93silverbulletSH0
New Member
I was surprised to find there was not a write-up on engine/tranny removal, so here is my attempt at one.
From searching I found there was some debate on the forum as to the best way to go about this- the top or the bottom. I decided that it would be easier for my purposes to drop it out the bottom engine, tranny, sub frame, and all. From thinking about it I would say there is less to disconnect when doing it this way, but I’m not sure.
Here was my starting point. I already removed the intake, which isn’t absolutely necessary if you can get your car high enough, but it is very nice to have it out of the way when disconnecting necessary items from the firewall, more on that later.
Start by disconnecting everything necessary. I don’t have a definitive list because there is so much little stuff. Basically if it is attached to both the body and either the engine, tranny, or sub frame, directly or indirectly it needs to be disconnected.
Here is an overview. For write-up purposes I’ll start at the bottom, and work my way up the firewall, over the top, and to the front. When actually working I followed no order.
Drain radiator, and remove lower radiator hose
Soak y-pipe studs, the o2’s, and y-pipe to cat-back spring bolts with PB blaster. I let it sit overnight and only needed a breaker bar on one of the nuts. Remove oxygen sensors connectors, then remove them from the y-pipe. Remove the 4 nuts and two nuts/bolts holding y-pipe on and remove y-pipe.
Remove the shift ****. Remove rod shifter stabilizer bolt, shift shaft nut and bolt, then remove the two nuts behind the rod shifter box, and take the rod shift assembly out.
If you are removing the transmission it is a good idea to remove the tranny to oil pan bolts, as they will be difficult to access once the assembly is dropped.
Remove the steering rack to steering shaft u-joint. This can be a bit difficult to access. I started working on it from the passenger compartment, but found it easier to access from the drivers wheel well. You may need to turn the wheels to access the 10mm bolt, I believe mine were turned slightly to the left for best access. I removed the whole thing since I already had the upper part removed; I don’t believe this is necessary.
Pic of u-joint?
Remove brake lines from the caliper, or take the calipers off and fasten them to the body. Disconnect the ABS sensors at the plug just inside the engine compartment, and remove the wires from their mounts on the body.
Disconnect the heater hoses from the heater core
Remove engine harness from ECU, and the necessary surrounding little plugs and grounds. There is also a ground strap that goes from the passenger rear intake bolt to the firewall. Remove fuel lines using the proper tool.
Remove the two torque dampeners attached to the strut towers.
Remove power steering lines from reservoir.
Remove strut nuts. I tied the struts to some brackets on the engine/tranny to keep them from falling over and stressing the ball joints
Disconnect necessary plugs at drivers side of engine bay. This is something you will have to see for yourself, as it would have been to difficult for me to document and photo everything that needs to be disconnected. The more you disconnect, the more it will become apparent what else needs to be disconnected. The above also applies to the electrical that needs to be disconnected near the ECU and the front of the engine bay. Don’t worry too much about missing something, more on that later.
Remove upper radiator hose.
Disconnect the two large wires and one necessary small wire from the starter solenoid (GEN 1). Disconnect battery cables and remove battery. I left the starter in place with the wires connected to it.
Disconnect the two vacuum hoses from the cruise control actuator. I believe there is also one electrical connector to disconnect here if not already done per above.
Disconnect necessary electrical connections at the front of the engine bay.
Remove radiator, fan, and over-flow bottle.
I already had my a/c system evacuated, so I removed the hoses from the compressor. If you want to maintain your charge, you may be able to leave the hoses intact and remove the whole compressor, and tuck it forward out of the way.
Double-check that you have disconnected everything necessary. If you miss something, it is not a big deal it will become apparent as you lift the car.
Lower the car so that the sub frame sits on your support. I used two 30x18 1000lb. furniture dollies from harbor freight. They are the perfect size and $16 apiece. You may want to use something a bit more stout. See disclaimer.
The front looks like it is not well supported, but there is a lip that comes down and sits nicely on the dolly
Be very careful when the whole front of the car is resting on the dollies, they are right at their weight limit at this point, and the way the sub frame sits on them the load isn’t evenly distributed over the dollies, so parts of the dolly are probably past the recommended limit. See disclaimer.
Remove 4 sub frame bolts (PB plaster helps)
Start lifting the car. A lift would be ideal, but I used two jacks. I started with one on the core support below the radiator. I used a 32in 2x4 along the bottom to distribute the load to the jack, so as not to bend the metal. Start slowly and periodically stop to check for things you may have missed. I forgot what is circled and the brake lines.
Make sure there is clearance everywhere as you continue to lift. The dollies or the car can easily be adjusted to give clearance at this point.
Once you max out the jack in the front. Support the car with jack stands and put one jack on each of the quasi-frame-rails.
Once you get the car high enough to roll the assembly out the side, support the car with jack stands. I barely had clearance. If you need more you can move the jacks further to the rear to get extra lift, or just use a 2x4 spacer.
Roll her out!
Disclaimer- I am in no way responsible for any damage to your car, property, you, or those working with you if you choose to follow this outline. This is merely a guideline, it is up to you to take the proper safety precautions. Be safe, be smart.
