I have a 88 camaro with a 305 v8 TBI that isnt running so im installing a new one myself so i can save money cuz i dont have any.
How do i take my engine out then put it back?
I need step by step please. Thanks

 

disconect every single wire that goes to your engine. take many many pictures of every wire you disconnect so you know where it goes when you put it back. VERY IMPORTANT that you take pictures of all the wires and all the vacuum hoses. disconnect your radiator hoses and drain the radiator. take the radiator out of the car and set it somewhere VERY safe. take off the belt and remove the front brackets for your a/c compressor and alternator and p/s pump. then remove your starter. then disconect the echaust from your manifolds or headers (which ever one you have) then remove the bell housing bolts (6 bolts) and your torque converter bolts (3 bolts) then remove your motor mount bolts (2 bolts) make sure EVERY wire and vacuum is disconected. then pull the engine out. make sure you put a jack under your tranny so it doesnt fall. after you pull the engine take some straps to hold the tranny up. when you put it back in just hook up the motor mounts, then do the top bell housing bolts and then the torque converter bolts then the remaining four bellhousing bolts. go off your pics to hook everything back up. total time to take an engine out for an amature is 2-3 hours. for a novice TAKE YOUR TIME. it could take 5 or 6 hours. just make sure you do it right. any questions then pm me.

 

Taking the pictures is very important. When I did my first swap I took about 15 and thought that was more than enough. It was nowhere near enough.

 

what if i want to swap for say an LS1? will pictures even help me? or shouldi just use some tape and label what all of the wires/hoses go to, then look them up on the new LS1?
i am thinking about an engine swap on my 87' carborated Camaro... but am a little nervous about tackling something that large scale.

i'm proficiant with tools, but have done little work on engines and transmissions. but we'll see... i might just be wishing for something that i cannot acheive.

 

My first engine swap would have been a nightmare if i did it alone taking the engine out is easy but once you get to putting every thing back together you start to slowly lose your mind, at least i did lol.

luckily my father use to build race engines for a living and was willing to give me a hand, my best advice find a friend who has done this a few times and ask for help even just have him around to ask questions that worked for me more often then not.

 

if your going to swap in an LS1 your going to use the LS1's wiring harness, your harness is basically junk. so after you pull the engine out you can take your wiring harness and computer and toss it in the garbage. when you get the LS1 itll either be in the car or out of the car obviously, if its in the car, then take a 1000000 pictures. if its out of the car then you got yourself a nightmare ahead of you if you dont know what your doing. if your getting an LS1 then you need the harness, the engine, the computer, and every sensor you can think of.

 

If you're going to do an LS1 swap you read the LS1 swap sticky instead of hijacking non-LS1 threads.