I have had to have the engine rebuilt on my daughter's 1999 F-150. It is a 5.4 that lost the oil pump and that led to damage of the crank shaft. I had to take it out of the truck and that took me two days to get to the point where I could hoist it out. It is so difficult to reach some of the bolts that have to be removed to get equipment off, such as the AC compressor.

Now I am putting it back in. Using the leveler on my hist I had to sort of 'rock' it into place so I could clear the cross member and still be lower than the firewall so I could move it back. I am about to go out and try to align it with the transmission and get it bolted into place. Does anyone have any kind of suggestion or tricks they have learned to help with this process? Pending the sensor issue (See 'What sensor is this?') I want this to be running tomorrow. Hope and pray!

 

Just wanted to wish you luck and would suggest that if you are doing the job by yourself to get a second or third person a case of beer to help out the situation.

 

A floor jack under the tranny helps alot.

 

It's in. On the underside all that is left is to hook up the exhaust pipes. Today I move to the top and put everything in its rightful place.
The floor jack is a must! It cannot be done without it. A load leveler on the hoist is also a requirement.
One small issue I ran into was that I had the engine back as far as it would go. The motor mounts were up against a point on the block so rearward travel was impossible, yet I had 1/2 inch to go. Pushing the engine against the tranny pushed the tranny back. Since I had the drive plate bolt aligned I just push the tranny forward and everything started going together. With the judicious use of the floor jack and load leveler we got everything lined up and bolted together.
Another person is also a must and my wife was more help than any firends that may have shown up. She was a huge help even if she didn't know what most stuff was.