My Question is whether or not I should leave the Manual Transmission connected or should I remove the Engine by itself?
I can see that removing the transmission involves removing other items like shifter linkage, driveshaft, tranny mounts etc. ..
So I would like to be able to remove just the engine if I can get it back in with the transmission spline lined up ok and no bending..
Any thoughts on this?

 

you will have to pull the trans anyway to get the spline out of the clutch. it is easy to just pull them as one unit. have a load leveler to make it real easy... good time to have a look at the trans as well.

 

I just pulled my engine two weeks ago so this is VERY fresh in my mind(69 Vette with 350 and Muncie 4 speed). Pull them together. For sure! It was no problem at all taking lose the shifter linkages. You do not need to pull the whole shifter mechanism as it is attached to the body, not the trans. Just unbolt the linkage levers at the transmission, un-hook the reverse sensor and the speedometer cable. That's it. The trans is held to the crossmember with two bolts (the two on the OUTSIDE not in the two in the middle). Leave the shifter hanging on the body and wire tie the linkages out of the way.

Another piece of advice, unbolt the drive shaft at the yoke of the trans and either leave in the yoke or buy one of the yoke plugs to go in the end. This will keep all the trans oil from dumping on the floor when you pull it. I left the yoke in but in hind sight I would have used the plug. Keeping the yoke adds about another 6 or so inches of length to the trans assembly and require you to get the front of the motor REALLY close to the radiator bracket. Plug would save a few inches. I took the radiator out and left the bracket in along with my a/c condenser. I left the system pressurized and wire tied the compressor to the fender during engine removal.

Also, as tyancey00 said, make sure you use a load leveler when you do this. I honestly don't know how you could do it without it. I have a bunch of pictures I took during the process that I can post for you if it helps. Take your time and best of luck!

 

Dkarr,
you were watching me pull mine out last month!!! At least it sounds like you were watching. I agree with all of what you said, especially, take your time... mine is still out of the car. I am installing a jeep steering box during this down time and spending a lot of money on spray paint dressing up the engine bay.

 

I pulled the small block and the TKO 500 together. The TKO is much larger and it was still possible. Your 4 speed is a smaller diameter and will be easier to man handle.
I took the hood off and left the radiator in. I took off all accessories from the front of the motor except the damper.
A load leveler is a must have tool to accomplish this.
Also make sure your car is jacked up high enough so when you tilt the motor and trans to bring it up and out that you don't scrape the tail shaft of the trans on the ground. Also, tape the trans tail shaft to the trans tail housing so it doesn't slip out upon removal of the engine/trans.
Good luck.

 

Yes sir, I've been doing a lot of watching on here. What have you been painting in the engine compartment? I'm planning to do some of the same even though mine looks pretty good already. I wanted to freshen up the firewall but I'm pretty intimated by disconnecting all the electrical and vacuum connections in front of the wiper motor. What has your approach been?

 

On cleaning the firewall I just pulled things out of the way and painted. Then got some wire covers and ran as many as I could together. Looks pretty clean. Also cleaned up the brake canister and the inner fenders. Wire brush and paint anything that was not nailed down!!

 

What are the drawbacks to removing just the engine (w/out the transmission)?

 

Hiya,
No drawbacks for you. If the 4 speed is stock, then you can easily remove the transmission from the car. The issue is your non-removable trans cross member. It makes things a little more difficult, but the 4 speed is small enough that you can remove it with the engine in place. In my case, with the TKO 500, it is a royal pain in the *** to remove just the trans because it is so much bigger than the stock 4 speed. So I just remove both the motor and trans when doing a clutch job.
Good luck.

 

I've never pulled an engine without the trans so I can't speak to that. However, to me it just seems much easier to pull them as a unit. Gives you a chance to clean and check out the trans also. I would not want to try and man handle the trans away from the motor unless you have access to a lift. Just thinking about trying to do all of that lying on my back gives me a mental hernia.

 

Again with Dkarr,

I'm putting in a roller cammed 383 and I just mated my TKO500 trans to the bellhousing OUTSIDE of the car. I knelt down over the trans, lifted it, pointed it at the center hole of the clutch and it slid right into the pilot bushing. It took all of 5 seconds. Really! Try doing that on your back with the cross member in place! Look, removing a stock 4 speed from a stock 4 speed C3 Corvette is done all the time, but it still sucks. IMHO, with the engine and trans out of the vehicle it's a great time to attack all those hard to get at maintenance items. exempli gratia: Clutch rod boot, lower steering column bushing, some sort of firewall/trans tunnel insulation, firewall hole sealing, replace old wiring, man the list goes on and on....
Good luck.

 

Pulled mine out of my '76 a few years ago by myself(no one to help). I had the entire car up on jack stands to be able to get underneath when I needed to. Pulled both together as a unit. I had the leveler too soon realized I was not able to get clearance from the nose of the car so I had to lower the front a ways to get it to clear. No big deal though.

 

anyone else pulled just the engine itself (w/ 4 speed man.) and can share some advice?

 

Is there a specific reason that you do not want to pull them as a unit?

 

I pulled the trans out from underneath to do a clutch. Turns out the upper bellhousing bolt was stripped, ended up having to pull the motor to get the bolt out
It only took about 30 minutes to get the motor out, unhook everything from it, make sure the back of it is supported when you unbolt the trans. I ended up taking the radiator and shroud out, which is pretty easy if you take the fan off the motor. I left the radiator support in place. You can get the motor out with the hood still in as well.

 

I pulled the motor by itself with a 4 speed in there. No problems at all. I left the bell housing on and put the bungee around the trans to support the weight. Easy day.