I think I already know the answer to this, but I am putting my rebuilt 400 back into my truck. I had put in the transmission and the transfer case before putting engine in. Only engine I've ever put in. Removed a couple, but not replaced one. I'm thinking I'm going to have to take transmission and transfer case back loose, slide them back, put engine in, and then slide transmission and transfer case back in place. I do have the front clip off as well. I have the motor mounts on the block already. Anyone have any tips on getting the engine back in, or am I going to have to slide back trans and tx case? Thanks.

 

you do not have to move the trans at all it can stay bolted up --- remove the motor mounts to get more wiggle room --- then slide the engine back slowly to line up the clutch splines or torque converter and get the bell hsg bolts lined up and tightened,, you may have to jack the trans up or down a bit to line up the dowel pins on the engine ,,, while still up put the motor mounts back on and drop the engine onto the frame brackets --- when i have to change the clutch in my 77 4x4 i find it easier to remove the engine than wrestle with the tranny and t - case have done this several times over the years with no issues.

 

2X s on John’s advice. Another thing is the engine leveler will probably get into the way. I suggest you take that off and connect it or a chain from the front left corner to the fight rear corner exhaust port bolt holes. Raise the transmission as high as possible, cut some 7/16” bolts for guide pins to help line up the engine to the bell housing. Are you sure the clutch is lined up close enough? Another trick is when the engine is about 1” from mating with the bell housing and some of the bolts are started have someone push the clutch pedal while you are pulling the engine to the bell housing.
When I had a 460 in my 68 I unbolted the frame mounts and hung them off of the engine mounts. My truck is 2 wheel drive so I know the frames are different.

 

All good advice already. I have pulled the 400 out of my 1979 F150 4 speed 4X4 a couple of times. Like the others have said, no need to move the transmission & transfer case back. I had no success removing or installing the engine with the motor mounts bolted to the block. The motor mount studs that stick out of the mounts would get caught in the holes on the perches/towers preventing me from moving the engine forward/backwards or even up/down enough to get things where they needed to be. What I ended up doing was to unbolt the mounts from the block and just leave them loose in the perches/towers. This allowed me to slide the engine forward/backwards in perfect alignment with the transmission without having the protruding motor mount studs getting caught on the perches/towers. Once the engine was bolted to the bell housing, I went back to the motor mounts and lifted the engine just enough to wiggle mounts around and install the motor mount to block bolts. Last, install the motor mount stud to perch/tower nuts on each side. It's been a while but I recall the hardest part was getting the motor mount to block bolts installed due to the towers/perches & frame being somewhat in the way.

A similar topic came up a few years ago and I got in a bit of a pi__ing match with another member regarding doing it this way. He was adamant that the mounts could stay bolted to the block and the engine could be wiggled into place. Other members can likely make it happen somehow but I honestly tried everything I cold think of with no success. The only thing I can think of is that not all trucks are built exactly the same from a dimensional perspective and some may have a little more wiggle room.

 

Only engine swap I did was a Fox Mustang, 5.0, 5 speed, and I intended to leave the transmission and bell in place for the whole operation, but for some reason chickened out on that, and subsequently pulled the trans and bell, and reinstalled them once the new engine was in place. A T5 is a whole lot lighter than any Dentside transmission, but a bigger pain to access.
I have had my truck's 3.03 three speed out before, and if I was going to do an engine swap, I'd sure try to leave the heavy trans and heavy bell in place. There's a whole lot more room to try to make that happen in our trucks.

 

Thanks for the replies. I took off the leveler and made a couple of dowel bolts. Also bolted a length of chain to from corner to corner of the block. I'll keep you posted.

 

Got the engine in and mounted to bellhousing and motor mounts attached and in their perches. Thanks for all of your suggestions. Did do one thing different, wrapped ratchet strap around front of block and hooked end on trans crossmember and pulled them together that way.

 

Good job, you are on your way. I have never had any luck with an engine leveler on my truck, it always hits the firewall.

 

That sure looks pretty all nice and cleaned up.
Omg, i'm old school and use rope. My son, age 32, he uses ratchet straps. hahahaha
Yep, the home-made guide studs are almost a necessity for single handed jobs.

Well, I'm not so sure of my decision, but when refurbing my pickup, a '77 F-350, I removed the 400 and installed a 300 inline six banger. Looking back, I should have installed a 385 series 429. Oh well.
I rebuilt a 400 in an earlier '77 Crew cab pickup and liked it. The 400 came with a rod knock, and I drove it one year prior to the rebuild. I'd say a 400 is a tough engine even with narrow journals.

Keep moving forward

 

Thanks! This is a huge step. Project ballooned into a bigger project than I planned, but didn't make sense to put a newly rebuilt engine in a vehicle with 40 plus year old parts in suspension and steering and brakes, and the transmission and transfer case. If I had been thinking more clearly, I would have gotten an inline 6 with bellhousing and went that route. Oh well.