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Getting the engine out -- what did I miss?

3K views 34 replies 19 participants last post by  Tallguy 
#1 ·
Yesterday my son and I tried to pull the 289 out of my '66 coupe. I have a load leveler bolted to four points, and the hoist attached. We disconnected all of the lines, hoses, wiring, etc. Removed the starter. Unbolted the trans. Got both engine mounts taken apart so they're not hanging us up. I'm not in the mood to spend a bunch of money on a transmission jack, and my motorcycle jack won't slide under the car far enough, so I cut a couple pieces of 2x12 long enough to fit under the transmission oil pan to support it.

The engine is free, and we managed to get about 1/2" or so separation between the block and the transmission, but for some reason I simply cannot get the engine and transmission apart any further, and can't get the engine out. We've tried various combinations of height and angle on the engine. I tried lowering it so the tranny is resting on the blocks, then tried moving the load leveler pivot point forward and back to see if it's just binding. Nothing seems to make a difference.

I've never done this before, so I'm unsure of how to proceed. I was under the impression that there's just a splined shaft connection between the engine and the transmission, but I don't want to resort to a 4' crowbar and break or bend something. How hard should this be to get the two un-mated so we can pull the engine out?
 
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#5 ·
Nope. How would I get to it to do that? The shop manual is pretty thin on details... basically "Disconnect this wire, that hose, the other wire, remove starter, hook up the load sling, pull the engine out".

As noted, I've never pulled an engine and am fairly ignorant of how the engine and tranny are actually connected.
 
#4 ·
Automatic? Did you remove the inspection plate on the lower part of the bellhousing? Been a while but it can also hang up on the steering if it’s not high enough. I think you may get some hydraulic suction from the torque converter where it goes in the pump, might just have to keep slowly at it. I wouldn’t use a huge crowbar, but I’d try a smaller one on each side at the same time. Shouldn’t take much pressure.
 
#7 ·
Remove the inspection plate. It is right behind the back end of the oil pan. You will need to rotate the crankshaft to access & remove all the nuts. Dean
 
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#9 · (Edited)
Looks like the boys have you hooked up with the information you need. Don’t fret about it. I’ve seen lots of people pulling an engine for the first time and not know about the flex plate bolts. Good luck and be careful, keep your son away, engines are heavy especially when swinging on a chain 5 feet off the ground. Lower it as soon as it clears the rad cradle. Hope you have a good engine stand for it.

Have fun!
 
#11 ·
Good luck and be careful, keep your son away, engines are heavy especially when swinging on a chain 5 feet off the ground.
Hahaha... my son is 29, bigger than me, and could probably still bench press this long block if needed. He used to bench 525, probably could only do 400 now. I have him for the heavy lifting work! But, yeah... there's an engine stand we'll be bolting that boat anchor onto as soon as we pull it, and I'm a little paranoid when it comes to big heavy things that can crush people and break things. And I trust Harbor Freight hydraulics about --><-- that much.
 
#13 ·
I thought about it, since it seems to be a popular approach. In the end, the logistical aspects of getting them un-mated once out of the car, and where to put the C4 while I work in the engine, made me decide to leave it in there for now. I'll pull the trans later, and will most likely put them back together and drop back in as a unit... but that's many months away. We'll see how it shakes out. For now, I decided to just do one major assembly at a time.
 
#16 ·
Ha! nah. If the C4 was good enough for the original owner, it's good enough for me. I'm not opposed to some improvements in the engine, but that kind of surgery is not what I have in mind. Besides, on the off chance that I actually keep this, it'll be mostly for my wife to drive. I already have my man car... and man truck... and man airplane... though come to think of it none of then have a manual transmission. :)
 
#19 ·
Oh -- the really fun part? Once we got the engine hoisted out, the car rolled back, and rolled the engine stand over, I realized... there is no way to transfer the engine from the hoist to the stand. The stand won't fit between the legs of the hoist. The two are incompatible. We ended up doing some semi-inadvisable maneuvers to get the job done... if either of us had been 100# lighter it wouldn't have worked. The problem is that big wide front crossmember on the stand. I picked it up used, and never really thought about that. Never done this stuff before, you know?

Told my son I didn't know how we were going to reverse the process to get the engine back in... he said we won't have to; by then it will have an aluminum block and all titanium internals, so we can just lift it in. :) He's a funny guy.

 
#22 ·
Looking at that pic, it looks that way. I'll have to go look at the actual stand -- seems to me they are about the same length, but it could just be an assembly error. Might even be able to correct that with the block on it... But, we did find that if I stand on the back of it, you can fold up the front and it won't tip over. Even with the heads on.
 
#25 ·
The shorter crossmember goes in front because it then fits more easily into the "V" of your traditional cherry picker type engine hoist. It shouldn't affect stability at all. If it doesn't affect you transferring the engine back to your hoist I wouldn't bother with it for the time being.

Since you were wrestling the engine and torque converter around more than a little I would certainly replace the pump seal of the transmission. It's common practice in such situations.
 
#26 ·
I think even the shorter crossmember would still not allow the hoist to get the engine within 2 or 3 feet of the stand. Even the shorter crossmember is nearly as long as the hoist legs are wide.

We’ll probably pull and rebuild the transmission also. It’s certainly going to get removed and that seal replaced.
 
#27 ·
Are the legs of the engine hoist adjustable at all? Some hoists allow the legs to be spread further apart on the rear cross member. Some legs are able to be made longer which makes the legs further apart at the front or open end. Will extending the boom help? Don't go so far as to overload the booms weight rating. Dave R.
 
#28 ·
No... to all. ? It’s really a simple problem with several possible solutions, none of which are needed until the overhaul is done. We got it on the stand OK, we’ll get it back on the hoist one way or another.

Most likely we’ll support the front member of the stand with wood blocks and remove the crossmember from the front. I don’t know that I’d want to leave it that way long term, but it will be stable and stationary for the few minutes it will take to roll the hoist in and hook it up... given that there are stands like the Harbor Freight model configured the same way, just a single wheel on the front member.
 
#29 ·
My engine stand does not fit that great into the "V" of my hoist but it fits just enough to make the transfer without too much trouble and with only 1 person. You just have to push the motor out to reach a little bit. My front cross member is 27", rear is 32.5".
 
#30 ·
I’ve run into this issue. I have 2 different stands, 3 wheelers and 4 wheelers. I’ve found it easier to set a motor on the bed of pick up,( tailgate removed) attach motor to engine stand head, and then slide head into engine stand. I can then stand in bed of truck and it compresses suspension and the engine stand is standing on its wheels. This is my ford ranger pick up. Round about way, but works for me. I did not do this with the 390 though.
 
#34 ·
I use a 4 wheel engine cart for completed engines, and a 3 wheel engine stand for assembly. The engine cart will allow you to assemble the flywheel/clutch assembly and not have to sit the engine on the floor possibly damaging the oil pan.
 
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