Motor Removal

[pxcr_600]

Hey dudes, i have to take the motor out of my 85 GT and im 16 and have no clue how to do it. I know lots about cars but pulling the motor is a first for me. My dad is a mechanic, but i want to do this myself, i have access to all of his tools, plus he has a cherry picker to pull the motor and all that stuff. Could someone give me a step by step way of how to do this. I would really apreciate it!!! Thanks alot dudes!!!

[pxcr_600]

nothing yet huh

[Unit 5302]

Personally, I'd recommend picking up a manual on it. Set you back about $10 and it will probably come in handy in the future.

Disconnect battery
Remove H pipe
Remove driveshaft (either insert a stub shaft or drain the tranny)
Remove starter
Seperate the engine from the tranny
Remove radiator shroud
Remove fan
Remove radiator
Disconnect A/C pump from bracket, swing it and the lines out of the way
Label and begin disconnecting vacuum lines and electrical connectors.
Disconnect throttle linkage
Disconnect the heater hoses from the firewall
Remove motor mount bolts
Hoist the engine out

I'm sure I've left out a lot, but those are some things you need to do.

[Old Guy with 87 GT]

5302 did a good job of breaking down steps .........the only tricks i can think off is ...........

make sure moter stay's in line with the trans till you have them fully split..........use a tilting hoist or a bottle jack under moter and a trans jack under tranns.........it's easy to bind up the input shaft when spliting moter........if the moter is tilted strait with the trans and the transmission is properly supported it should come apart reletivly easy..........don't force it

when raising moter go slow and every couple of pumps check to make sure it isn't catching on anything

when puting moter back together same as above make sure there strait with each other (moter + trans)make sure it isn't binding

,if it's a stick make sure the clutch is centered,if its an auto make sure the key or notch on input will line up relitivly close in the converter.........use a ratchet on the front pully(harmonic balancer) to turn moter a little to make sure the obsticles (clutch teeth or notch)will line up ............

before you lower moter take a good look at input ,get an idea of the lenth of things ,this will help you to recognize what the moters catching on if it dosn't slide together ......what ever you do don't force it together....it should slide relitivly easy till about the last 3/8 -1/2 inch ........once you get the bolts in ,they should tighten semi easy till the moters tight with the trans

well thats about the most usefull things i can think off .........good luck and remember pe patient ,don't rush ,and don't force things .......it will pay in the long run to take your time ,and if your getting frustrated ,thats a good time to take a brake

[silver_pilate]

Ah yes...this is a fun job.

All the previous advice is gold.

Further, I would highly recommend investing in a set of paper drinking cups, a Sharpie permanent marker, and a good roll of masking tape.

As you take bolts out, keep the like ones together and put them in cups, labeling the cups as to where they go. As you disconnect the vaccum lines and electrical connects, do as Unit suggested and labe them with masking tape. Another thing, borrow a digital camera from a friend (or a polaroid) and take lots of pictures. That way, if you're not sure how it all goes back together, "a picture can speak a thousand words."

Be meticulous about it and take it slow. You're in no hurry. It's gonna take a while this first time, especially taking time to label everything, but I highly recommend doing these things, especially on the first time. It only gets easier as you do it more.

--nathan

[drudis]

Video tape all the hoses/wires so you can put it back again

That, and colored tape. Mark each end of the hose in the same color vinyl tape, some on the hose and some on the fitting (so you can put the two together). Using many colors allows you to get creative with multi-hoses comming from the intake...

Put all the bolts and nuts into ziplock bags and label them, and (use some of that vinyl tape) attache the ag to the part you just removed.

HAVE FUN, and take pictures. Its something you can say "The FIRST time I ever pulled a motor...." to your grandchildren!

Here is the 14th (not kidding,just did this 2 days ago) time in the last 20 years (boy I feel old now):

[pxcr_600]

Thanks guys, yeah i thought about the picture part and labling and stuff like that. Is there any diagrams that you know of on a website that tells me what are all the parts of the engine. I know pretty much everything except all the wiring and the stuff like that. I need to take everything off of the front clip because im replacing it!! what a job!