So I've decided to pull the 302 out of my truck to replace the rusted out oil pan. It's an automatic truck, and the consensus seems to be to leave the trans in place and just pull the motor. Any helpful hints? I've never pulled a motor from one of these trucks before.

Thanks!

 

I agree leave trans in place, be sure to remove torque converter nuts so converter stays with trans. Also take lots of pics as you go, it will help you put it back together big time.

 

I've pulled my 5.8 twice in the last 2 years. Once to rebuild trans & detail engine, second to rebuild engine. I can't imagine trying to align the bell housing of the trans & get the engine mounts to set down into the cross-member at the same time.

I say drop the trans, set it aside & then pull the engine. Put the engine in & mate the trans. If you have strong enough hoist & room, mate them & put them in together. But I really dislike that much mass dangling by usually a single clevis pin.

Just me though.

 

I can. It's much quicker than dropping the trans.

 

Getting everything lined up with an auto trans isn't even what I would call hard, you line up the belhousing dowels, then make sure the TC bolts or studs line up, then wiggle the motor back on the dowels and drop it on the engine mounts. Hint, do not unbolt the engine mounts from the frame unbolt from the engine instead.

 

Like I said, "Just me though."

I dropped the E4, pulled engine, put it back & reconnected the trans the first time by myself. Did the same the second time, save for accepting some assistance in dropping the engine the second time cause I was more interested in TC clearances & distances.

As far as motor mounts go, I prefer the 2 slotted holes of the cross-member than trying to get the 4 mount holes lined up with the block which can get into the pan rail. Especially if you go back with aftermarket mounts which are not going to line up anywhere close to the factory ones with out bending , grinding & cussing.

Your results may vary, but he asked for hints & I gave mine.

 

And you missed the part about "to rebuild trans and detail engine".

Oh, & if I was working in a flat rate shop with a lift & on a customer's dime, no doubt I'd leave it in.

But he's a newbie & never pulled an engine so my advice was based on that. Easier to have it out of the way. JMHO

 

Just did this about a month ago. Here's (generally) my process...

(I had no idea how much room I'd really need to clear the engine from the transmission and mounting bolts so I chose to move the transmission also.)

Engine stuff
1. Disconnect the battery, throttle cable assembly, radiator and related hoses, heater hoses, and other stuff at the front and sides of the engine. I also pulled the main coil wire because I like being extra safe.
2. Remove the upper intake and place a cover over the ports in the lower intake.
3. Move the A/C compressor out of the way.
4. Disconnect the fuel lines and smog stuff that's in the way at the rear of the engine.
5. Remove the top two transmission housing bolts.
6. Remove the fan and cowling.
7. Remove the radiator. You'll be glad you have that extra space.

Transmission stuff
1. Remove driveshafts (mines the 4x4). Replace U-joints.
2. Remove the cover plate at the bottom of the front of the transmission.
3. Remove flex plate bolts (4x). Use a breaker bar and 15/16" socket to rotate the engine. YOUR BATTERY IS DISCONNECTED, RIGHT?! What about pulling that coil wire to be extra safe?
4. Remove the O2 sensor and place it safely out of the way.
5. Remove the starter.
6. Disconnect the exhaust downpipes from the manifolds.
7. Put your support under the transmission. A transmission jack is useful here, but you may need to improvise if your pan isn't flat.
8. Disconnect the cooler lines from the transmission.
9. Remove the remaining four transmission housing bolts.
10. Remove the crossmember under the transmission.
11. Slide the transmission back a few inches being careful to keep the torque convertor in place so it doesn't dump fluid all over the place. Or you can drain it like I did. Just pull that plug you saw on the perimeter. If the fluid is nice and pretty red you can reuse it. If it's ugly brown your transmission needs a fluid change.

Engine removal
1. Attach your lift bracket or whatever to the engine.
2. Remove the nut from the engine mounts. You're replacing them, right? (about $25 for a pair from Rockauto)
3. Lift engine out being careful to keep it from swinging into your truck/personal body, windshield, etc.

Use your best judgement. That was all from memory so I may have skipped a step or two, but you get the idea.

Is it necessary to move the transmission? Maybe not. You only need about 2 inches of clearance. But the motor mount holes are vertical so there's not much leeway there which is why I did it the way I did. When I put it back together it was a simple reversal of the steps and I had plenty of room to drop the engine in place.

 

EDIT: Use a 6 point socket on the flexplate nuts and the torque converter drain plug. They're tight.

 

After removing radiator, cover condenser with a cut to fit piece of card board.

Take two bolts out of hood latch wrap with a cloth & stick down in the hole below. Beats having it stick in your gut or bottom.

Take a 1 X 4 & cut to fit between the frame rails. You can sit on rad support & have a place to put your feet.

 

I have pulled engine from these trucks without removing the hood or the rad. But I do put a piece of plywood between the rad and engine to prevent accidents... and this also saves some time and headaches with the trans cooler lines if the truck has an auto trans. To jerk a motor out with the hood still on the chains on the hoist must be as short as possible, yes it's a little figidity but when you're working by yourself getting the hood on and off without damaging paint is next to impossible, so if you don't have to...

 

Thanks for all the info, guys. I'm going to pull the engine tomorrow, so I'll report back afterward to let you all know how it went.

 

PS. Take the hood off. Scratch or mark the brackets so you can line them up the same when you put the hood back. Put some rag bunches between the hood and the cowling so you don't have to hold it the entire time.

 

Removal went smoothly, didn't have to take the hood off. Took out the radiator. Amazingly, the rusty, crusty exhaust stud nuts came off OK. Found some other small problems to address but pretty much all minor. The biggest problem was that the starter pretty much fell apart when removing the wires, it was very brittle. Also, as I kind of suspected, the rear main seal is leaking a pretty good amount.

 

nice work.
is the rear seal on the intake manifold ok ?