madmatt9471

I had to pull the motor in the Vette and do it myself from the top - "BUT" since you use the engine hoist from the side - I needed to devise something to sit between the crotch of the Engine Hoist in order to lower the cradle straight down and away from the motor - (A floor jack just would not cut it due to space and needing to be in between the legs of the Cherry Picker and the suspension hanging down- see pics)

Using a lot of CajunDudes instructions and some of my own due to his Torque Tube and Rear being out and mine being a A4 too - there is a couple of different things to do different than a MN6
http://www.cajundude.com/engineswap.htm

So I devised this to lower the cradle and thought I would share:

Here are the pics of the Engine Cradle Jack I made - from: (All metal was scrap from work, and friends)

(1) Scrap Metal 1/8" Bottom Piece 24"x16"
(2) Angle Iron 1" x 1/8"
(3) Top Piece 5/8" thick by 7"x12"
(4) 1" Nipple from LOWE's to weld to top piece
(5) 1 Bottle Jack 2 Ton from Lowe's $12

Bottom and Top Piece: With Angle Iron boxed around Bottle Jack and at ends for support 1/8" Angle Iron and 1/8" by 2'x16" Bottom Steel Plate





Top Piece: with welded 1" Black Pipe to 5/8" thick by 12"x7" Steel Plate-



Under the Cradle and getting ready to lower the Cradle:





Between the Crotch of the Engine Hoist and Entering from the Drivers side:





Supporting the Torque Tube:





Ready to Pull Motor from Top:





Had to Push it Forward to get it off the Shaft:



Shaft Clamp that was loosened on the Flexplate in order for the motor to separate from the TQ Tube and Bellhousing:





Motor out and on the hoist:



All Stripped and ready to go to the shop:



Thanks,Matt
661-406-7516

RonR80

Great job and good Idea , I have done "redneck" things too to pull engines out. Has long has you are carefull Ron
What was wrong with the engine .

madmatt9471

Well that's how you do it from the top -

But they are designed to be removed from the bottom by dropping both the front cradle and the rear cradle as a whole unit -

but in this case and for many others there is an alternative to doing it safely and correct - like doing it the way I did - this will help others to do the job safely too, everything was supported and secured -

Thanks,Matt

madmatt9471

Useful info bump!

Thanks,Matt

Jay_Rich

These motors cant be that tough to remove from the top like most people think. When I was doing my cam swap I dropped a lifter. So I had to pull the heads and drops the cradle. After the motor is pretty well a shortblock there is alot of room to play with. When my motor comes out I will probably go through the top. Mainly bc of garage space. I do miss my Iroc. I could pull it into the garage and yank the motor by myself in 30-45min with taking off everything needed. I had some practice :p.

Nice write up!

Jay

madmatt9471

I know what you mean when it comes to the older cars and pulling a motor, so much easier -

It's just the way the Corvette is now made that all the stuff comes out from the bottom - when a motor is pulled you usually drop the rear and the front cradle with everything attached and then separate it all!

I am glad this will help anyone who has to do it themselves and save some money while at it in labor costs!

Thanks,Matt

Vetteman Jack

Innovative way to get the job done. Congrats and thanks for documenting what you did.

madmatt9471

Thanks, I hope it helps someone too, I know it did for my build

Thanks,Matt

TurboCorky

Love these photos, thanks for sharing as I am about to do one next weekend. Sucks that I have no room from the side though

olbear1962

Great writeup and pic's.
Thanks for sharing a great solution to overcome a difficult situation.

madmatt9471

You are welcome, make sure you take a few pics too "IF" possible and let me know how it goes!

Thanks,Matt
661-406-7516