Another quick enginepPulling question

[Ponch ®]

is it better to pull an engine and tranny together when doing an engine swap and then putting the new engine and old tranny back in together, or is it easier to pull the old engine by itself, then drop the new engine in and mate it to the tranny while its still in the car?

[greenpigs]

Take them out together as its no fun getting to the bolts on the bellhousing.

[Mfr426]

together as a set without a doubt...

[dodge freak]

If the trans is not going to have any work done I would just pull the motor. Its not that hard to drop it back in if you have somebody to give you a hand. On the trans mounting up what I have found is if you get 2 long bolts with the heads cut off or studs and screw them in 1 on each side then its much easier to line the trans pins up . Get a jack under the trans pan with a piece of wood and lift it up as high as it goes , then slip the studs though and then screw in 2 or 3 bolts on the trans to the block. Then get the jack out of there and lower it down all the way. Make sure the torque converter does not come out at all, thats the biggie.

[Ponch ®]

my only concern on pullling them together is trying to put them together while theyre out of the car. As i learned (the hard way), the engine aint exactly light and easy to maneuver, and neither is the tranny.  My train of thought was that at least the tranny would be in place and its one less thing that i need to move around.

still, im listening....

[dodge freak]

Well I have never pulled both only the motor. Those bolts or studs in the block make it much easier to line up. It helps if you have the chains on right which can be tricky, the front needs to be higher than the back. Oh yeah drink the beers afterwards not before

[RD]

ponch,
   just pull the motor.  the back of the engine has two dowel pins that are used to line up the motor and the transmission.  as said earlier, support the trans by using a floor jack and a 6-12" piece of 2x4.

Once the trans is mounted onto the engines dowel pins, in which you can hold it their by applying pressure to the front of the engine, you can put in either one of the top bolts or the lower driver's side bolt. 

You will most likely be under the car to make sure that the engine and the trans has mounted up properly on the dowel pins, so I would have the lower drivers side bolt ready to bolt in.

advice: make sure the dowel pins on your engine have not been "mushroomed".  Sometimes when people move engines around, they move them on their flywheel side and those dowels get dragged on concrete alot, which will cause "mushrooming".

This effect will not allow the motor/trans to align up properly causing inappropriate mounting angles.  These bad angles can cause vibrations, front trans pump wear, front trans pump seal wear, excessive engine bearing wear, and premature internal transmission component failure.  Sounds apocalyptic doesn't it? hehe

[Mfr426]

If you dont plan to do ANY work on the trans then leave it in. It's tricker to do it that way but it can be done just takes a bit more time.

Make sure you get some kind of engine tilter so you can line up the motor to the trans, mounts, etc.

[andyf]

I always yank them at the same time.  It is a pain to get the clutch and throw out bearing all lined back up correctly while laying on the floor.

[Chryco Psycho]

I agree with above , if you are not doing any work to the trans leave it in the car