Hey guys,
Iv never done and engine swap before and I was wondering if anybody had any advice for me. Im taking a 1986 engine and transmission and putting it in a 1987 shell. Do you think it would be easyer dropping both the transmission and the engine as one peice or seperating the engine from the transmission and lifting out the engine nd dropping the transmission? Or if there is a better way, that would be great. Also if there any tricks that would make it go alot quicker and smoothly, that would be loads of help. Thanks

 

Putting them in together or separate is really preference. But most people prefer to put them back in together.

 

ive installed and removed using both methods, and found that doing it as one piece makes less of a headache. just make sure the tranny is drained before removing it, otherwise the oil will drain out the tail end.

 

i have found it simpler as one piece.

get your self one of these.

 

Definitely do them together. I just got done re-installing mine after a rebuild... much easier when they are together. And getting a load leveler like blwn rtr 89' suggested is a good idea too. I wish i had one, but its not too bad without it. Good luck!

 

Thanks for the suggestions. So do you think I can do the swap with just an engine lift, jack stands, load lever and a floor jack? Im on a budget on this swap so the less I have to spend, the better

 

^ that should be fine.

with a few tool's of course, (wrenchs, ratchets, ect..)

some cherry pickers arms are not long enough to get to the exact center of the engine bay, so ive had to remove the front bumper to get it in and out.

the heavier duty pickers are usually long enough.

that is all

 

Sweet, thanks for the tips and ill let you know how it goes

 

I just did a rebuild on an 86 took the motor out seperate. Used one of the heavy duty cherry pickers to get the block out. Then me and my dad backed his truck tail gate over the front bumper and stood in the engine bay and lifted it down into it. Then we used floor jacks to line up the tranny to the block. One was used to lift front of tranny into position and the other was used to move the block into position took a few mins but saved some money. If you are planning on swapping it into another vehicle leave them together less of a pain. Change out the tranny gear oil before you put it back in another car to or you will have to use a funnel with a long tube on it to get the oil down to the filling hole on the side of the tranny lol.

 

Definitely easier to put in / take out as a unit.

 

easier when there together, but last time I took my engine out I didn't have room to store my transmission so I left it in the car and layed a prybar under the front edge of the transmission and on top of these tabs on the front subframe, I imagine you could find a piece of wood or something to bridge that gap if you wanna leave the trans in the car and still be able to roll it no problem. GL.