Engine/transmission Removal

[Glow Worm]

Thinking of pulling the engine out of my 74 Cuda 340 to get it rebuilt. The transmission is ok but I need to know if it is easier and if it is possible to remove both the engine and transmission coupled together or if I should separate them?  I assume I will need to remove the hood before trying it either way.

I've never done this before. Any suggestions are welcome.

[bobs73challenger]

A friend and I just pulled the 360 out of my 73 challenger.  This was my first time pulling a motor too.  We kept the transmission where it was.  It was easier than I thought it would be. 

There were...6 (? -- cant remember) bolts mating the engine to the transmission (a 727).  We've got a jackstand in place to support the engine end of the transmission and its holding up great. 

My hood is a removable fiberglass unit, but as far as I can imagine, hood removal is a must!

One piece of advice that came from here that I found came especially in handy is to take lots of pictures. 

That being said, I'm sure that with a load leveler attached to your hoist, you could do both fairly easily. 

I'm also sure that someone with a lot more experience than I do will have some better input. 

Good luck, you can do this!!  its both overwhelming and fun at the same time 

[YellowThumper]

Make a dolly that supports the K frame and also the transmission. Disconnect K frame bolts and a few associated connections. Can be even made of lumber. Use your hoist to lift the car and roll engine out from under it. There are many threads discussing the ease of this way. I have even read about jacket ands in the middle of car that allows it to rock enough to get it out.

Good luck.

[Chryco Psycho]

 
 once you have done it ths way you will never try to remove from the top again , the assy can go in virtually complete from below , much faster & easier

[roadman5312]

Make a dolly that supports the K frame and also the transmission. Disconnect K frame bolts and a few associated connections. Can be even made of lumber. Use your hoist to lift the car and roll engine out from under it. There are many threads discussing the ease of this way. I have even read about jacket ands in the middle of car that allows it to rock enough to get it out.

Good luck.

                     " associated connections " . Don't forget to disconnect the steering shaft from the box. Don't ask me why I mention this.                                  

[Glow Worm]

I have no way to lift the car off of the K-frame/engine assembly.

I plan to borrow or rent the engine lift. 

bobs73challenger seems to have the same idea/plan going on that I want to try, but prefer to remove everything at the same time.

I'm looking forward to doing the work myself and plan to take a crap load of pictures.

My thinking was I could easily clean up the transmission and, as an afterthought, could have it freshened up and change the torque converter while it is all out. 

[Chryco Psycho]

If you put axle stands under the front of the leaf springs & use the diff & suspension as a counter weight , you an lift the nose of the car yourself using your legs , done it many times personally , or the engine lift will raise the nose too

[HP_Cuda]

Kmember way is much easier and allows you to do alot of work on the front end like a dream!

[Glow Worm]

If you put axle stands under the front of the leaf springs & use the diff & suspension as a counter weight , you an lift the nose of the car yourself using your legs , done it many times personally , or the engine lift will raise the nose too

OK  I follow you.  I assume the K-Frame would need to be sitting on a "dolly" and it would be rolled away from the car.  I can see how it would be easy to clean and paint other suspension parts at that time.

[Chryco Psycho]

yup you will need a rollable dolly to support the K frame & trans without blocking removal of the K bolts , I used to use snowmoblie dollies & could have the whole engine & trans out in approx 1.5 hrs or less , drain the fluids , disconnect hoses wiring & steering column , throttle cable & battery cables  , split the upper ball joins & hang the calipers or remove the discs & unbolt the lower ball joints , remove the rad / shroud  remove the driveshaft & crossmember bolts  speedo cable & exhaust , remove the K frame bolts , Lift the body & roll the whole engine & trans out .

[1 Wild R/T]

Exhaust manifolds or Headers?   Cause dropping out the bottom with Manifolds is allot more difficult because the exhaust gets in the way... With headers they split under the car completely clear of the K member... Manifold head pipes do not....

[dakota]

I dropped my engine out by lowering the K frame as well, but my issue was that I didn't have room for positioning the engine lift to pull up the front end.  My car was sitting on jack stands.  I pulled the transmission off first (A-833 manual) using a tranny scissors jack. It would've been better to leave it on - more on that in a moment.  A stack of wood cribbing was set up on top a heavy moving blanket.   The K frame was supported with a floor jack and unbolted, then lowered onto the cribbing.  The floor jack was used on alternate sides of the "wings" of the K frame which allowed pieces of the cribbing on one side to be removed and then lower the K frame a bit more.  Once the K frame w/ engine was on the floor, it was a matter of dragging it out from under the car on the blanket.   In my case, the front suspension was already off so I just went through the wheel well.   If I'd left the tranny on, this same approach would've worked but it would've been easier to support the back of the engine rather than stretching the motor mounts.   I could've used the approach with the engine lift if I'd backed the car into the garage rather than going "nose in" first so that I could've set up on the driveway.  Live and learn!   

[soundcontrol]

I took it out from the bottom last year, my first time doing that, been lifting from the top 30-40 times before. If its only engine work, I still would remove from the top, since it can be a bit tricky to remove all the suspension parts, and the front end has to be relaigned afterwards. But if you gonna do anyting with the suspension/brakes/steering also, removing from the bottom is highly recommended, once you got the T-bars, UCA's and K-frame bolts out its a smooth ride.


Removing from the top is easy also, disconnect everything on the engine and tranny, remove the tranny mount bolts in the rear, loosen the tranny mount from the crossmember,(4 bolts)  leave 2 bolts in though. Connect the engine lift, good thing if you have one of theese (picture), so you can adjust the angle of the engine/tranny (it works anyways, but those liftblocks are great). Then put a jack under the tranny, remove the tranny mount completely from the crossmember (the tranny just rests on the jack now, lift the engine a bit so it slips out of the motor mounts, lower the tranny all the way, adjust the angle of the whole package and carefully lift it out. Once the engine is high up, you have to lift the rear of the tranny over the radiator support while rolling the engine lift backwards. If the car sits too low, its hard to the the right angle of the package, I like it on jackstands so I get a good angle and can get under to get the tranny mount out easy. The other picture shows a good angle, that was my first Challenger (early 80's)

[rUNCHARGER]

I've done it both ways and I find dropping it out the bottom to be more of a PITA usually although it is more beneficial with a Hemi. I think a small block is just as easy to pull topside. I would separate and drop the transmission first then pull the small block out the top.
I have to pull a 572 INDY out of my friends factory 340 Cuda body next week to change the auto to a 4 speed and cut up the original floor pan. I am dreading the job. However I have to do it this way to address the dipstick being loose and clearancing the TTI headers around the torsion bars, I am also going to shim the K-member down as the shaker bonnet sits too high as well.

Sheldon

[Glow Worm]

I think I see a professional mechanic in my future . . .