So an opportunity came up to possibly score an engine and trans from a junk yard. A yard somewhat nearby will be running a special for $1 parts (with $40 admission) and literally EVERYthing will be $1 that day. So if I can find a decent looking fbody, I'm planning on pulling the engine and trans to rebuild. So the question is, how difficult is it to pull them? Does it have to be done from the bottom? About how high will the car have to get jacked up? It's a U-Pull, so it would be me and the bf working on it all day. But I think it would be worth it if we can find one. Any input would be appreciated.

 

Ive never pulled one from a 4th gen myself but i have seen people do it from above and below on different message boards. I'm not sure the best technique at a u-pull it..probably take the whole front nose and fenders/etc off and pull it the traditional way.

 

itll be hard at a U pull. it can be taken from the top unbolt the trans remove the nose and pull it out. i think itll be a hard job in a junk yard. id probably load my truck with a rented generator and a compressor use air tools cut down on time some of them bolts r tough especially if its been sitting awhile

btw you looking for a v8? do you know if this yard has one for sure? and wats the plan for the motor? if you were just wanting the block it could be easier on you if you tear the motor down in the car and pull it that way. take it down to the shortblck then you can reach all the trans bolts and motor mounts with ease cuz the heads intake and exhaust are out of the way. just an idea

 

No, I'm looking for a replacement engine, a 3.8. There's no guarantee there's one at this point, that's why I said there might be an opportunity to possibly get one if I can find one. The yard is apparently huge, so I'm hoping there will be something for me. I was originally planning on rebuilding my engine this winter because my head gasket is starting to go and there's a bunch of other significant gaskets that are leaking. She's very 'sick' at this point. Either way, I wanted to get the engine machined and cleaned up and practically brand new, whether it's mine or the junk yard one. But I figured if I could score an engine and trans for $1 each, I can take my time rebuilding it and maybe get it dropped in sooner than this winter only spending a couple weeks on it and not a couple months on it.

 

If you take it out the bottom, you are looking at getting the nose of the car about 4 foot in the air. If you can do that, then unbolt 6 bolts from the front engine cradle to the body, front sway bar from body and the tranny mount and slide it forward. I know that sounds alot easier than it is going to be in a yard.

 

Yeah, my concern is getting that front end that high up. I've seen pics of people dropping it from the bottom without a lift and that nose was jacked up pretty far...any ideas about how hard it is to drop the whole suspension? It doesn't have to be pretty and considering I don't need the suspension, it can get ripped, broken, and torn off.

 

My previous post was removing everything. Oh, I forgot, you will have to remove the 3 bolts on each shock tower. I used a cherry picker and lifted the body off when I did both mine. Raise and block the the engine cradle just high enough to get under it and unbolt everything then once it is free, lift the car as high as you need to supporting it behind the front fenders once you get it high enough to clear the engine. Once it is supported, drag the engine, tranny, cradle and everything right out from under it. Just be careful and not knock the car off the supports.

 

Talk to the u-pull it yard first. Most will not allow you to pull engines or gas tanks. It is in their insurance rider. They are not suppost to even let jacks or any lift type tools in the yard. With the two yards I deal with they will pull the motors for $100 if you do not want anything cut you will need to take that apart yourself. Their tools amount to a wrecker to lift with, a set of cutting torchs and a hack saw. Also it is a real roll of the dice the motor your getting could be unfixable.

 

Yeah, my bf had called today to make sure that whole $1 thing covered everything, engines and trans and it did. I don't know if he asked about pulling them or not, if not, then that would be another phone call to make. It was a concern about whether the motor would be any good or not. It could be locked up or in even worse shape that mine's in right now. But the only reason I was even considering it was because of how cheap their special is. Like I said before, my original plan was to just rebuild mine, I really never considered getting a junkyard engine. There's no real way of knowing if it's any good or not. What yards do you deal with? I know you're not too horribly far from me. Maybe if this thing doesn't work out, I can look into other ones. All the local ones around me have maybe one or two fbodies and they're always gutted by the time I get to them.

 

hey gorn, its harry's u-pull-it in allentown thats running the special. how far are you from there? i think i wouldnt have a problem with my engine hoist getting the body up, and im sure if there is i can probably call a guy over with a fork lift. if not, ill just knock the car over sideways. most of them are listed there as to whether or not its a running engine. even if it does have a bad bottom end, im sure the block and heads would be useable. there will be two engines then to get parts from incase anything is wrong. and for a $41 engine, i can get that back in scrap if it is scrap

also, what year engines have no changes internally and externally? i know the 00-02 had different exhaust manifolds, and anything 95 and prior arent fully obd2. just incase there isnt a 98 thats fully intact