Hi everyone, I am pulling my motor from my 69 vert and ran into a little problem. I was under the car, ready to drop the drive shaft and realized the new duel exhaust with the "H" pipe will prevent the tranny from dropping (4-speed). I don't want to cut the pipe and I don't think I can get the car high enough to clear. The "H" pipe is in front of the cross member. What do I need to do to pull the motor and leave the tranny in the car and what will I need to do to get it back in? Thanks Pete
Can you drop both front pipes from the exhaust manifolds allowing the "H" to drop low enough to remove the driveshaft? If you can do that, then you should be able to drop the trans crossmember and pull the engine and trans together.
If you can't do that, then you should be able to jack up the trans and pull the crossmember to the rear, let the trans drop back down and that may give you enough slack to pull the drive shaft once it is disconnected from the rear end.
If neither of those work, you can pull the engine without pulling the trans. I can't remember if you have a manual or auto trans, but you will need to remove the bell housing bolts and remove the starter. Support the front of the trans/bell housing and pull the engine straight forward to prevent damage to the input shaft on the trans. I recommend you pull the radiator and fan from the front of the engine to give you some extra room. You also need to remove the hood.
You will need to reverse this when you put the engine back in.
Thanks Tom! I have the fan and radiator out and the hood is off. It's a 4-speed and the "H" pipe is towards the front side of the cross member towards the motor. I can get the drive shaft out if I want, the car is as high as it can go on the jack stands and it doesn't look like it will clear. How far forward do I need to pull it if I unbolt the bell housing and where and how many bolts? Pete
I don't know if you can pull the motor far enough forward to clear the clutch fingers. It's like 4-1/2 inches. You have to pull the motor straight forward after taking off the 6 bell-housing bolts. Odds of getting it back in straight are pretty low, but not impossible. You probably would have better luck removing the shifter, then remove the four bolts that hold the tranny in. Install a coupe long bolts with the heads cut off and slide the tranny backwards (over the H pipe). It's a long way to go, but it sounds like it can be done.
Pulling the motor while leaving the tranny in place is a piece of cake. Support the tranny with a jack - not a jackstand. You'll have to keep adjusting the height of the tranny to ease the removal of the engine. Actually, you'll keep adjusting the height of both the engine and tranny. The key is to keep a perfectly uniform gap between the bellhousing and the rear of the engine. Use the jacks to do this
You've pulled the radiator and core support. You should have plenty of clearance now. Reinstalling is a little tougher, but agin, just keep an eye on that gap all of the way around. If it's uniform, you might just have to twist the engine a hair to get it to slip back in place.
I've pulled probably 50 engines this way. The worst one took almost 10 minutes to clear. The best took less than ten seconds. Good luck!
I'm thinking if I unbolt the bell housing from the motor (looks like 4 bolts) the throwout bearing and fork would stay in the bell housing the clutch and pressure plate will be on the motor. Anybody know if this is correct? Pete
Jake, I was typing while you posted. I did not pull the core support just the radiator, I have a foot between the motor and it. Do I need to unbolt the tranny from the cross member? Pete
No, leave the tranny attached to the crossmember or it'll tumble onto the floor. I always seem to end up pulling motors alone which means they may swing a bit. Just out of habit I pull the core support to avoid denting it. If you've got a foot and are careful no problem.
Jake, and everyone else. What a pain in the @ss. I ended up pulling the tranny with the motor. No way was I getting the bell housing bolts out. The long branch manifolds and the "H" pipe are not to be taken lightly. I am thinking of paying the shop that installed the exhaust to put it back in. Did I mention the car has AC. What a time I had. I'll let you know if it was worth it after I start it up with the ported #48 heads I am having put on. Pete
