Ok. before anyone asks, yes, I know how to pull an engine and trans.

The reason for this thread to see if folks who have pulled their 3rd gen power plants have some tips and tricks to keep things moving smoother or quicker. (Like another I've worked on where it was advised to pull the wiring harness first. I discovered that you could keep it on and install the engine and trans back into the car with the harness mostly connected- made the process significantly easier)

I'm working on an 87 GTA with the 5.7L. Really just thinking about removing the air pump stuff (pump was seized anyway)- I'd like to remove all the piping to make some more room in the engine bay. I'd like to avoid damaging any of it in case I need to reuse in the future. Since all the connections are rusty as heck- figure it might be easier with the engine out.

Since I do not have a lift, I prefer to pull engine and trans together. (Frankly, I wish there was a way to remove the rusty bits without damage because if I pull the engine and trans I will likely go down another rabbit hole with cleaning and re-sealing, etc...)

So, what do you guys have as far as ways to save some time or damage to my knuckles?

 

dumb idea: crib up the car using the wooden stands thing that seems to be all the rage now on youtube and drop it with the K bar to get around the no hoist limitation. get it down on something that'll roll around. probably not quite what you're looking for but that's what my brain came up with lol

 

Agree. Lets waste timing building Linkin' Logs! Then we got to store the big, heavy, clunky things, somewhere in our shop, when we're done.

Skip THAT part, use good, rated jack stands. The rest "Tips and tricks" depends on what you're doing/final goals etc.

 

Thanks for the responses. I was thinking more along the lines of things I should remove or not remove to keep things quick and simple. Whether it's accessories, hoses, connections, etc.

 

i removed my front bumper.
put the car on jack stands.
used an engine hoist around the front bumper support and unbolted the front crossmember and the rear trans mount.
unhook the brake lines, and whatevr else gets in the way and lift the front end with the engine hoist, then you can slide out the engine/trans combo.
It seems like a lot of work, but it is really easy, and i was surprised how quick and easy it was.
With the engine/front suspension weight off the front end, you can pick it up by yourself. So its not as scary heavy as youd think.
Plus, disconnected the brake lines just makes it easier for that brake flush you havent done in 30 years..

 

Took a couple hours, hundreds of dollars cheaper than race ramps:



Made the t56 swap easy:


Don't think they're high enough to drop the engine from below though, ones that would be tall enough might be sketchy. These were very stable but I also wouldn't go higher (also this is the max before the jack needs a spacer).

 

I pulled old engine with tranny from the top, and installed new engine with tranny from the top. This was after I removed the front fascia.
This is a Gen-1 smallblock V-8. I know that some guys who do LS swaps remove the K-member, modify it or get an after-market K-member, and install the engine from underneath...

 

Yeah, jack stands are cheap. I did a 700>T5 swap back in the early 90's on jack stands....then a T5 to T56 swap in the early 90's too, on jack stands. Just did this on Jack stands.....











...and on, and on and on, countless projects for decades. Easy button. Also? Same tools, same procedure, same-same allows you to do corner work/wheel/brake/tire/suspension, etc. where race-ramps, linkin logs etc do not. Props for the initiative, but while you're doing carpentry, I was banging out a car project, and in between those, I store 4, 12 ton jack stands.


OP, w/o knowing the goal of the engine removal.... Remove hood fans/fan shroud. Remove the power steering pump from the engine, lay to the side. Same with AC comp. Disconnect Y from manifolds. motor mount bolts, tq converter > flex plate bolts, bell housing bolts (if T5, pull trans, leave bell housing on engine and remove slave cyl)
Drain all coolant incl block drains, unless you like messes. pull harness throw on the windshield, vac lines, fuel lines, batt cables, motor mount bolts, pull engine.