Pull transmission with engine or not - and then?

[timachone]

Hi guys,

first I wanted to pull only the transmission to let it rebuild by a pro. But in the meantime I have read a lot of threads here and there seem to be some problems with it by pulling the trans only. The most important seems to be the crossmember which fits very strong and is not only a bolt-on-construction... Wrestling with it under the truck on wheels without a lift for the truck could be some PITA I read between the lines. Some bolts are also not an easy access. The crossmember in front of the truck is also the third engine mount so this could be also worth some trouble.

Engine-wise I saw that there are some leaks which I wanted to deal with later. It seems that there are perhaps leaks on the valve covers, rear and front main shaft seal, the oil pan, the thermostat housing, perhaps the waterpump-housing and the freeze plugs seem to have seen better days, too. So my thoughts are now if it is not better and easier to pull the engine and the transmission in one and do it right.

What do you think? Would that be the right decision and the easier thing?

What have I to do to prepare the pull of both? Would it be enough to remove the front bumper, grille, grille support, radiator and radiator support to get an easy entry with an 2-ton engine lift and pull it out? How is the clearance on the sides with the inner and outer fenders on place? Do I have to remove the exhaust manifolds? Which external things I have to remove also?

I once pulled the engine of the Mustang Mach 1 but that seems to be a whole different thing - much less space for all and the radiator support and other things wasn't removable...

Now after the engine is out - which things would you have to look for other than the above mentioned? In the first instance I do not want to make a complete rebuild. If the drivetrain is all ok I do not want to change a thing. Change all the seals is one thing. But for example if the intake seals seem so be alright would you change them nevertheless? Or the head gaskets? I do not want to pull anything if not necessary, the engine starts immediately and purrs like a cat! What's your opinion on this?

If the engine is out it would be the best to have a look on one or two of the bearings of the crank and the rods. If they seem ok, let them be, should I? Butchange the timing chain, waterpump and oil pump anyhow? What do you think? Which are the musts, the do-nots and the perhaps?

Much text but pulling an engine and a transmission with some work on it is not an every day case so sorry on that

Thank you very much,

Tim

[Ranchero50]

FE / C6 combo is HEAVY. I'd at least pull the front clip off before taking them out as a mated assy. The higher you lift an engine the smaller the stability triangle becomes and the easier it is to tip it over.

Leaving the trans in place isn't horrible if you can get them lined back up. At the very least you must have a good engine leveller and pay excellent attention when lifting the engine for installation that it matches the trans angle both fore and aft and side to side If it does then it's relatively simple to lower it back in down, get the torque converter studs lined up with the flywheel and work it back into place as you lower it the final bit. However, and it's huge however screw up one facet of those instructions, or just have a bit of bad luck, and you are in for one heck of a miserable time.

I've done it both ways and honestly I'll slide the cab back when I need to reseal my 6bt this summer. You just about impossible to enjoy the truck when the engine is sitting on your leg.

[71cc]

No way I'd attempt pulling both together. Even if u pull the wheels and drop the truck it is a long ways over radiator support. Support trans, pull engine..then sling the trans and pull it . With both out of the way you have room to cut rivets and bolt crossmember in. Then you have options later.

[tnlprt]

Pull em both ...No need to disassemble the front end

390 swap .jpg

[basketcase0302]

Another vote for pulling them both at once, (as you'll wind up regretting it later when the rear main on the 390 finally gives up). And like 71cc above mentioned...be prepared to have to remove the front wheels on the truck, (long after everything is unbolted and the weight is on the hoist with a floor jack on the end of the tranny) to get the truck dropped down low enough for the two to go over the front clip on it's way out. An I-beam or other means to lift the two together is ideal because then you don't have to worry about the height of your engine hoist, (clearing the front clip).
And yeah the front tranny crossmember is a PITA but well worth it once you've reinstalled the 3/8" grade 8 bolts in place of the steel rivets that have to be grinded out.

[wyngnut55]

I vote separate the two. As stated, the combo FE and C6 is HEAVY! Its not that hard to separate the two while its in the truck. Once fan & radiator assembly is out you can get to the upper bell housing bolts from the top while standing in the engine compartment. 4 nuts on torque converter to flywheel are easy to get to when dust cover is removed. With the engine out you would have easier access to the cross member issue, grinding rivets and much easier getting trans out. While you have engine out. Replace all freeze plugs, you can flush the block out pretty good when doing that also. Get a engine stand, mount the engine on it, flip it over and remove oil pan. If your rear main was leaking it can be replaced easy and you can get a look at the rear main bearing. That could be why rear seal is leaking. The engine thing can turn into a can of worms. You might end up seeing it needs a rebuild. I would replace every gasket and seal that you can get to while the engine is out. After trans repair possibly reinstall engine and trans together.