I'm looking to pull the engine tommorow morning. i don't know if the thing runs or not but i do know that it's in the way and i have another one ready to take it's place. I'll find out if it works later.

My question is what should i start with first?
I plan on removing the hood and then what? i have on other friend working with me and an engine hoist. plus i can take off panels. i mean everything in the front.

 

The more you take out the eaier it is.. Definitly pull the radiator, hood. you should be able to get it out fairly easy like that.

 

A friend of mine pulled the motor from his '88 recently, and he removed the whole front clip. Fenders, wheel wells, radiator support (radiator still attached); everything as a unit. Just unbolted it from the frame and the cab and took it all off. Made it really easy to access the engine.

 

i just changed the 5.0 in my 91 f250 last week and all i did was unbolt the engine and exhaust and all the usual things and just pulled it out . didnt even remove the hood . it cleared EVERYTHING just fine. seems like alot of extra work to be pulling the nose just to change a motor. just my 2 cents worth .

 

I'll be doing this around late spring, early summer, and I plan to remove the front fenders, radiator, and radiator support, since they are rusty anyway and I have replacements in the garage on the shelf. This will allow me to pull the engine more forward, rather than up and over, allowing my crane to be more stable on my somewhat uneven driveway. Having a heavy engine way up in the air while you're trying to jerk an engine crane over driveway imperfections is outright dangerous. 5-6 years ago I was removing a big block chrysler engine out of an old truck and the crane did fall over, and the engine landed on its oil pan, squishing it completely flat. I almost saved it, but I couldn't get enough purchase to lean it back so once my leg cramped up I let it go. It was nice enough to land on the pan, squish, and stay upright so I was able to reattach the crane and get it into the garage for reworking.

As far as what to disconnect, you have to disconnect everything. THe more you leave behind, the lighter the engine will be. I often unbolt the exhaust at the back of the manifolds, then lift the engine forward and up a bit, then take off the manifolds while the engine is hovering in the engine compartment - drops 50-100lbs off the "yank" weight right there. Same for the flywheel. The lighter the motor the easier it is to manuever on the crane.

Of course my doing engine swaps by myself dictate such tactics, friends are always welcome of course!

With EFI vehicles, I always full disconnect the EFI harness at the firewall AND label all the connectors around the engine, then remove the harness from the engine as well. This way its not dangling down and gets caught on anything, or worse - gets pinched between the engine and the mounts. Just one less thing to worry about getting ruined. Carb'd engines have less wires, so if I had to repair one or two that's not a big deal, but squish and cut 75 wires in one loom and you're going to be an unhappy guy while you look for your soldering iron. Been there, done that, lesson learned. Just label all the connectors as to what they connect to, or number them 1-whatever, and make a log on a pad of paper, or draw a picture of an engine at the bottom and put numbers where the connectors go around the engine picture.

I also take digital photos of the pre-disconnection for my web-page of projects, which I also use before starting the new engine to make sure they match. New engines aren't always forgiving of really bad mistakes. Good luck!

 

cool thanks for the advice. I just talked with my uncle last night because i was planning on pulling the engine at his house today. He works with a guy that used to be one of my dads good friends. He's gonna use a hydrolic lift to take of the cab and box anyways so he said we can hook the engine up and pull it out to. I also was gonna take the front clip off. I'm gonna do it when everything is off the truck but the transmission and motor. I also got permission to store my truck at his shop with their new plasma cutter and all the welders and tools i'll need. I don't know what to do with myself now.

 

you don't know what to do with yourself? ****, bring a cot and a sleeping bag and move in! ! !

 

haha i think so. I'm doing a complete new look for this truck and i had it all figured out i thought but with all this to my advantage i'm lost again.