ajricker

New to the group. I recently purchased a 1986.5 with a bad head. so I'm in the process of removing the engine. I'm following the steps in the shop manual. I'm to the point where it tells you to remove the mount bolts on the transaxel. but they are hid behind the e-brake cables. any advice appreciated.

Mrmerlin

use a short 3/8 drive socket 19mm ,
and a 3/8 universal and an extension with a 1/2 in drive ratchet yes you need and 3/8 to 1/2 in adapter.
Move the E brake cables slightly, BUT release the E brake handle first

NOTE there are 4 bolts iun the area your working on,
Make sure that you only remove the trans mount to crossmember bolts,
not the crossmember to chassis bolts.
If your car is a 5 speed then also remove the clutch assembly prior to pulling the engine,
if its and auto mark the flex plate to flywheel as its a balanced part,
remove the front pinch bolt ,
slide the flex plate out of the way,
then slide the TT/trans back about 2 inches

GlenL

Are you separating the engine from the bellhousing or removing the transaxle itself? I haven't read the manual instructions. Always have left the bellhousing, torque tube and tranny in place.

jon928se

Make sure you loosen the bolt on the front end of the crank that holds the pulleys and harmonic balancer on. Can be very difficult to undo when the engine is out on the stand as the whole engine will try to turn with the bolt, overbalancing the engine stand.

ajricker

Thanks for the quick replys guys. Forgot to say it's a automatic. yup forgot to mark the flexplate. Hope i remember the location. guess I need to get a shallow socket. Also there was nothing hooked up to the oil temp sensor connector. Should this be a concern?

GlenL

What did the gauge do previously?

Make sure to disconnect the wiring harness from the crossmember. There's one wiring clamp on the left side where the harness is running back to the starter. Most people try to lift the car by that and wonder what's wrong.

Mike Frye

2nd post: I'm pulling an engine.

Sweet. Welcome to the group.

Where else on the planet can you log in with a question like this and get a half dozen replies in 45 minutes from guys who have clearly done this before.

I love this place.

Big Dave

It's possible to remove the engine the the bell-housing still attached. I had to do it that way the first time since the bolts securing the bell-housing to the rear of the engine were seized. I couldn't get them loose until the engine was out (lots more room).

ajricker

Do these bolts need to come all the way out? Or can you move it far enough by just loosening them?
According to the manual it only needs to move about a 1\4 inch. That bracket appears to be slotted. Just anticipating putting those bolts back in.

jeff spahn

You can put them back in pretty easily if you use two wrenches. Offset wrench to get on the bolt and another wrench as a lever. Try it, you'll figure it out. Now a torque wrench . . .no way. I just did them good and tight since there was no way to get a torque wrench in there. Next time I might pull the bellhousing off when I do it. and then install with the bellhousing on the block. We'll have to see.

Cosmo Kramer

FWIW heads can be pulled on an 86.5 with the engine in place. Imre (Imo000) has done it, he just had to trim one of the head studs to get the clearance he needed to remove the head. It only needs to be trimmed a little bit, the stud still sticks up above the nut when reinstalled.

Maybe he will chime in and give more details.

ajricker

Have to pull the engine. I bought it knowing the head was bad. But don't know what else. I do know there was antifreeze in the oil. the engine was only running on seven cylinders. Planning on replacing it at this point and possibly rebuilding it at a later date.

Big Dave

I've pulled my engine twice, and I didn't push the transmission back at all either time. Once the engine was loose, it tilted forward while hoisting and came out. It just requires a bit of wiggling to get things lined up properly when you drop the engine back in.

ajricker

Ok next question what' the trick to getting the top two bolts on the bellhousing?

LT Texan

I double wrench using the box end on the bolt and the bend toward the front of the car. Not bad at all.