Lift.
3. After I have removed everything I need to remove with the car on the Lift I lower the end of the lift that has the front end of the 69 on it to the ground so the front end of the car can be rolled out into the driveway with the aid of the electric winch. However rear wheels are still on Lift with the winch still connected.
4. With the front end of the car outside I can raise the engine hoist as high as needed so now removed engine can clear the header panel of the car.
5. After the engine/hoist with engine attached is lifted as high as needed I use the winch to pull the car back up onto the Kwik Lift.
7. Now the 69 is back in the garage and the engine/hoist is out in the driveway. I lower the engine and transfer it to one of those small metal/square tube engine cradles which I have on a heavy duty homemade 2 ft X 3 ft wooden cart with 6 inch wheels. Push the engine on cart combo into garage bay #2 and heavy lifting is over.
8. Reverse this procedure when engine reinstallation time comes.
Gotta work with what you have.
1968 Malibu sport coupe, 489 ci. 590 hp 600 tq, RV T-400 Freakshow 3200 stall, 3.73 12 bolt posi
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11,249 Posts
I've never tried a lift plate, never had one so I've always used a chain with a bolt in the back of the Pass side head across to the front Drv side head, SB & BB GM-Ford-Mopar, but I'll never use a Tree Limb & Chainfall again, in 87 I pulled the 350 out of my 73 Elky and dropped a 70 LS5 467 in but had to lift it back up about 6" to get the headers in then the limb snapped...Luckily dropped the engine right back where it needed to go and I still have all my fingers, No Injuries, remove the Radiator, Dist. cap
Hahaha.....and I thought that was an ole wives' tale about guys using tree limbs.
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When I was a teenager we lived on a small farm the only concrete was the floor in an old storage building so any engine removal had to be done outside under the walnut tree used that same limb for hanging cows and hogs when we butchered
Now those are what you call "fender well" headers.
was/is that a boat motor??Nah.. those are 1 7/8 primaries with 31" long 3 1/2"dia collectors. It was built for my off road truck.Now those are what you call "fender well" headers.
This engine is going to be re-tuned and installed into the 66 chevelle I am building for the wife as her
summer Daily Driver.
AAAAAHHHH....that explains it.
The only time I used the lifting plate was for a 454 with TH400 attached into my 1978 Suburban. The install worked fine until I fired it up and coolant leaked from the intake -- iron heads and intake. I retorqued the intake bolts, andd all was well for 100K miles. I'll stick with the chains to the head bolts from now on. It's better to be good than lucky.
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I use the lifting plate but skip the leveler. Often the extra space of the leveler limits the lift height to clear the engine bay so complicates things. The engine is really easy to swing and move around on the lifting plate. I actually prefer the plate versus the leveler after using the leveler for years before acquiring a lifting plate. I would use the leveler if I was pulling the trans with the engine, but then you really need two people as things can get pretty dangerous when at max height and tilt. I actually use a chain hoist when I need to lift really high and rarely use my cherry picker anymore.
I mark the hood bolts with a scribe on the hinge or just use a contrasting sharpie. I have a silver one I use for marking timing marks. This cleans off easily with spray solvent. I am too lazy to drill holes, but it works really well too.
As far as removing the engine. I've always used the bolt holes on the cylinder head. Grade 5 to 8 3/8 16's. When or if you remove the hood mark the front of the hood hinge bracket with a piece of regular old masking tape. The when you put it back on use the tape to align the hood back up. Just my 2 cent's worth.
Good luck with your project.
CAP61
Good luck with your project.
CAP61
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