Should be able to get the old LG4 out of the 85 Z28 to make way for an L98 this week - any tips to smooth the process for a first time engine swapper? I will be putting the TPI on it in a coupla months - will be carb initially. Is it easier to remove the engine by itself or take out the engine and tranny together? Love to hear any shortcuts from the experts!

 

Take the motor and tranny out at the same time. Save yourself the headache of TPI and stay with the carb, unless you like less power.

Brad...

 

Yeah..Take the Tranny and the engine out together. There are a couple bolts on the tranny are such a pita to get too it is easier that way in my opinion. You will also need to plan on taking the hood off in order for the engine puller to reach where you need it.

Do you need us to go over all the lines/wires to disconnect or are you cool?

 

if you are renting a engine lift, make sure you get the one with an adjustable arm!!....i didnt pay much attention when we rented ours and we had 3 guys holding the thing back so it wouldnt crush my front end while we took it in and out....make sure you mark the hood where the bolts are so its easier to align it later. im another one to vote for taking the trans out as well....do yourself a favor and replace the rear seal on the trans while its out, and it probly wouldnt be a bad idea to change all the fluid and the filter in it as well. seeing that your gonna be spilling it out anyways. so i say drain your trany, then pull it. but make sure you put the pan back on. all the draining isnt nessesary, but i wish i would have done it. i didnt like having to clean it all up while trying to finish my car. make sure you lable all your wires, and make sure you can READ them............trying to think of other stuff i wish i knew when i did mine.........are you putting on headers also??

 

Perth,

NOW we know what you've been up to lately. No wonder you haven't been around lately.

Me and Fattie are on the same page on this one. Remove the thing as an assembly, and get the adjustable balancer adapter to level the engine wherever you want.

Drain everything you can first. Remove the distrtibutor before removing the engine. Remove the starter and oil filter as well. You might even find is easier to remove the accessories and water pump while the engine is still installed.

Mark EVERYTHING with masking tape and permanent markers as labels, and take photos from all angles before you begin. You'll be surprised at how many of those little items you can forget about when assembly time rolls around.

While the transmission is out, it might be a good idea to remove the pan and install an oil drain plug for next time (auto trtans only, of course). Plan on cleaning and repainting the 'K' member and engine bay areas while it's bare. Don't forget the torque arm at the rear of the trans (don't ask me why I mentioned that - "But, Dude, the driveshaft IS out...").


And, I could be mistaken, but since you are on the "other side", shouldn't you be using an engine "lowering device" instead of a lift? Or can you just remove the whole thing from the bottom, since the car is "upside down"?

Just jerkin' your chain a little, mate...

 

What am I? Chopped liver.

May I ask why your telling him to remove the starter and oil filter plus all the other accessories? I am not disagreeing...I don't think there is a right way or a wrong way when it comes to it, but I haven't done that when I've pulled motors. I just like messing with as much of it as possible while it is on the engine stand and out of the car. Basically, I only take off what I have too. But if there is a reason for the starter to be removed then I need to think about doing it next time. That is the only reason I am asking.

No kidding! I hate it when I think I will remember a bolt and then a week later I am looking at wondering why I thought I would remember where it went. I try to put all the bolts in a sammich bag and label them so I know exactly where they go.

 

pictures do wonders!!!! i took pictures of the engine after i took it apart...oppps!!! wish i had planed that out a little better, but hey im a 18yr old kid that just wanted to have a fast car, so i just started to pull crap out! DONT DO THAT!!! i didint remover the distributor to pull the engine, but it it was out when i put it back in. no point in busting a good distributor. make sure you have more than 1 jack, and wood blocks to help support the tranny. jackstands are a must as well....sorry these might be no brainers, but its still a good reminder just incase you have to rent one or something. get lots of rags and hand cleaer as well.and cat litter. there will be coolent, and trans fluid spilled more then likely so try to keep it all as clean as possible. a clean work place is a happy work place. dont forget to drain, and pull the radiator. take atleast the fan off before you start to pull it. Vader siad to pull the water pump and all that, but its not nessecary. thats just all personal opinon, i personaly like to leave it on and pull it all off when its on the stand too. kinda makes it easier, but leaving it all on takes away some room for pulling. but youll be fine as long as you are carefull. ummm thats all i can think of at the moment.

 

Thanks for the info you blokes [I assume you are all blokes!]. These cars are quite rare here in Australia [especially on the West Coast] and real life experience with them can be hard to come by. I thought it would be easier to just pull the engine but it seems the consensus is that it will be easier to get out the tranny as well.

I am using the L98 cast manifolds rather than headers mainly due to the cost and difficulty in fitting headers to a right hand drive Camaro because the steering shaft runs real close to the area that the headers would occupy. I was going to undo the downpipes at the manifolds and pull the engine with the manifolds on. Would this be OK?

Do I need to pull the radiator or can I get away with leaving it in? I have removed the engine driven fan and replaced it with a dual thermo set-up out of an Aussie Ford [traitor]!

 

No...I am not a bloke...I am a Sheila or tart..depending on how you wanna look at it.

Yeah..I would remove the motor with the manifolds on. But again, your talking to someone that only takes off what she has too. I think it is mostly a strength issue for me. I can't always break loose bolts leaning over the car easily, so I only take off what I have too.

As far as pulling your radiator you may very well have too. I guess you have a couple options, either remove all the accessories off the front or remove the radiator. You may even have to do both. I am not sure what the Aussie Ford set up is like.

The best thing I can tell you is to look at the front of the motor. Is there room for the motor to swing forward once you get it off the motor mounts? If not, what will give you the most clearance? Removing your Aussie Ford fan set up or the radiator. I know when we pulled the motor out of my husbands Firebird we took the front accessories off and left the radiator in. But, I am sure it can go the other way as well.

[edit]I have been giving this some more thought and you might want to check with Vader or someone else that has pulled the motor with the transmission attached. We sort of did it backwards when we did it. We pulled the motor then grabbed the transmission later and attached it to the motor on the engine stand and then put it in the car together. I am pretty sure your going to need clearance to get that thing out from under the car. I think it also depends on how big your cherry picker arm is. How far the arm will reach will lessen the distance the motor will swing forward.

 

do yourself a favor and take the radiator out. this way you can change all the coolent also. and y take the chace of breaking your ratiator??? them are not cheap... so just take the few bolts that are there off, and the lines. plug the lines and drain the radiator from the bottom..then pull it and dump the rest of the fluid out. when you got the engine in the air and notice you need to pull the radiator,, your gonna be pist and its gonna be a pain in the *** trying to put the motor back in so you have the room to pull the radiator out.

 

I found it extremely useful to get some of those ziploc bags with the labels on them to hold bolts from various places in my engine compartment. The first time I pulled an engine apart I didnt organize them and was sorry. The second time the engine was back in and put together in no time flat.