SomeGuy25thZ

I am in the process of removing the 305 TPI for the first time ever and am running into a few snags...

First the biggest one - how can I discharge the A/C system without taking the car to a shop? The car is not drivable and it is up on jacks and no condition to be moved. Please help!

Next, what do I need to remove to get the engine out the easiest? I have the helm inc. service manual and for engine disassembly and removal I am going through a lot to get this thing out. Do I need to remove power steering pump pulley? Or any others?

All of the engine harness is almost disconnected but I cant reach any of the questions along the lower sides of the engine from above or underneath... how can I get to this stuff?

Complete newbie here and just getting stuck everywhere. Thanks for the help in advance!

chesterfield

I would leave it connected but unbolted from the engine and try to remove the engine with the compressor laying to one side wrapped in rags to avoid scratching any thing. If you really have to remove it....don't tell anyone you are doing this. Start removing a hose until you hear it hissing then back away and come back an hour later to make sure its all leaked out. If the car is in a garage open the doors. You don't want to breath this stuff.This is against the law because some crackpots convinced the government that it will depleat the ozone.

CNECOPS

^^Haha, right! I'm a little more worried about somebody smuggling an A-bomb into Baltimore harbor than I am some guy's compressor leaking ozone destroying compounds.

SomeGuy25thZ

Haha... yea that was my thought.

Where would I disconnect the A/C setup to be able to remove the engine? I do not care for anything getting scratched up so much as it exploding lol. I am doing a LT1 swap with a T-56 so I do no care for much of this stuff as I am going to put the 305 TPI and auto tranny for sale soon.

I guess for now I will keep tinkering with stuff and taking things apart and label things so I can get it to a new owner with ease.

Thanks

ljnowell

You should be able to unbolt the compressor from its bracket, and let it hang.

blp226

When I removed my old 305, I just unbolted the compressor and power steering and laid them to the side. Pull the TPI and distributor, unhook all the wiring and hoses, unhook the exhaust from the exhaust manifolds,you might have to pull the valve covers, but I don't know about them, Decide if your gonna pull the tranny with the engine, I thought it was easier to pull the tranny with the engine but that's personal opinion I guess, If your not then unhook the tranny from the engine, if it's an auto car then there will most likely be trans lines attached to the oil pan on the passenger side lift them out of their bracket so you don't bend them when you lift the motor, then all ya gotta do is unhook the motor mounts take off the hood hook up your engine hoist and pump away. Good luck!

P.S. you might wanna pull the radiator just in to be safe.

SomeGuy25thZ

Yea, I got the radiator out. I think I have the harness completely disconnected... still cant pull it all the way out on the passenger side and cant see where its held up.

I do want to pull the trans with the engine so all I need to do is disconnect the driveshaft and the crossmember from the trans right? Any tips/info on how to get driveshaft off?

Can I keep the TPI on? Where should I hook up the engine hoist to?

ljnowell

Take the straps on the rear U joint loose, seperate the driveshaft from the rear end yolk and pull it out of the trans. Look out for fluid to come out the back of the trans. Yes, you can definately leave the TPI on. Hooking up the hoist really varies from situation to situation. If you have the accessories off the front of the engine you can put a bolt in the front of the drivers side head and one in the back of the passenger and hook up that way. I keep several sets of pull hooks that I have taken off engines in the junkyards. Almost all gm fwd v6 engines have these from the factory. I just bolt them to the heads and use those.

blp226

I had to pull the distributor. It was hitting the firewall when the engine tilted to get the engine/trans combo out. You'll have to unhook the bracket for the shifter to the trans. Also you'll have to unhook the torque arm from the trans. You'll have to unhook the speedomiter cable from the trans as well.

The the drive shaft is easy, look where the drive shaft hooks up the the rearend. There are two small U shaped bracketd that hold the u joint in. Take out the four bolts holding the two in. The driveshaft will come down and you can pull the shaft out of the rear of the trans.

once your ready then remove the trans support from the car and unhook it from the trans too.

SomeGuy25thZ

I've been trying to get to the bolt that holds the clip that holds the distributer down but I cant get to it... what did you guys use to unbolt this thing? I have a box wrench that ratchets and rotates but is still very hard to turn.

ljnowell

There is actually a special wrench made for it. There are a few ways around that though. You can take an old 9/16 wrench and heat it with a torch and bend it. This basically makes the distributor wrench you can buy. Or you can use a universal with a 9/16 socket, or a 9/16 wobble socket(probably the best choice). I like to use a 1/4in drive 9/16 wobble socket with an extension hooked to a 1/4 breaker bar if nothing else will get in there. Lots of ways to skin a car. Check and see though, you may be able to take the cap off, as opposed to pulling the entire distributor.

chevy89camaro

the driveshaft yoke will pull out of the tranny when you pull it forward....you might have to tug alittle bit. the spline will slightly twist over time.

if you took the everything off the front..alt, ac, brackets, ect. you can bolt chains to the front and back of heads.

blp226

Yeah, I remember that bolt was a pain, I bend the wrench like ljnowell did.

