71LS5

Hey guys,

Want to put in my engine with the transmission as one unit. Without a detachable cross-member tail brace will I clear everything and be able to get the tail shaft above the brace as one swung unit?

I want to say yes but need to hear from someone who has done this. I am using a standard 2 ton engine boom hoist.

jnb5101

I did it with the radiator removed and all the accessories removed from the front of the engine. I don't know if it would clear with the rad in place. I had the rear of the car raised higher than the front. That allowed me to clear the fenders and the surround. Tilt the tail shaft downward to fit into the trans tunnel. Once there, tilt the engine level and the tailshaft will clear the crossmember. Then just set it on the mounts. I also took the valve covers off, because they were contacting the power brake booster and the wiper actuator. I had to approach from the side because the boom wouldn't reach from the front.

71LS5

JNB thanks for the information extremely useful bud! Yeah I took out the radiator out and all the engine accessories off.

Now you have me wondering though if I have the same type of hoist you do that I will not be able to go in from the front............mine is a standard design folding 2-ton HF unit. I assume you could not clear the front of the motor and body and that's why you came if from the side?


I wonder if anyone using this type of hoist has been able approach from the front of the car directly in?????

71LS5

Would still like to hear from anyone who has R&R'ed an engine on a C3 preferably a BB manual set up. Want to learn from your experiences.

thanks!

hwcoop

a few posts here..
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...-from-car.html

I did my 454 separate from the trans, left hood in place

71LS5

Thanks coop for sharing the url its helpful. I did a search but it did not see that one. Looks current too. My trans is attched and I plan on putting it in in the next week or so as one unit.

I would love to still hear from someone re installing the engine and trans as one unit from the front using a basic 2 ton hoist.

jnb5101

Don't forget that the car has to be high enough so that you can get under it to guide the tailshaft of the trans into position. Watch for ceiling height that clears the boom! Also, if you're using the accessory bolt holes in the heads as attachment points for the lift chains, use short bolts-long bolts will contact the firewall and be difficult to remove(discovered this the hard way!).

Pocket

I put a LS1/T56 combo in as a unit from the front, radiator installed

With the suspension at full droop, the tires were about 4" off the ground still

The longer the hoist boom, the better. I have a 2 ton HF unit as well, had to rotate the hoist to clear the long nose of the car. Wasnt terrible to do. A load leveler was key. As stated above, the rear chain bolts need to be away from the firewall or you will contact

Id be leery of lifting a heavy BBC/trans on the 1/2 ton position of the hoist. I wasnt overly thrilled about dangling the all aluminum LS1/T56 from this position either, but it worked. The hoist piston had plenty of power to lift the weight, its the overall balance of the crane that far out thats questionable

With a small/light 4spd, why not remove a wheel and put the engine in from the side instead of the front? Then install the trans from below

71LS5

JNB great advice thank you, I know i have to have the car up high enough to get under yet low enough to cleat the front clip. The bolts I am using are long I will cut them down thanks that just saved me an hour of work!

Pocket thanks for the replay also! I did remove the radiator and mounting bracket to give me as much room as possible. What did you mean by "rotate the hoist"? did you mean come in at an offset from the nose that sticks out at its farthest point? I can visulize that I think. I have a good smooth load leveler and have lifted it the assembly and it seems fine with respect to stability so I think that will be OK.

I think my issue will be overall clearance trying to get the car high enough to work under and low enough to clear. It might require me to lift the car AFTER I get the engine over the front clip and have the assembly dangle with the trans heading down into the beginning of the tunnel.

I am starting to visualize what I need to do a lot better now guys thank you so much for your inputs its very helpful and encouraging!!!!

Pocket

Thats exactly what I mean by offset the hoist. The tip of the nose hits the piston before the drivetrain is far enough into the car

Simple jack stands will suffice to raise the car. Ramps under the rear wheels would be a bit more stable

69427

I've always dropped everything in at once. Never needed to pull the radiator either. Just takes a load leveler to angle the trans down at first, wiggling things around a little to allow the damper to clear the radiator shroud, and some patience. It's not that bad of a deal.

C3Hawk

Anyone ever measure how much space above car (Height between fender and ceiling) you need for this? Can't find it anywhere. Thanks.

GDaina

Same here, installed as one. The last installation, installed the five speed w/the motor, did not cut the crossmember. Was a tight fit but everything cleared.

If you use a cherry picker, you have to install it from the side and remove the front tire.

jfurcht

Just did it, engine and trans together. Hood off, radiator and radiator support out (8 easy bolts), shifter handle off. Taking out the radiator and support gives you lots of room and no worries. Used a 2 ton hoist from drivers side, wheel off.

71LS5

Pocket got it thanks!

69427 thanks the picture is great help, can you confirm that you are coming in from the side under the passenger tire?

GDaina good to hear from you its been years. Glad your still here helping everyone. You have been one of the constants in the solar system that we don't get much of here on earth

jfurcht thanks for the reply did you try to go in from the front or did you just start off from the driver side?

The reason I dont want to install it from the side is I have to go even higher since the fender is about 4" lower or there abouts.

69427

Yep. The lift post was at the right front of the car, so the engine hoist had to slide in from the right side of the RF wheel (as you can see in the picture). FWIW, the garage ceiling at that house was (IIRC) only about nine feet, but my cheap (Buffalo) hoist still lifted everything high enough to clear the fender, without hitting the ceiling.