Mighty Shilling

Whew. good to know. I'll drink one too!

Jfrahm

Funny, this is like the 4th time I've heard a story like that. A good shop tried something similar on me once. I dropped off a block for boring (1st oversize) align hone, rings/bearings/etc. I dropped off all parts. They called me and said the block was already first oversize so I needed to buy 2nd oversize pistons (and gave me a price.) I said that was odd, since I pulled the dead stock motor out myself and removed OEM pistons from it (which I still had.) They checked into it and then came back claiming they mixed me up with another guy with a Pontiac 455.
Um... maybe.

I kinda figured they were just padding the bill.

Since then I have heard similar stores from others. Makes me wonder if they always call up the customer with 'bad news' and suggest additional parts and labor.

At any rate I would strongly suggest paying for short block assembly. Experience counts with that sort of work.

Good luck!
-Joel.

F18Rep

OK then back to pulling the engine from the top - here is my favorite photo on the subject. bruce

Mongo

picture doesn't work.

apierce918

works fine for me

Legoland951

The bell housing has a tendency to snag the electrical wires in the back if you leave the front pulley on. If you impact the front puley off, the light bar can stay without problems though its safer to remove the radiator.

Mongo

It's going out the top then. I'm stripping EVERYTHING off that front of that motor.

Frank do you have an extra ring gear at your pad?

michaelathome

I am not sure why so many people worry about the engine going in top or bottom. If you are assembling the complete block out of the car it makes sense to put it in from the top AFTER removing the hood carefully. Why not just put the block crank pistons and oil pan in through the bottom and build it the rest of the way in the car? You would have less to try to manuver into place. When I refreshed the 83 it wasn't tough at all to build up the head and cam in the car and you have plenty of room to work. This is something that I am not looking forward to ever doing with the 928 there is no room in there at all!

Michael

Legoland951

The ring gear was not in good shape when the clutch was removed with a broken rubber donut. I may have another one at the other house but will have to dig it up. Let me know if you are going to be in town and I will go digging for one.

xsboost90

we put mine in from the bottom, fully assembled, belts already tensioned and it was super smooth! I dont know about you but leaning over an engine bay for hours at a time putting intake bolts and such on becomes a hassle when you can put it all together on the stand.

Mongo

Ok here's what I'm going to do. At the same time, more questions:

-Remove Radiator and Fan Shrouds
-Disconnect all wires, vacuum hoses, fuel hoses, rail, etc.
-Remove crankshaft pulley and disconnect power steering pump.
-Remove ALL rollers from front of engine.

Questions:

1) According to Clark's Garage, they mention removing the wiring harness from the DME and pushing it through the firewall. I'm not taking out the motor with the wiring harness. Why are they asking me to remove wiring harness if EVERYTHING will be disconnected and moved out of the way??

2) What do I do about the AC Compressor? Do I have to remove it completely from the motor and disconnect the lines?

3) Will the alternator get in the way if it is still attached to the motor???


4) Can I put the clutch and flywheel on while the motor is out of the car and put it in without any issues aligning the splines in it after the motor is secured?

Mighty Shilling

Ok. 1, wiring harness, yes, do as Clarks says, then transfer sensors over, then harness over. MAKE SURE YOU NUMBER THEM WITH MASKING TAPE OR SOMETHING!!! VERY EASY TO GET THIS CONFUSED!

2) unbolt AC compressor from engine, hang from shock providing it's still there. keep lines attatched

3) not if the car is raised enough and you're doin a bottom-out... not sure clark's procedure... but that's what I did.
4) yes.

Mongo

Why does the wiring harness have to come out???

HughA44s

I left the wiring harness in the car and made sure all connectors, grounds, ect were removed. Word of caution - hooking all this stuff (hoses, wire, ducts, ect) back up while the motor is in the car can be very time comsuming and small highly flexible hands (I have fat big hands) is a great advantage. It took me a solid 10 hours to hook all the stuff back up. This maybe why Clark's suggest that you do this on a stand. I will consider this next time. I reco a 7, 8, 10, 13 mm flexible head, racheting wrenches it your hands are of any reasonable size at all.