I’m going to be pulling the motor in our 66 this coming weekend, and I have some questions. I’m pretty handy, but have never replaced an engine. I bought a 2 ton engine hoist yesterday and an engine stand. I have tools and a big enough area to do this job, but just looking for advice or pointers from others with more experience before I dive in.
Im heading up to Portland on Friday to pick up a 1975 300 that I had rebuilt to factory specs to replace the original tired old wheezy 240.

First question is, what is the minimum amount of stuff I need to remove in order to get the motor out? The truck is completely intact so, I’d like to remove as little as possible. I’m thinking at minimum the front bumper, grill, radiator core support, radiator? Maybe the hood?

Next question is can I unbolt the engine from the transmission while in the truck and only remove the engine leaving the trans mounted and in place? It’s a green dot C4 which leaks like a sieve and slams hard into second, but that’s a job for another day.

Also where and how do I attach the hoist to the engine? I’ve seen those plates that you bolt to the manifold but something like that probably won’t work with an l6.

Hoping for any other tips or advice before I start unbolting things. I’ve no experience with a job this big. Thanks guys

 

Remove hood, mark hinge locations to make realignment easier later.
Remove battery.
Remove fan, shroud, hoses and radiator. Or if no shroud maybe leave the fan in place. No need to remove core support.
Disconnect a/c compressor if equipped and move to side. Same goes for the power steering pump.
Clamp off and disconnect fuel line
Maybe remove carburetor
Disconnect throttle linkage
Remove starter
Disconnect exhaust pipe
Label and disconnect wiring at coil, distributor, temp sensor, alternator, oil pressure switch, etc
Remove torque converter bolts
Remove bell housing bolts
Remove vacuum line to transmission
Remove engine mounts
Pull engine
Might've missed a couple things but anything left should be obvious as you get moving.
No need to remove bumper or grill
Take lots of pictures. I guarantee you won't remember where everything goes a week from now. And most importantly, bag and tag everything.

 

Good list above. on the AC and steering pump, do not disconnect the lines, just the pump. you'll want a floor jack under the trans with a piece of wood so you don't hurt the pan, to support it while the motor is out, and help align things when going back in. To hook on the motor bolt a chain onto any bolt bosses on the block, one in front, one in back, but diagonal to try and keep things level. Theres probably a youtube video if you look.

 

I generally work alone on this stuff and there are a couple of things you need to do. Buy or borrow a load leveler it will make removing and especially installing the engine a bunch easier they are around $50 at Harbor Freight. If you are leaving an auto trans in the vehicle, after you remove the torque converter nuts, before you unbolt the bellhousing, bring the engine to top dead center #1, mark the converter so it stays in that spot. When you install the new engine put it on TDC #1 and the torque converter should 99% of the time plug right into the flex plate. On our trucks before you unbolt the bell housing raise the engine until it clears the engine perches and put some wood blocking between the center crossmember and the trans to hold it at the correct angle to install the new engine.
Be careful all this stuff is really heavy and can knock the bark off of you in a second.

 

Good point about tilting the transmission and holding that position. If you leave the mounts attached to the engine it definitely will make things easier when you're fighting the engine perch while struggling to align the bellhousing. A load leveler is a big help but often times can bind at the firewall/cowl area if not careful. Keep in mind may also need to roll engine in addition to tilting to align with transmission. Always best to have a helper, even if all they can do is raise/lower the hoist and keep a good bank of 4 letter words on hand. You'll need 'em either way. Be sure the engine and transmission are aligned correctly and slide together easily. Don't use the bellhousing bolts to pull them together.

 

A lot of good advices! It can be done alone, but if you do it for the first time it is good to have a helper or better someone who did it before. One can operate the hoist and one can make sure the engine comes clear. Use a pry bar, not your hands. Always act like the chain or bolt is snapping, meaning keep your body parts away from under the engine. If your working surface is not smooth, it is sometimes saver to move the truck back, instead of the hoist forward. The small wheels of the hoist might get stuck and the hoist tips over.

Good luck with your project

 

Make sure you have the chain on the engine as short as possible. You may find you don’t have enough lift on your engine hoist once the engine is lifted. These trucks come up a good bit when the weight comes off the springs.
I have deflated the front tires before, it will gain you about 4” clearance. I’ve also removed the front tires and set the front drums on a couple of wood blocks.

 

Thanks for all the responses. I picked up a leveler for the hoist today from harbor freight.
Question- why do I need a jack under the transmission? Wouldn't the transmission mount at the crossmember keep it in place?

 

When the engine is removed from the transmission, the front of the tranny tip down. If you don't support it, it can bind and make things difficult.
I don't think I saw anyone mention removing the radiator. Those straight sixes are long.

 

Depending on the transmission type, it can tilt forward enough to damage the trans mount, damage shift linkages, dump the torque converter out on the floor…
Any number of unpleasant things.
If you have a manual transmission, I normally unbolt the bell housing from the engine, leaving it attached to the transmission. It’s easier to line back up as you reinstall the engine. Since you have a C-4, you will already be using this method.
If you don’t have enough floor jacks, take a piece of 4x4 abut 40” long and place it under the front of the transmission pan. Use some rope, or ratchet straps to support the ends of the board to the frame rails. Basically, a front crossmember. This allows you to move the truck around after the engine is out.

 

I picked up a load leveler from harbor freight, the chains look a little skinny to me, but it’s rated at 2 tons so I assume it can handle pretty most engins. The chains do not have any hooks on them. Do I need to buy some hooks, or will I not need them? Is the idea that I just put a bolt part of the way in the block and push the end of the chain over the bolt and pick it up that way?

 

Lots of experience and good advice here, and I am sure you will get some very specific advice here soon, but, I will only add that if you are using chains without hooks, which if I stretch my memory back 25 years, is what I did, you will want to bolt through the chain itself, and not make a loop. The loop could slip, and or come off the bolt head, but if you bolt through the chain link, and add a large washer if necessary, then the length of chain will stay consistent, and there is no way of the chain coming disengage from your engine lifting point.

 

above info is correct, I'll add use a bolt short enough that you can bolt the chain tight to the block. A long bolt with loose chain will bend the bolt.

 

@rusty valley Thanks for adding that, a short enough bolt is absolutely correct!! Not only could a long bolt bend, a sudden shift, or slid along the axis of a longer bolt is never welcome when hanging a heavy chuck of metal in the air.

 

I always forget to take pics when I'm actually doing something, the last time I pulled an engine, was in '21 when I did the same thing you're doing, pulled the tired, smoking 240 out and dropped a 300 in my 66 F100, all good notes above ^^ I didn't have the load leveler at the time, now I do, yes, BOLT the chains to the block/head, IIRC I used a rear intake bolt hole, and up front on the dr side was an empty bolt hole that I found a bolt for, so it was slung across the engine keeping it even side to side.

Yes, pull radiator, take fan off engine, you kind of have to angle it once you have it away from the trans to get it up and out, I did it by myself, had old out, new in by beer:30

And as stated earlier, once you have weight on the picker, watch all fingers and body parts... you will bleed from something, just don't make it from gettin smushed.