Engine pull from top or bottom?
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 578
Likes: 0
From: Texarkana Ar
Engine pull from top or bottom?
Iv looked on the forums for advice on pulling a c5 engine from the top or bottom and still cant seem to find what would be the best way for me to pull my engine. I will be using a lift, but once the motor is pulled out of the car it will need to be moved out of the way so I will not block the lift. SO my queston is will I have to pull the whole drivetrain or can I just un-bolt the motor from the torque tube or bell housing and just pop it out with a cherry picker, will I need to drop the front cradle completly? I need to be able to roll the car out once the engine is out. So if anyone has done this and has some tips and advice I'd appreciate your help. Thanks.
Race Director
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 16,667
Likes: 1,209
From: Raleigh, NC
St. Jude Donor '15
You can do it either way.. As far as which is better, I am not sure. Since you have access to a lift my guess would be from the bottom but there are people who can answer that question better than me!
Team Owner
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 48,589
Likes: 245
From: In the woods so F%^$ O&&
St. Jude Donor '17-'18-'19
Iv looked on the forums for advice on pulling a c5 engine from the top or bottom and still cant seem to find what would be the best way for me to pull my engine. I will be using a lift, but once the motor is pulled out of the car it will need to be moved out of the way so I will not block the lift. SO my queston is will I have to pull the whole drivetrain or can I just un-bolt the motor from the torque tube or bell housing and just pop it out with a cherry picker, will I need to drop the front cradle completly? I need to be able to roll the car out once the engine is out. So if anyone has done this and has some tips and advice I'd appreciate your help. Thanks.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,285
Likes: 16
From: Nashville TN
what kind of lift 2 post or 4 post?
I have a 4 post lift and pulled my motor form the top. It was not that bad a job. If you need to be able to roll the car around you might as well pull it from teh top. Other wise you have to reinstall the front cradle.
Use this guide for reference.
http://www.cajundude.com/engineswap.htm
I have a 4 post lift and pulled my motor form the top. It was not that bad a job. If you need to be able to roll the car around you might as well pull it from teh top. Other wise you have to reinstall the front cradle.
Use this guide for reference.
http://www.cajundude.com/engineswap.htm
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 2,197
Likes: 2
From: Niagara Falls NY
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
The first time I pulled mine 
,I dropped the whole drivetrain.What a pain in the ***.Especially without a custom dolly to roll the frame around.The shop I hang around pulls them from the top.They do a couple a week.Much easier.Just disconnect the ABS unit instead of the brake lines.I'll never do one from underneath again.Be very carefull if you move the body off the hoist without the front suspension.Lots of how to articles if you do a search or get some of the HP Peterson Corvette books.Even though I like to do it from the top most of the articles will tell you from the bottom.
Good luck.
,I dropped the whole drivetrain.What a pain in the ***.Especially without a custom dolly to roll the frame around.The shop I hang around pulls them from the top.They do a couple a week.Much easier.Just disconnect the ABS unit instead of the brake lines.I'll never do one from underneath again.Be very carefull if you move the body off the hoist without the front suspension.Lots of how to articles if you do a search or get some of the HP Peterson Corvette books.Even though I like to do it from the top most of the articles will tell you from the bottom.Good luck.
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 29,063
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From: cookeville tennessee
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 578
Likes: 0
From: Texarkana Ar
Thanks for your input guys, ill be using a 2 post lift, but Like i said earlier Ill have to move the car once the engine is out, so pulling the whole driveline may be more of a pain in the *** because ill have to bolt the cradles back up just to roll it out. I think I may try it from the top, I may remove the heads for more clearance? The car also has the HP twin turbo setup so Ill be dealing with turbo pipes and oil lines as well. Damn its gonna be FUN. lol
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 7,121
Likes: 3
From: Shreveport/Bossier Louisiana
St. Jude Donor '08
I prefer the top....wait, what are we talking about again? LOL
On a serious note, I pulled mine from the top and it's not a terrible job, but there was some cussing involved. Its always more difficult when you add any FI system in the mix upon removal. Good luck!
On a serious note, I pulled mine from the top and it's not a terrible job, but there was some cussing involved. Its always more difficult when you add any FI system in the mix upon removal. Good luck!
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 125
Likes: 1
From: Dundalk MD
i pulled mine from the bottom, unbolted the torque tube from the bellhousing and have the torque tube resting on a piece of wood that I have resting on the lip where the tunnel place screws in. I also had that engine stand with adjustable arms and is on rollers. I don't remember what its called. Then took out the radiator and all that in front of the engine. Then lowered the lift so the engine rested on the stand, unbolted suspension and slowly pushed the engine forward and raised the lift making sure nothing caught. Once clear I just used a cherry picker to hold it in place while I separated it from the suspension,lifted it into my truck and bolted the suspension back in the car. Pushed the car out into the parking lot. Done, took my brother and I about 6 hours. Hope this gives you some ideas.
Greg
Greg
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,533
Likes: 1
Done it either way. One nice thing about dropping the whole drivetrain through the bottom at once is that you can literally disconnect the entire wiring harness from the car and drop it as well so all of your sensors and eveything can be rebooked up before you even put the motor back in. Makes things very nice if you are changing stuff around...
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 4,456
Likes: 29
From: Wichita Falls Texas
u just gonna pick the engine up?