Engine/Trans is out. . . now what?
 

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Thanks to the power of the internet, this forum, a Haynes manual, and an episode of "horsepower" on spike tv, I have been able to remove the engine/trans from my V6 camaro with zero problems despite minimal to zero mechanic experience.

Now moving on to part two, I am back again for a little more direction.
I already have Massey's excellent write up bookmarked, and I expect to make frequent visits to it, but where do I start from here? haha

My original post is >here<, but as a quick recap:
I am attempting to swap my original 1998 3800 Series II L36 V6 with a 2007 Pontiac L26, which shouldn't pose any incompatibility issues once the right parts are swapped.

And lastly, when I am ready to move parts around, what order should I start swapping components, or does it really matter? I have bought a few assorted gaskets so far and some motor mounts. Also, I am not at all against renting any specialty tools if need be, and I do have an air compressor and impact wrench in the garage. Again, I have no experience with this, so please forgive the newb questions, but I am a quick learner and a hard worker and dumb/stubborn enough to want to do everything myself, I like to be hands on! Pic is attached to show the progress and give an idea what I am working with. Thanks in advance for any help!

looking for help
 

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Decided to push forward, but this is all new to me.
Today I have removed the transmission from the motor.
I have no idea what a clutch in good standing is supposed to look like, so I've posted a few pics for your critique. Cash strapped at the moment, so I'm hoping it looks like it still has a fair amount of mileage left. What do you think?

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And on this other pic, is that gunk okay? is it lubricant that needs to be cleaned/replaced out?

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For now, I'll leave these parts in question alone, see if I get any replies on them, and work on removing other parts for the time being, to continue on with this swap. thanks beforehand for any help!

You will have to remove the pressure plate and look at the clutch itself. The Surface condition of the pressure plate and the fly wheel is important and the amount of clutch plate left. Clutches are very similar to brakes. If not abused they should wear pretty evenly. Once you get that a part you should post pics, You’re going to need a pilot bearing for your other motor if it was an automatic.

Way to go Jason!! That's awesome that you've made it this far on Massy's write up with never have done this before with "minimal to zero mechanic experience". It don't show LOL So I'm wondering how much you spent for the 07 Pontiac FWD L26, and the milage on it? I'm going off the same write up as you & looking for the same. When you remove the flex plate, clutch, you'll see the fly wheel. If the fly wheel looks like it's burnt up on the face where the clutch hits it, you'll get shudder. Resurfacing the flywheel helped my RS dramatically to ger rid of the shudder. How did the clutch feel under foot while installed, that tells a lot. How long did it take you to do the removal of the old 3.8? Looks like your saving about a grand in labor doing it yourself, and that sure does help. Best of luck to you. We're watching the thread move forward :)

Just for Clarification a Flex plate connect an automatic transmission to the torque converter. The Pressure plate applies pressure to the clutch. Resurfacing the flywheel without replacing the clutch is considered a waste of money. The pressure plate and the fly wheel work as a team, truing up one half of the team will most likely cause the pressure plate to fail very quickly. Also the clutch and flywheel would need to be re-broken in. This is needed when to imperfect surfaces mate to each other. On a used clutch this could be a problem. If you want to do something to the flywheel and pressure plate you can hit both with a Dual Action sander with or sand by hand with 250 grit paper. The goal with the sanding is not to try to remove anything (color, scratches, surface cracks)it is to remove the glazing or the polished feel of the surfaces. Whatever you do to the fly wheel you do to the pressure plate. The reverse is true if you ever replace your clutch, never do so without replacing/resurfacing your flywheel.

Thanks for the thorough descriptive help Gorn. I do have the 5 speed manual transmission, I'll be tearing through those parts today and post some pics.

Quasar, the clutch felt great when I drove around, very forgiving even. But, this is my first car haha so I don't have any comparable experience. As for the purchase of the engine, on eBay, seller wasebaaayparts I paid $350 plus $175 shipping for a 2007 Gran Prix L26 3800 Series III block. Shipping was super fast, got it in four days to a freight terminal near my house. They had a handful more as well, although I believe mine with the 30k was lowest mileage at the time.

Thanks again for the help, i'll be back in a matter of hours with more questions and pics :D

The reason I mention the pilot bearing is because there is a very good chance your FWD motor is from an automatic and does not have a Pilot bearing in it. These bearings should not be reused when swapping either an engine or a transmission. They are designed to wear in all manufacturers’ variation. Also the other thing I was thinking you’re going to need new flywheel bolts. They are stretch to yield bolts and they cannot be reused. You are going to need the GM replacement bolts. If these bolt come loose you can trash the motor and tranny.

Well, I can't say that I've seen a clutch/pressure plate assembly before, but so far it doesn't look very pretty. :P I'll look into new flywheel bolts, check the auto parts shop tomorrow morning, hopefully have a bit of luck. I had money set aside at the beginning of the year, but have been burning through it with sky diving and concerts and the related. I'm still young and irresponsible haha, so now I am finding myself without a lot of cash to burn and bills to pay. I know the important thing here is safety, so I will certainly NOT take shortcuts, but at the same time, looking for the most affordable way to get back on the road.

I have mounted the engine to the stand, using engine stand bolts I bought from Summit Racing. First time mounting an engine, I think it looks alright, posting pictures. The stand is rated at 1000lbs and the bolts are supposed to be grade 8. Will overnight storage be much of a problem on the stand? Should I use the crane/hoist to assist the stand in supporting the weight for overnight? Thanks again for the help, pics should be posted below.

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Looks like the car sat for awhile but your clutch looks to be atleast 50% there. I am a pretty cheap guy, I was unable to find any replacment bolts other then the GM ones. Your going to want a clutch Alignment tool if you do not have one and a torque angle meter for installing the flywheel. None of the stuff is expensive but it does add up.

Pilot bearing should be around $12-15
Flywheel bolts I think I paid $32 for all of them
Cheap one application Clutch aligment tool $4(they come free in some clutch kits)
Torque angle gage $12

If you know anyone else that works on cars he may let you borrow the the gage and alignment tool.

You are doing great on the swap. You asked for an order of replacement stuff, here is what I did and it worked out pretty well.

Mount the new engine on a stand (I see you have a nice one there) then strip everything off of it that is FWD only. This is basicly everything except the water pump, CMS and CKS and the knock sensors. Once you have the engine stripped down you need to clean the gasket surfaces (I would do the head gaskets too, they dont cost that much and the GM ones are not the best( get new head bolts too)).

Now that the block is clean and everything start taking apart the old engine one thing at a time. I removed the wiring harness and set it aside but put the ground bolts in the new engine as I removed them from the old so I would not forget where they went. I started with the oil pan, I got my old one off, cleaned it up really good, fixed the dent in the bottom, and also cleaned and prepped the pickup tube. Then I played with the intake and after that the accessories of the engine were swapped and when all was said and done I had a stripped engine and a new pretty engine. I set the engine down on the floor and installed the flex plate and then the trans, after that I mounted everything to the K-member and then in to the car it went. I assmebled as much of the engine as I could when it was on the stand and floor so I would not have ot mess with it in the car. I did not remove the AC with the engine I left that in the car so I would not have to get the system recharged.

Massey