Well guys, like many of you money is scarce these days for me, so, I'm going to be pulling the motor to my Mother's 83 Cougar myself instead of sending out. Once out, I plan on getting it rebuilt then reinstalled myself. Any tips?
drain the oil first. then pull the things like exhaust/starter/torque cover bolts/ bolts that hold the motormounts to frame/bell housing bolts.
then move up above to like rad & hose's,P/S, alt.stuff
that way you don't have antifreeze,P/S fluid dripping on you when your under the car.
-support transmission like shown with tie down strap.
insure you replace the.....
-oil pump gears (inside the timing cover)
-oil pump proportion valve inside the timeing cover
-have your crank turned then buy mains/rod bearings to match
-belt sand bottom of head to clean up, lay square longways =if gap under square to head is >.006 then plane the heads
-dont trust autoparts stores on cranks,, quality issues with turning
-get new timing chain / gears
-gind lap your valves
-make yourself .020 shims under the valve springs (ie- typical fender washers found anywhere placed under the lower spring cap.
-note any paint marking on the torque converter and see if that marks lines up with the flywheel. Match this when installing back.
-Put motor oil on a valve, slide valve up in hole, cover other end of hole with finger tightly, pull valve back out partially and let go-- If the valve sucks back into the head then the guides are good enough. If the valve does not seem to want to suck back in then the guides are too worn.
-PLASITI GUAGE!!
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read up on my diy link for things written up specific to the 3.8L
Easy motor to rebuild,, see my cardomain. Re-ring kit is cheap on these engines
I pulled the transmission out with the motor. I didn't want to struggle with putting anything back in when I was ready. Your going to bolt them together anyway. Why not do it while it's out, where you can do it easily.
My 2 cents
+1 We also pull the trannies with the motors. And like Ranchero says, drain the tranny too, or else it will "self drain" when you tip it down to clear the firewall. :D
good idea with the straps holding up the tranny. also, if you decide to leave te tranny in, don't forget to make sure the torque converter's all the way in!
If you not sure of something just post a pic of it and we can help you.
If its your first time just label things and take your time. I always just through my bolts in a big bucket because I know what I'm looking for... but I like the ziplock freezer bag meathod of labeling your bolts.
If you pull the tranny out with the motor, it'd be a good idea to plug up the tailshaft so you don't drip fluid everywhere.
Like Bob said, use bags to group and label your bolts. I would also consider getting replacements as the originals are surely rusty and stretched by now and tend to snap when re-torquing them.
Use a cherry picker to yank the engine with...my buddy had a really nice IROC-Z Camaro, and was using a tree to pull the engine out, and the tree broke...it WAS a nice camaro..lol
You can rent one from most auto parts stores for pretty cheap, but to minimize cash spent, wait until you are absolutely ready to pull it, so you have less rent time. ;)
Believe me, I worked at a salvage yard for cars, I know of fast and faster ways to pull engines and trannies...if you pull engine and trans both at once, leave the starter on, just undo the wiring. etc etc.
Thanks for the input so far guys. Since I plan on possibly pulling the motor out of my 88Mark VII down the road also, I'm looking into purchasing a 2 ton hoist, engine stand, and leveler from a guy for 150.00.
nice price :)
now thats the one part you will love the most.
From our local Craigs List
http://portland.craigslist.org/clc/tls/1016379596.html
http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/pts/1016015844.html
I got a deal like mentiond above
Hoist, Stand, Leveler, and Part's cleaning tank for $150. Guy just wanted the stuff gone.
And you can always turn arround and put them right back up on CL when your done.
I haven't used a leveler yet.
I just pulled my engine and tranny together out of my t-bird. I used both a cherry picker with a leveler on it. Worked good for me.
Well guys, I missed out on the hoist and stand deal. However, a friend of mine who's helping me do this job has access to an engine hoist which runs off of air, so we'll see how it works. We began work yesterday and are close to getting the motor out. I'll post pics soon.
I have two questions for you guys. One, does the starter motor absolutely have to be removed for engine removal? With motor lift out time occurring hopefully tomorrow, I want to know what are my lifting options. I ask this because I've lifted from mounting locations on the corners of the block, however, I wanted to use a central location. For instance I often times have seen a plate with a hook where the carb used to be located when other people are doing a job. What is this hook and plate called?
If pulling with the tranny attached then I don't see why it would have to come off. I left my starter attached and it came out just fine.
I do not know the official name of the plate that goes where the carb does. I have used those many of times, but not pulling a engine/tranny combo. Only engines by themselves.
I am not 100% sure either, but I have always referred to it as a "Lift Plate". I've used mine tons of time and almost always for a motor/tranny combo. Even though it comes with multiple holes, I had to drill mine for Ford Flatheads. It didn't come with those three holes already in it and I don't know why. lol.
I just used a chain with bolts stuck into the front and back of the heads.
Thanks for the input guys. I only plan on pulling out the motor, so I guess the starter must be coming out first. Also, how many bolts do I have connecting the bellhousing to engine block? I did two on the top today, see two on the sides underneath the car, now need to know of anymore along the sides that I possibly cannot view easily. Thanks.
there 6 total.
its a ton eaisier to pull the tranny too. Its only one or two wires and the tranny mount. The yoke slips right off so you don't even have to pull the driveshaft if you don't want to. I spent a good couple of hours pulling the tranny out by hand. I could pull the engine and tranny both in less then 2.
A leveler is such a good item to have with the hoist. I've done 3 or 4 removals and installs and it makes it very easy. Removing the trans with the motor allows you to inspect everything on the trasn, tighten stuff up, clean it, and generally make sure all is well.
C.