I have the manuals and I am going to drop the engine out the bottom like the manual says, but I have a few questions...

1) The manual says I need a spring compression tool for the front transverse leaf spring. Is this tool really necessary or can I get around this? I saw a couple of videos on youtube swapping this part and no mention of the tool...
2) Any chance I can keep the A/C hoses connected to the compressor? I thought it may be possible to unbolt the compressor and pull it to the side when I drop the engine? I don't want to mess with a clean charged system.
3) It also says to disconnect brake lines going to the EBCM - any chance I can just unbolt the EBCM from the cradle and suspend it out of the way?

 

1. You don't need a spring compression tool for the leaf spring. You will need to detach the upper control arms anyway, so what I did when I dropped my engine is I used a jack on the underside of the knuckle and unloaded the suspension. Then I unbolted the UCAs from the frame and gently lowered the jack. Obviously keep all of your tender bits clear, but unless something slips you shouldn't have anything snap around. Do the same thing in reverse when re-assembling.

2. You absolutely can (and should) leave your AC system connected. Remove the serpentine belt and unbolt the AC compressor from the engine. Use some baling wire to tie it up out of the way.

3. I disconnected my brake lines from the master cylinder. It's going to be a mess, but at least for me it seemed like the easier option than screwing around trying to unbolt the EBCM (that is the easy part) and threading all the brake lines out of the way (that part seemed unreasonably hard).

 

Thanks for the reply. These all make the job seem a lot easier.

 

It's really not that bad. Even if you're not doing anything to the rear, it's FAR easier to drop the whole driveline out front and rear together. Biggest thing to do when doing the initial lift off the cradles is to TAKE IT SLOW. You 100% will forget to disconnect something, and you don't want to force anything. I ended up doing a tensile strength test on my clutch slave cylinder line because I forgot to disconnect it. Speaking of the slave cylinder-- replace it. I don't care if yours is working fine and you have no reason to suspect otherwise-- it's a relatively cheap part and a 5 minute job when you have everything out. Slave cylinders on LS cars are notoriously shitty, and they're a nightmare to change. If you're going to have the driveline out anyway it's some solid preventative maintenance.

 

If I am dealing with a jack and jackstands do you still think it is easier to pull the whole drivetrain?
Thanks for the tip on the slave, I had a hole in the hydraulic line 150 miles ago. Pulled everything apart and slapped on a new ls7 clutch and ls6 slave. Fifth time driving it after the repair I threw a rod out the side of my engine.

 

That job won't be easy with a jack and jack stands no matter how you slice it. You're going to need to get the car at least 4' in the air, and that's with the cradle laying on the ground. Not sure how you're going to pull it off with just a floor jack and stands

 

By my measurement the oil pan to top of engine (intake removed) is about 2 feet and I have 2 foot jack stands. I could also keep the back lower than the front, effectively raising the front higher than 2 feet. Why do you say 4 feet? I can also support the engine with an engine lift at the top while I drop the cradle.

 

4 feet mat be a bit generous, but it's going to be more than 2. The oil pan won't be the lowest point, the hanging brake rotors and suspension bits will be. Also keep in mind you won't be able to set it flat on the floor, you're going to need some kind of dolly to get it out of there if you want to do any work on it.

You're welcome to try it, but I really wouldn't suggest trying that job without a lift

 

If you don't have a lift, take it out the top, the old school way. I have a lift now, but the first time I pulled my engine, I took it out the top. The second time I had a lift, and dropped the drivetrain out the bottom, the "preferred' way. Never again! If I would ever take it out again, it would be from the top, old school style. To each their own, but I've done it both ways, that's my story, and I'm a stickin' to it!!

 

If you do go from the top, you'll need to get the front of the car at least a couple feet in the air, safely, on good jackstands. Then, with a good floor jack securely under the front cradle, with a piece of 2"×10"×1 foot long lumber between the jack and front cradle to distribute the weight, SLOWLY lower the front cradle/engine down several inches, just enough to expose the upper bellhousing bolts. BEFORE you remove the bellhousing bolts, now that they're accessible, you must also support the torque tube with an old barn beam, jackstand, or whatever. Then disconnect whatever else, like heater hoses, coolant hoses, fuel lines, etc. You'll also need to pull the cooling fan assembly from the radiator. Then put a piece of thick/double thick cardboard between the radiator and motor, to protect the radiator, or remove the radiator entirely. Once the motor is high enough in the air so the A/C compressor is easily accessed, pull the compressor, and secure it and the lines so the A/C condenser is left intact.
PS!!! If anyone tries this on an A4 C5, the flywheel/flexplate on the A4 cars has a pinch bolt that pinches the flywheels female output splines to the torque tubes' male input splines. This pinch bolt MUST BE LOOSENED/REMOVED, or the engine will NOT slide forward at all, which will allow you to lift it out!!!! There is an access window on the bottom side of the bellhousing that's covered with a plastic/rubber cover. Simply pop this out, get a flashlight or some sort of light, and you'll see it up inside. You'll have to have some means of rotating the crank until the head of this bolt is indexed to a point where you can loosen/remove it. You'll have to address this pinch bolt to remove the engine from the drivetrain whether you go out the top, or lower it out the bottom. Hope this helps, and best of luck to you.

 

Cool, I thought out the top may work too. I have removed the fans, radiator, air filter assembly, intake manifold, alternator, and unbolted the A/C compressor. Next I am going to remove the exhaust, starter, tunnel heat shield, etc.

When you say unbolt the bellhousing, do you mean the bolts from the bellhousing to the torque tube? or the bolts to the engine from the bellhousing? I was going to unbolt the former.

 

I was referring to the bolts that hold the bellhousing to the engine. I've never done it that way you're explaining, meaning the bellhousing to the torque tube. Perhaps someone else will chime in........

 

You can't unbolt the bell housing to engine block bolts with the engine in the car. There are one or two on top that your hands just have too many bones in them to reach

 

I did it but, u have to take the heads off.

 

Sorry, I disagree. I've done it. Easily. As I stated, if you lower (actually "swing" it lower, in an arc, with the rear-end being the pivot point) the engine a couple inches, you can access the top bolts easily.

 

Alright, after a long hiatus I am getting back to this project.

I am concerned about mating up the driveshaft to the clutch - I have had some problems getting them together in the past during clutch swaps. I thought it would be easier to mate them up if I drop the whole drivetrain. So, my plan was to put the car on jack stands about 18" off the ground, drop the complete drivetrain front and rear cradles, remove the bell housing/torque tube from the engine, and then pull the engine out the top with an engine hoist. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think by doing it this way I will not have to remove the steering rack, the removal and the installation of the bell housing will be much easier, and because the drivetrain is not bolted to the car allows me to maneuver them together easily. Thoughts, oversights on my part?