Engine / transmission removed from the bottom
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 133
Likes: 0
From: Mt Pleasant Michigan
The transmission yes but I don't see how you would get the block past the motor mounts that are welded in the engine bay and I am not sure with the crank Balancer removed if the front would clear the front cross member.
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,722
Likes: 0
From: Phoenix AZ
The engine, trans, and front suspension will drop out together. You will need a lot of clearance.
Not something I would attempt with jack stands.
I can't remember exactly how many bolts held the suspension in but I think it's around 10.
You will have to disconnect\remove your C-beam, drive shaft, brake lines, ABS sensors, engine\trans wiring harness, AC compressor, steering shaft, power steering lines, unbolt the upper control arms. There may be some other stuff I forgot to mention.
Not something I would attempt with jack stands.
I can't remember exactly how many bolts held the suspension in but I think it's around 10.
You will have to disconnect\remove your C-beam, drive shaft, brake lines, ABS sensors, engine\trans wiring harness, AC compressor, steering shaft, power steering lines, unbolt the upper control arms. There may be some other stuff I forgot to mention.
Last edited by weburke; Mar 13, 2009 at 11:17 PM.
Pro
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 560
Likes: 0
From: Hamilton New Jersey
sure it can be done, I did an LS1 4th gen f-body like that in my driveway (because that's the only way it comes out). I built a dollie to go under the k-member and trans, got everything almost unbolted set the car down on it, removed the nose so I didn't mess it up and used my engine hoist to lift the front end of the car up high enough. There are some pictures over at thirdgen.org of a guy doing it that way with a 3rd gen. The same can be done with a vette, kinda tricky to do in a driveway though, I wouldn't do it on a c4 like that though since it's easy enough to do it from the top.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 2,171
Likes: 1
From: Warwick RI
Kind of like pulling a tooth through your backside...
This is the first car that I didn't even have to remove the hood to do the swap
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,753
Likes: 15
From: backwoods upstate ny
c4 was originally designed with bolt-in front crossmember so engine/trans could be ''bottom loaded'' at assembly....recyclers (junkyards) sell the c4 engine/trans as a ''drop-out'' cause they do it faster/ez that way...at home, ''top-out'' has benefits.
btw, correct GM nomenclature is 'engine cradle', not 'crossmember'.
btw, correct GM nomenclature is 'engine cradle', not 'crossmember'.
Last edited by redrose; Mar 14, 2009 at 12:29 PM.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 292
Likes: 0
c4 was originally designed with bolt-in front crossmember so engine/trans could be ''bottom loaded'' at assembly....recyclers (junkyards) sell the c4 engine/trans as a ''drop-out'' cause they do it faster/ez that way...at home, ''top-out'' has benefits.
btw, correct GM nomenclature is 'engine cradle', not 'crossmember'.
btw, correct GM nomenclature is 'engine cradle', not 'crossmember'.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 8,838
Likes: 31
From: Australia
Problem is unlike a conventional engine on cradle setup you have to unbolt the top A arms and shocks to drop it because they attach to the frame , not the cradle