Engine pulling tips?

[sixty6]

Pulling an fe engine with a 4 speed out of a 65. Do both crossmembers need to come out? Got most everything disconnected and the engine is loose, just need a shoe horn to get it out.

Any tips on getting the shifter out of the way? It seems the shaft of the shifter should come off, but I have never had one apart to know how it all works.

Thanks,
Chris

[olliesshop]

Here's one tip, assuming your trans is the same. To remove the shifter just unscrew the cap (the shiny golf ball+ size part in the picture) at the base of the shifter. Mine came off really easy, with a pipe wrench, after not being ever taken off to my knowledge.


Hope that little bit helps.

[sixty6]

The tranny looks a little different than that. I will get a pic today and maybe we can identify it too.

[olliesshop]

This looks like one that maybe the experts at SlickStock can figure out, once they all get there ... as well as the experts online that are unable to go.

Good Luck !!!

[R Pope]

The shifter ball either unscrews, or you push it down and turn it a part of a turn to release it, like a big tail light bulb.
If you drop the trans first, the engine should come out without removing the X members.

[dotcentral]

If you are pulling the front sheetmetal, like grille, upper & lower valence, etc, it will be very easy to pull the powertrain. That is how I did mine. Working by myself I had the 352 & 3 speed out in less than an hour. I did drop the trans X-member.

[Mellvis]

My best tip is go slow, be very careful to not get hurt, and have someone else there for safety reasons. My wife and I pulled my 352 with no problems. Lift it a little then stop and look around for problems, repeat as needed.

[olliesshop]

My best tip is go slow, be very careful to not get hurt, and have someone else there for safety reasons. My wife and I pulled my 352 with no problems. Lift it a little then stop and look around for problems, repeat as needed.

I pulled my Uni powertrain by myself this last time (with no front end sheetmetal) and it went ok, but if sure would have been nice to have a second set of hands helping. This was my first time doing it by myself and I probably won't do it again.

[sixty6]

Front sheetmetal is off. Everything is unhooked and free, removed rear crossmember, headers. Just a little tight with between the trans tunnel and the front cross member.

Thanks for the help. If I need to I will just take out the front crossmember. Just getting tired of crawling around the dirty truck. Ready to work on the nice clean frame...

[banjopicker66]

You will find it worth the extra effort to pull the secondary crossmember.

1. Grind off the heads of the 4 rivets holding the crossmember to the radius arm supports, 2 to each side.
2. Drive out the rivets with a punch. Steel, not brass is better.
3. Remove the 2 bolts holding the upper side of the crossmember to the upper frame rail. 1/2" if I remember correctly.
4. Pull the crossmember from the truck.
5. Reinstall in reverse order, replacing the rivets with Grade 8 bolts and nuts.

Trust me. You will find it well worth the extra work.

PS: One of those little $20 4" electric grinders from Harbor Freight works great. I did all 4 rivets in about 20 minutes.

[Missouri66]

You might consider taking it out without the tranny.

Remove bolts at front end of bell housing. You won't have to mess with cross-members and it comes out of the engine bay a lot easier, not to mention less weight dangling from the lift chain.

I got mine out solo that way. Step by step instructions in the Steve Crist FE overhaul book for reference.

[sixty6]

Thanks for the tips. Thinking I might just cut a notch in the firewall. Pretty sure the cab is not worth saving. There really isnt much metal left, anywhere.