I was thinking when I am ready to change my timing chain, why not do a cam swap, then I started to think, why not swap new heads and an intake on too. Ive heard you can swap a cam with the engine in, but the heads seem trickier. Wouldnt I need to pull the engine out to do all this? How hard is that to do? Is it hard to detach the tranny and all that?

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89 camaro 305 tbi, flomaster 3 chamber cat back, gutted cat, Edlebrock open element, 2 kicker comp 12"'s, polk for the rest. Phoenix gold xs2300 to subs, kicker impulse 404XI to 4 speakers, pioneer DEH- P7000R head unit, and finally a 12 disc changer. Full leather interior from MrMikes.com

 

Its not hard, its just a pain in the butt. I just did it this weekend, and it took me from Friday to Monday.

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West Coast GM Shootout 2001!
1991 Camaro Z28
5.7L 5-Speed (originally 305)
13.25 @ 107.18 MPH
Southern California
Member: SoCal 3rd Gen F-Bodies
Webmaster: SoCal F-Bodies
-=ICON Motorsports=-

 

it's not that bad. i pulled the engine and trans in my sons 88 for new cam, intake, dart heads and to weld up a stripped trans mount bolt hole. it's a lot better if you can get some one else to do all the work under the car.

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ICON Motorsports

1st & 3rd

 

Pulling it is easy. Putting it back together right is where it gets tricky. If you haven't done it before, be ready for some surprises and make sure you have another vehicle to drive just in case you take longer than you planned.

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82 Camaro:
350, Erson cam, ported heads, Crane Hi-6 ignition, Accel supercoil, Comp Cams 1.6:1 rocker arms, Turbo 350 tranny with 2500 stall.

 

If you have to ask, maybe you shouldn't try . Seriously, though, if you're unsure then you should probably have somebody who's done it before help you. If you're just changing the heads and cam you might not want to go through the trouble. Wrestling an engine back into place can be a pain.

 

Its easy if you have all the right tools and a good place to do it.

I would do them all day if I could, thats how I got my nickname.

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ASE Mechanic/Machinist/Smog Tech

1999 NBM Trans Am
1986 Chevy 3/4 ton pick up
1981 corvette
1995 Kawi ZX6R

R.I.P. #3
My favorite quote about D.E. "He can see air"

 

Hey, I'd have to go along with this thread in asking if even an automotive idiot can do it? (I would be the intended object of the idiot comment) Never done it before, but I have a second car, so it's no biggy (actually blew a head gasket on it today)
Oh, and if it's too much trouble to pull out, how would someone swap cams with the motor in the bay?

Jon

 

You have to take the radiator out and move the condensor out of the way. You have to do that if you are going to pull the engine out anyway, so you may as well try and pull the cam from the front. Like Engineboy said, you have to have the right tools and place to do it if you are going to pull the engine. That includes a cherry picker and an engine stand. Once the shroud and radiator are out, taking the front of the engine apart is not so bad; especially in a third gen (compared to a fourth gen). My reccommendation, get a Chilton or Haynes manual and work with the engine in the car. Once you decide to work on the bottom end, then get the correct tools and pull the engine. Just my .02

 

Da91's right... the Haynes manual will tell you what's involved in pulling the motor. Read thru it a few hundred times... that's what I do before a big job. Also, take plenty of Polaroid photos of EVERYTHING before you start the job, and during the job if you encounter a "difficult" spot. That'll help you put it all back together.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

 

Should the engine and tranny be pulled out
together ? Last time I replaced a motor in
my 63 Corvette they both come out and go back in togther with plenty of room. I'm
assuming this is the same with a third gen
car ? What about the water pump and balancer ... on or off the motor.

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Tom K.
84 Z-28 M5 305 L69 HO
pulleys,coil,3:73(stock)
Jet chip, fan switch,
Al dshaft,1.6 rockers,
LCAs and brackets,BFG DRs
14.20 @ 96.74 2.02 60ft

 

I'm totally not a fan of pulling motors and trannys together. It sounds good in theory, but the risk of scraping a tail shaft across some paint is too much. You have to attach the hoist to the engine in just such a way that it balances, or you have to have one of the hoists that has the pitch control. I pulled the engine and transmission out of my truck together (S-10) but I had pulled the grill and radiator support out, so it just sort of slid out from the front. As far as trying it with a Corvette and how it compares to pulling one out of an F-body, I've never pulled an engine from either so I really can't comment.

 

i found that pulling them out togaher was the easiest way on my 82 camaro with an lg4 and 200r4.. it seemed to hard to disconnect the tranny from the engine on that car., so just pulled it out togather. I used a plate to pull it that connected to the intake. And I used nylon rope hooked to the last two intake bolts (one on each side) to level the engine/trans. The rope went up to a pulley that was welded on the cherry picker i borrowed from my friend.. made it prety easy to balance. I saw one in summit's catalog that levels it by turning a handle.. looks like it would be great for something like this

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My `91 Z28 Convertible

 

Just pull the transmission out from the bottom, it's WAY easier. I thought about taking the transmission out with my engine but once I took the hood off and had everything removed from the engine I saw that there was no way I was going to do that. You would have to tilt the engine like 70* at least just to get the tranny out, not to mention you would be putting a lot of stress on your hoist which would have to be fully extended to get the engine that high.. way easier to just pull the tranny out from the bottom.

My .02

 

Right on, brother Mike.

 

I pulled the trans out first from the bottom, then the engine from the top.

I did NOT have to remove the radiator nor the air conditioning. I just tied the AC unit off to the side, and the radiator wasnt in the way once I removed the accessories from the front of the engine.

 

Hmmm, sounds risky. One wrong swing of the engine, and, BAM, a fresh new hole in your radiator. I know that taking off the accessories and water pump will reduce that risk, but, I would just prefer to have the radiator and condensor safe from potential harm. I agree that you don't have to open the A/C system, just set it aside. As far as the tranny is concerned, it doesn't need to come out at all if you are just trying to work on the engine. The only reason you should take the tranny out, from the top or bottom, is if you plan on doing some work to it.

 

How exactly do you get the trans from under the car? The usual way? When I dropped my trans out a year ago, I had to raise the car high in the air, remove the x-member, tilt the trans back, remove the bellhousing bolts, etc- is there some easier way I haven't heard of?


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

 

Nope, that's the only way. It gets much easier though the more you do it. I now use a jack with a board on it to lower the tranny down, much easier. Installation is easier too.

 

Hey man, if you were ready to do an in car cam swap, then an in car head swap is a breeze. You major obstacles to doing an in car cam swap are many. Notably being you need to at least partially drop the oil pan to get the front cover off.
Getting to the heads is cake. All the bolts are on top. with nothing in the way. It gets a little awkward when you're running a tap down 34 holes to clean 'em out while leaning over the fender, but trust me, there is nothing really in the way.
I'd do an in car head swap in a heartbeat. The cam is where i'd start thinking of pulling the engine just to give it some fresh oil pan gaskets, etc, instead of hacking it back together.
...ed

 

I pulled my engine and trans at the same time. I had a picker with the tilt ajustment. Like someone else said though pulling is easy but put it back is a PAIN.. It would probably help to have two people. I did mine all myself.