engine removal
 

1992 Z28, 5 speed, 305, stock

I don't know exactly what to do. Last summer my car started knocking. I had two experienced, trustworthy mechanics listen, and both agreed that it was most definitely rod knock. Unfortunately, I go to school on the other side of the country, and I haven't had much time at home, so the car has been sitting in the garage for almost a year.

I have one month before I go back north. Assuming it is rod knock, but the damage isn't completely serious, is one month enough time to take out the engine, replace the crankshaft, bearings, and rods, and maybe do some other things while the engine is removed?

I've been working on the car for around 3 years, but the biggest engine job I've done so far is fuel injector replacement. Those of you who have pulled an engine before, how long did it take you to get it out of the car?

Also, any suggestions on other repair and maintenance I should perform while the engine is out? I'd like to install a more aggressive camshaft, might look into some other things, but I need to decide in the next couple of days and get to work.

If you spun a rod, there is a very likely chance that your crank will need to be machined. If you go as far as to pull the crank, you should rebuild the engine. (Rings, etc). (putting a new bottom end on a worn engine is silly) My advice is to find a junkyard donor motor and drop it in. A simple engine swap can be done in about 4-5 days in your own garage, by yourself, with minimal experience. An engine rebuild, as you may be suggesting, is going to get real complicated and expensive and will go past your 1 month deadline (as you find little things wrong with it, it turns into order parts, wait for machine work, etc....)

The physical act of pulling the engine, I find, can be best divided into 4 sessions. 1) Prep the engine. Draining coolant, pulling the intake, pulling the headers, all the wiring, etc. This is the most time consuming. Give this a full day. 2) Pull the engine. Takes about 3 hours. Even less if you have a buddy help 3) put the new one in. again, about 3 hrs with help. 4) Hook it ALL back up....another day or so....

i tore my engine down with it in the car to make the removal simpler. i highly suggest getting ratcheting wrenches in sizes of 1/2", 9/16" and 5/8" as they will probably cut about 2 hours off the whole process. with my intake and heads off, i had my engine out in about 3 hours, by myself, on a gravel driveway. its rather straightforward. i didnt need to remove the hood either. i do suggest though labeling connections, especially vacuum lines. if you are going to replace the bottom end, i think you can get a new crank and bearings for under $200 from advance auto. i would also suggest replacing that rod, and at the minimum, re-hone the cylinders and put in new rings

I don't see why you would tear it down in the car unless you don't have a hoist big enough to handle the weight...These cars have plenty of room to swing the engine and transmission in and out all day with the radiator out. I just pulled mine out (again), I did remove the transmission separate though because I didn't have a load leveler and honestly it only takes me 30 minutes to drop the transmission anyways. You can pull the engine with the transmission in the car, but in my opinion you'll spend more time d*cking around with the bell housing bolts than you will if you just completely remove it.

It sounds to me like the best option for you is a new short block. Get one remanufactured and transfer all of your parts over to it (I'd have the heads checked out though, and add a mild cam if your budget allows.)

Thanks for the advice

I just called gearheadengines.com, they have 305 and 350 longblocks for about 1500 each, stock. A couple questions
1. Will a 305 intake manifold bolt on to a 350?
2. Will a 350 bolt on to a manual T-5 tranny?
3. Is there a name for the part of the engine that bolts to the transmission, and does it vary between 350 models?


I've heard that the T-5 can't take the extra torque from the 350, but I've also heard of stock trannies holding up to 300+hp, so I feel like I'll rebuild the transmission if and when I need to.

1. Yes. Which manifold, the stock TPI?
2. Yes, and how long the trans lives depends on how much you beat on it.
3. Bellhousing flange, and no.

1500 bucks for a fresh long block is a reasonable price. IF you can afford it, go that route. Shop around though, you may be able to find one a few hundred bucks cheaper on ebay (but I have NO clue as to how reliable those ebay engine guys are)

The BIGGEST piece of advice I can give you about pulling your engine is.......Buy the LONGEST 3/8 drive extension you can find. I think Ive got a 18 or 24 inch one.....without a super long extension, those bell housing bolts will literally take you HOURS to remove and install again. I know this sounds like a small issue, but trust me, it will save you tons of frustration.

With enough extension the bell housing bolts are easy if you drop the tail of the transmission down. Takes me 30 seconds to run them all out with my impact.

....With enough extensions, and drilled holes in the firewall, you could loosen the bolts from the trunk! :)

when i tore my engine down to remove it, i didnt have stable enough ground to jack it up and use an extension to get to the bellhousing. thats why i took the heads off and did it that way. i also didnt have a load leveler

I'll be able to remove the whole TPI manifold from me 305 and bolt it right onto the 350 with no other mods, other than the ECU, correct?

Also, I have tunerpro and a couple of rewritable PROMS which I've messed around with before, I assume all I need to do is change the displacement listed on the chip and the engine will run fine? Or do I need to edit the fuel maps?

I started work on pulling the engine a couple days ago, I've been slowly taking wires off, and at this point I've removed the radiator, unbolted the exhaust (headers are still on the engine) and removed the starter.

How do I actually go about lifting the engine from the car? I understand I'm going to use some kind of bolt somewhere and attach a chain to it, but where does this bolt go? Right now the intake is still on the engine.

Also, I planned on taking off the tranny mount and lowering the transmission a couple of inches to get to the bellhousing bolt on top. What order should I do it in? Engine mounts, then tranny housing, or the other way around, and will the mounts support the engine if I remove the bolts from them?

Sorry bout all the questions, this is the biggest job I've ever done on a car.

You will hook a chain, via two bolts, into the intake bolt holes on the heads. One in each opposite corner.

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Tranny bolts: re read my statement about the uber long extension. You wont need to lower your transmission at all. It doesnt matter what order you take them out. Yes the engine will be supported by the mounts with the bolts out. Now dont forget, your transmission has two mounting dowels that poke into the block. When you yank the engine, your going to have to pull forward and up. Dont let it scare you, it will almost pop out of place, after that its just a matter of hoisting it up and over the bumper.

If you wanna make it really easy, buy a lift plate that attaches to the intake manifold. Almost makes it too easy:

Attachment 34623

Hm thanks guys. I was hoping I wouldn't have to take off my intake. The car is TPI.

When I was looking around last night, it didn't look like I'd be able to use anything to get to the bolts, even with a long extension. I was unable to stick the extension into the tunnel without having it an angle, there just wasn't enough clearance. I'll try again tonight.

Although I'll say, Scott, I was definitely thinking about your advice when I took a look last night

thanks again.

Yeah man, its a real mofo to get at those top two bolts, but it can be done with a monster extension and a swivel joint. I did it the hard way the first time I pulled my engine. It took me almost an hour to get those bolts out, and as much to put em back in. The extension trick knocks it down to about 10 minutes....

In the long run, it's going to be easier to yank the engine with the trans attached. You can separate and reattach them while they're sitting on the floor.
And that's a hell of a lot easier than fighting it from under, over, and inside the engine compartment.
You'll also save on bandaids, and you'll have a lot of leftover unused swear words that you can use on a different project!