From searching I found there was some debate on the forum as to the best way to go about this- the top or the bottom. I decided that it would be easier for my purposes to drop it out the bottom engine, tranny, sub frame, and all. From thinking about it I would say there is less to disconnect when doing it this way, but I’m not sure.
Here was my starting point. I already removed the intake, which isn’t absolutely necessary if you can get your car high enough, but it is very nice to have it out of the way when disconnecting necessary items from the firewall, more on that later.
Start by disconnecting everything necessary. I don’t have a definitive list because there is so much little stuff. Basically if it is attached to both the body and either the engine, tranny, or sub frame, directly or indirectly it needs to be disconnected.
Here is an overview. For write-up purposes I’ll start at the bottom, and work my way up the firewall, over the top, and to the front. When actually working I followed no order.
Drain radiator, and remove lower radiator hose
Soak y-pipe studs, the o2’s, and y-pipe to cat-back spring bolts with PB blaster. I let it sit overnight and only needed a breaker bar on one of the nuts. Remove oxygen sensors connectors, then remove them from the y-pipe. Remove the 4 nuts and two nuts/bolts holding y-pipe on and remove y-pipe.
Remove the shift ****. Remove rod shifter stabilizer bolt, shift shaft nut and bolt, then remove the two nuts behind the rod shifter box, and take the rod shift assembly out.
If you are removing the transmission it is a good idea to remove the tranny to oil pan bolts, as they will be difficult to access once the assembly is dropped.
Remove the steering rack to steering shaft u-joint. This can be a bit difficult to access. I started working on it from the passenger compartment, but found it easier to access from the drivers wheel well. You may need to turn the wheels to access the 10mm bolt, I believe mine were turned slightly to the left for best access. I removed the whole thing since I already had the upper part removed; I don’t believe this is necessary.
Pic of u-joint?
Remove brake lines from the caliper, or take the calipers off and fasten them to the body. Disconnect the ABS sensors at the plug just inside the engine compartment, and remove the wires from their mounts on the body.
Disconnect the heater hoses from the heater core
Remove engine harness from ECU, and the necessary surrounding little plugs and grounds. There is also a ground strap that goes from the passenger rear intake bolt to the firewall. Remove fuel lines using the proper tool.
Remove the two torque dampeners attached to the strut towers.
Remove power steering lines from reservoir.
Remove strut nuts. I tied the struts to some brackets on the engine/tranny to keep them from falling over and stressing the ball joints
Disconnect necessary plugs at drivers side of engine bay. This is something you will have to see for yourself, as it would have been to difficult for me to document and photo everything that needs to be disconnected. The more you disconnect, the more it will become apparent what else needs to be disconnected. The above also applies to the electrical that needs to be disconnected near the ECU and the front of the engine bay. Don’t worry too much about missing something, more on that later.
Remove upper radiator hose.
Disconnect the two large wires and one necessary small wire from the starter solenoid (GEN 1). Disconnect battery cables and remove battery. I left the starter in place with the wires connected to it.
Disconnect the two vacuum hoses from the cruise control actuator. I believe there is also one electrical connector to disconnect here if not already done per above.
Disconnect necessary electrical connections at the front of the engine bay.
Remove radiator, fan, and over-flow bottle.
I already had my a/c system evacuated, so I removed the hoses from the compressor. If you want to maintain your charge, you may be able to leave the hoses intact and remove the whole compressor, and tuck it forward out of the way.
Double-check that you have disconnected everything necessary. If you miss something, it is not a big deal it will become apparent as you lift the car.
Lower the car so that the sub frame sits on your support. I used two 30x18 1000lb. furniture dollies from harbor freight. They are the perfect size and $16 apiece. You may want to use something a bit more stout. See disclaimer.
The front looks like it is not well supported, but there is a lip that comes down and sits nicely on the dolly
Be very careful when the whole front of the car is resting on the dollies, they are right at their weight limit at this point, and the way the sub frame sits on them the load isn’t evenly distributed over the dollies, so parts of the dolly are probably past the recommended limit. See disclaimer.
Remove 4 sub frame bolts (PB plaster helps)
Start lifting the car. A lift would be ideal, but I used two jacks. I started with one on the core support below the radiator. I used a 32in 2x4 along the bottom to distribute the load to the jack, so as not to bend the metal. Start slowly and periodically stop to check for things you may have missed. I forgot what is circled and the brake lines.
Make sure there is clearance everywhere as you continue to lift. The dollies or the car can easily be adjusted to give clearance at this point.
Once you max out the jack in the front. Support the car with jack stands and put one jack on each of the quasi-frame-rails.
Once you get the car high enough to roll the assembly out the side, support the car with jack stands. I barely had clearance. If you need more you can move the jacks further to the rear to get extra lift, or just use a 2x4 spacer.
Roll her out!
Disclaimer- I am in no way responsible for any damage to your car, property, you, or those working with you if you choose to follow this outline. This is merely a guideline, it is up to you to take the proper safety precautions. Be safe, be smart.
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AWESOME!!! Was even wondering if anyone ever thought of a dolly type deal that would bolt onto the sub frame points, you even had a solution for the dolly! HaHa thanks man!!
