LukeZ34 Posted December 16, 2006 Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 So I have located a guy who is willing to help me rebuild the bottom end of the DOHC in the GTP. So my step is to get the motor out of the car. I have never done this kind of work, so I am seeking advice from those of you who have pulled an engine before. I plan to rent a puller when I am ready to actually pull the motor, and I have plenty of tools at hand to perform the job. About the only thing I don't have is a ball joint separator, and a 36mm socket for the hubs. My plan is to pull the engine and tranny (Getrag284) out the top w/ the hood removed. I assume it will come out easily since the 284 is smaller than a 4T60. The car does not have ABS, it has standard vacuum brakes. What will I have to disconnect for the transmission? The car has practically new clutch system hydraulics, so everything should be in good shape. Will I have to re-bleed all the clutch hydraulics after I reinstall the motor? The AC works good, I assume I can leave the AC compressor laying in the engine bay when the motor comes out? Axle pulling tips? The only time I have pulled an axle is on my old drop top cutlass when I changed the alternator. Anyone have any tips/steps/advice to offer regarding what to disconnect/drain/watch out for while pulling and reinstalling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patgizz Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 axles out, shift cables, take the slave cylinder off and lay to the side(do not open hydraulic line so you dont have to bleed). pull the engine harness out with the engine and trans. radiator can stay but put plywood in front of it. fans out, exhaust disconnect, p/s lines disconnect at the pump and unbolt from their brackets, take off radiator and heater hoses, throttle and cruise cables, unbolt engine and tranny mounts and yank it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 Also the A/C, can be left in the engine compartment as well, just set it off to the side, or where ever is the best spot for it. Id take out the radiator, even though it can be left in like said above, but its not that much work to take one out, since your pulling the engine anyways, and youll have a little more room, and youll be able to clean up around there and paint if needed like POR15 for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeZ34 Posted December 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 Awesome, this is helpful. Another question. The motor is from a 1996, so the exhaust manifolds have the AIR pump lines on them. What's a good way to plug those? The AIR system is disabled in the ECM, and the rear line isn't even connected which is making for a loud exhaust leak. Are there plugs for those? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z34Phoenix Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 i pluged mine with a penny! lol funny as it may sound it fit perfict. once you runscrew the air pump line, you will see an insert in there pull that out. it will be easy once the manifolds are disconnected. i used the orginal fitting and cut the remaining pipe off it. then dropped the penny in and retightened. my original thinking was penny=copper copper make good gaskets. but modern penny's are mostly zinc! my bad. if you can find older penny's (not hard to come by) they are all copper. and will work. you could also flip that insert and put it over top the penny for added security. here is a pic of what that plug looks like. i later cut that tube down more. that way i could get a socket around it much easyer! for larger pics go to page 2 on my cardomain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joey b Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 I would HIGHLY suggest dropping it out the bottom. So much easier to see what is going on and IMHO much easier. Once you drop it down don't forget about the PS lines. I did Then you will only have to disconnect the subframe bolts, upper strut mounts, maybe the tranny mount, and a couple of other easily accessible items. BTW, I have done both top and bottom and will do bottom again if necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToroToro Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 I dunno how exactly the AIR fittings are on an LQ1, but I've used 1/4" NPT plugs on a couple older motors. Just check the plumbing isle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patgizz Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 on dropping out the bottom.... i've done it both ways and it's easier out the top for the typical person working at home without a lift. #1 you don't need to get the nose of the car 5 feet in the air. #2 you don't need to re-align the cradle. #3 you don't have to touch the ball joints, rack to column connection. with the car not having ABS you have the major obstacle out of the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeZ34 Posted December 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 Yea, pulling from the bottom won't work too well in my garage, and I don't have the means to lift the car up that high anyway. Another problem I need to look in to, is how the engine looks to be improperly mounted. Take a look at the pics I attached below. If you look at the pic of the dogbone mount, you can see the engine is sitting too far to the left (pass side). The other photo shows how close the accessories get to the coolant recovery tank. Something is not right with this, and I'd like to fix it when I put the motor back in. Any ideas what could cause this? [attachment deleted by admin] Removed to free up storage space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psych0matt Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 my air tubes are just clamped shut and have JB weld to make sure they sealed right. no problems, but if you can get them unscrewed, a plug will be better, i just couldnt break mine loose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patgizz Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 luke your cradle probably needs aligned to the body. there are alignment holes that you take a proper sized pin(passenger side IIRC) and insert it into the hole next to the front and rear mount and then tighten all 4 bolts down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeZ34 Posted December 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 Ah, ok. I know what your referring to Pat. Seems like it's simple enough to correct. I've gotta put the car back together to get it out of the garage, and in to the backyard. Luckily it still runs, but it hasn't been driven for almost 3 months. I've got a detail job this coming weekend and I need the garage for that. Once that's done I'll put the car back and start prepping for the pull. I'll be taking plenty of pictures so I'll be sure to post them here as I go. Thanks for the tips, and if anyone else has anything else to add, I'd appreciate it. Oh, and does anyone know where I could find all the parts needed to do the 96+ intake swap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patgizz Posted December 18, 2006 Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 when you start doing the pull let me know and i can help with any snags along the way, since i've only done this ~6 times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.