Help? I am a rookie. I want to try to pull the 355 engine from TA project car and have speed shop evaluate engine and blown heads. I want to do the heavy lifting myself. I have purchased an engine hoist but would like to see a step by step instruction manual on "how to" or "engine swap for dummies" Thanks

Give the car to the shop and have them do it. It will probably end up being cheaper. With inexperience, you're going to make costly mistakes.

I would like to but this speed shop will not pull the engine and transmission.

I would need to take it to another mechanic / shop first.

My son and his friends just did an engine swap and said they would consult / look over my shoulder / provide some muscle when needed but did not want to get too involved.

They did a JDM silvia motor swap and found a DVD with step by step instructions on a Tech Board. I was hoping for the same / similar.

unbolt it from the tranny unbolt the motor mounts , unplug wirring harness coolant lines ac and power steering ,drain the oil wouldnt be a bad idea... and draining the radiator prolly make less of a mess lol connect a chain to opposite sides of the motor cross ways and yank it out... probably forgetting some stuff but theres a pretty good start lol buy a manual

A Haynes manual will have all the information and adequate pictures for this.

No reason you can't do it if you have an engine hoist, basic hand tools, jacks and jack stands, some patience and willingness to learn. People with experience who are willing to lend a hand is a plus.

We're all inexpirenced at one point and i highly highly doubt having a speed shop do a swap is cheaper..... I bet u could drop the motor on the front clip, replace the whole clip and a new motor for the cost of having a shop do it...... Grab a haynes manual or better yet get a full service manual off ebay they're not that expensive... Take your time LABEL Everything. Actually if you have access to it take a video camera and go over every piece of it before u start dissasembling and then take some intermitent video inbetween so you have some decent records of where the little things are....

Thanks for the information

I have a 1988 Chiltons book and think Haynes is very similar.

Maybe the "Shop Repair Manual" is the better solution for me. I have not been able to find a 1988 manual on line.

Tanks!

you basically just disconnect EVERYTHING that's attached to the motor. Don't forget the various grounds on the back of the cylinder heads. My car has a ground going to the serp bracket in the front too that's easy to miss. Just go slow and watch VERY closely for things getting snagged, and the higher up in the air that motor gets the more dangerous it is and the more likely your lift will be to tip over. Just be VERY careful not to somehow knock that thing off balance. Watch rocks near teh wheels on it and so forth. Any ruts in your driveway, tools, etc. As soon as that thing is clear you get that thing away from the car and the get the motor back on the ground.

Off teh top of my head:

1. Grounds on back of cylinder heads
2. Grounds on front of the block
3. All fuel lines
4. All vacuum lines from map sensors/Air conditionig
4. All water hoses.
5. Exhaust
6. transmission/bellhousing bolts.
7. Engine mount bolts
8. Remove the distributor
9. Remove either the power steering pump (you may need a power steering pump pulley puller for this) or the power steering lines.
10. Spark plugs
11. Disconnect throttle/TV cables

With the transmission you're going to want to put a jack under the oil pan to support it as you raise the motor. Make sure it's stable.

Here is one way to support the trans with the motor out of the way:



If you can shove something in there that's stable, it'll be fine, just be careful with it.

Here is generally how I set the motor down. Just make sure you're very gentle when you put the balancer down... you definitely dont want to bend the crank snout.



Also note, those spark plugs were only there to keep critters from making a nest inside my combustion chambers until the motor went in the car. You definitely dont want to have spark plugs in as you're removing the motor. I'd pull the exhaust manifolds too honestly just to give yourself a little more breathing room, but that's optional.

I have a load leveller which makes that kind of thing a lot easier. But throw a chain through a strong bolt through opposite corners in opposite heads. And you should be able to slowly work it out. Just be careful. THe biggest obstacle is hopefully just going to be the wiper motor.

If you're pulling a stock motor, you may have eyelets for hooks on the intake manifold... but since I think you've got a TPI (if it's a stock 350) you probably dont have these...

I just read your post / pics.

Most information I got so far. Looks easier said then done but I want to atleast give it a try. I have a 355 engine with Edelbrock carb modification.

How easy / hard is seperating the engine from the automatic transmission?

Thanks

Unbolt the 3 bolts from the torque converter. Unbolt the 6 bolts from the bellhousing. Disconnect any harness, vaccum line, TV cable etc. Pull apart. The torque converter stays with the transmission.

Yeah, you'll need to rotate the engine by hand to get all 3 torque converter bolts. But that's not a big deal.