Is it easier to pull motor and trans at same time or pull them separate?
Working from home garage and normal roll around engine hoist.


Yes I am replacing both.

 

To pull them together, you'll need to remove the hood, and core support. If you split them, you can leave the hood and core support in place, but you'll need to pull the bell housing just for a little extra clearance. I know a BB will not fit with the bell housing installed. At least a Lakewood housing won't.

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I got to thinking more about this-- I didn't pull the radiator OR the fan shroud. That is why I had to pull the bell housing to set the BB back in..

 

Is it a small block? You can pull the motor and tranny without removing the core support. Pull the hood and the radiator, plus fan. They can be pulled as one unit.

 

since you are replacing both anyway, then absolutely pull them together.. as stated hood needs to come off. mark the hinges so its easier to realign after

 

The easiest thing that I found with my small block 4 speed without spilling oil everywhere is to remove the hood, the radiator and the top plate of the housing that holds the seal. I remove the power steering pump from the motor and bungie it into the front left corner of the radiator well. . Obviously remove the z bar, all wiring and vacuum lines. i unbolt the the motor mounts and loosen all the tranny mounts. I remove the distributer and oil dip stick because it gets hung up on the power steering booster

Then I support the front end either by jacking it and putting stands under the frame near the #2 body mount or lately Ive just used my quick jack. I then pull the front wheels so I can manuever the crane around easily. I also cover the fenders with padded moving blankets so I dont scratch the body when the hoist gets out of hand. I pull tension on the engine making sure everyting is free and the engine moves easily. Then I support the tranny and make sure it isnt going to shift. I then remove the 4 bolts holding it into the bell housing. Using an angle engine puller you can get a matching angle to the tranny and it will go up over the front A arms then forward towards the radiator support. once it clears the tranny it pops right out. you can do all this easily by yourself. Then I just undo the rear driveshaft, jack the tranny up until it rests on the body, remove the front tranny support plate and the backup wiring. I had a hurst shifter so I removed the shift lever fromt the inside of the car and lefft the shifter attached. Then i just lowered the trans mission jak and lowered it to the floor, then I just lifted the tranny off the jack and onto a tire support dolly and wheeled it out from under the car. no mess and no hassles

Installation is easier with the tranny in but using the hoist and engine angle support you need a pretty steep angle to get it in. A second or third set of eyes makes this alot easier and less nerve racking. I put in the front drive yolk to keep the fluids in the tranny. The reason I put it in with the tranny connected is itsalot easier to get it to mate outside the car than under it


removing

 

Going in. The final angle upon insertion was very extreme compared to this. I had to stop taking pics and concentrate on getting it in without scratching anyting

 

You can install a small block with all accessories and the stock tranny without removing the core support. You can also install a big block with the tranny, but with the accessories removed, without removing the core support.

However, the core support is very easy to remove, and with the support removed, you can stuff anything you want into the engine compartment... Here is a 383 with a Tremec 5-speed (which is longer than the Muncie) and all accessories, including supercharger, being easily installed into a C3 in my workshop. I would never want to try to stuff that tranny up from the bottom after the engine was installed:

 

This one boils down to the transmission IMO.......and to me it's more about the install than the removal.

Cool thing about the C3 is the mounting position of the engine. The engine comes out of my car with the electric fans, radiator and hood still in place....but my car is automatic and mating up the tarns and engine "in car" couldn't be any easier.

If it were standard shift I might see removal of the hood and radiator as easier than attempting that ugly job of getting the transmission main shaft spines through a clutch disc under a car not on a lift as the bigger hassle by far. In this case installing them together seems the easier path and removes the possibility of harming a pressure plate "finger" as you attempt to line things up.

 

This is the way I've done it (3 time) with my 350 and Muncie 4-speed. I do take the front crank pulley off too as it makes it easier to get by the core support. Although it's not necessary a load leveler helps too.

 

Looking forward to this once the motor is assembled. I plan on doing this as a unit sb/4sp. Good luck with the job

 

Reply to all ;


I have a 383 and stage 2, 200-r 4 speed auto sitting on garage floor ready to drop in .Looks like over all consensus is to pull and install in 1 unit
Also going to re do front end while engine is out of the way ,all new everything .With a few enhancements

 

pics of everyones installs would be cool

 

I will post some of mine in April i will need some warmer weather

 

Hood - yes. Core support - not.

 

I have a 72 small block with a 4spd. I had the engine and trans out some years ago to rebuild the engine and had to take them out separately as I could not get it tilted enough. I have it setting up higher now and want to remove the engine and trans to detail the engine compartment and rebuild the trans. All the books and manuals say it needs to come out separately. From this posting it seems like they will come out as a unit.

 

yes you can pull it together

 

I like to pull them separately but installl them together

 

you are supposed to pull body off.
rookie

 

You don't have to pull the body if you just cut the front clip off.

 

That's only necessary if you are changing Brake Pads