SomeGuy25thZ

I did get the cap off... do you guys think there will be enough room to leave the distributer without the cap? i"ll play around with it

ljnowell

I have always been able to pull them with the distributor in, even the large cap which has a larger diameter distributor

SomeGuy25thZ

Ok so me being a newbie... I didnt know disconnecting the torque arm would make the rear end rotate as much as it did

It looks like the rear end rotates so much that it makes it look like the rear coil overs are going to be put in bending and might damage them severely... is this right? Or should I not be worried about this?

How do you remove the torque arm? I need to raise the car and drop the rear end some so I can take out the bolts cause they are so damn long they hit the underbody... Once the torque arm is removed what do you do about the rotation of the rear end? Right now I have two jack stands holding the rear up and a floor jack keeping the rear end from rotating. I need to get the car on the ground and push it out the garage to get the motor out. PLease help !

Thanks again everyone

ljnowell

It should be ok to roll it, as long as the LCAs are still hooked up.

SomeGuy25thZ

Thanks! All that scare for nothing. Torque arm and drive shaft are out now.

How does this sound for the remaining...

Hook up hoist and very slightly raise engine.
Remove engine mount through bolts.
Put jack under trans. and remove crossmember.
Lower trans jack to allow access to remove trans oil cooler lines
Then start lifting and tilting away....

Any other hints/tips you guys have. This is going to be done tomorrow if the snow doesnt come.

Thanks again

SomeGuy25thZ

I bought a fuel pressure guage to relieve the pressure in the fuel system so I can remove the fuel lines at the engine. Now, is this necessary? If so, where does the guage hook up to? The Helm Inc. manual says to hook it up the the fuel pressure valve... but where is it? I cant find it anywhere and its not in any diagrams??

This is the last thing I really need to get done. Thanks again for everyones help...

chevy89camaro

I guess I dont understand... You said you were going to pull the engine and tranny...... why are you taking the rearend apart?

SomeGuy25thZ

I wasnt sure if the torque arm should be removed or if it is easier with it out of the way... It sure was easier to remove the drive shaft without the torque arm there.

I am trying to remove the engine/trans. today... I still cant figure out this fuel pressure thing. Anyone?

raptor80dad

fuel pressure test port is on passenger side fuel rail towards back of engine.
Should have a cap on it that looks just like a tire valve stem ,take off cap screw on gauge,relieve pressure .

At least my 89 was setup that way

ljnowell

Because he has to take the torque arm and driveshaft out.

As far as the fuel pressure, put some rags around the port and one on top to prevent spray in your face. Take a screwdriver and depress the valve an awful lot cheaper, easier, and faster. Yes some gas will spray out, no it wont blow up.

SomeGuy25thZ

Yea, just did it by disconnecting the fuel lines in front of the engine slowly and caught the few drops that spilled out.

Engine and trans is now out... I was actually surprised how easy it was to get out. Now to clean out the engine bay and get it over to body shop. Thanks everyone

ljnowell

Congrats and good job. Makes you feel good to get that done by yourself, huh?

SomeGuy25thZ

Yup. Cant wait to get the new motor in now

robster66

iTrader: (1)

Taking stuff apart is always soooo much easier than putting it back together right haha

1985WS6TA

Yea, I got the radiator out. I think I have the harness completely disconnected... still cant pull it all the way out on the passenger side and cant see where its held up.

I do want to pull the trans with the engine so all I need to do is disconnect the driveshaft and the crossmember from the trans right? Any tips/info on how to get driveshaft off?

Can I keep the TPI on? Where should I hook up the engine hoist to?

Make sure your starter wires are disconnected along with the "knock sensor" wire on the passenger side of the motor. And there should be ground wires on the back of the right cylinder head.

And to pull the trans with motor you need to disconnect the driveshaft, crossmember, gear selector cable, speedometer wire, and reverse light wires.

And for the TPI, take your runners and plennum off, dont neccessarily need to remove the intake base, but it wouldnt hurt. And you can use one of your intake bolts to bolt a chain from one cylinder head to the other in an / pattern and hook your hoist to the center of that chain.

ljnowell

um, its already out. I wouldnt pull the intake, myself.

1985WS6TA

um, its already out. I wouldnt pull the intake, myself.



Yeah I didnt read all the replies so didnt relize he had it out till after I posted this OOPS

chevy89camaro

[quote=ljnowell;3995099]Because he has to take the torque arm and driveshaft out.

He didnt have to take it out. its extra work... i pulled the engine and tranny from my 89 camaro and left the torque arm and drive shaft under it. the torque arm will slid out of the rubber carrier when you pull the engine and tranny forward....tranny yoke will also pull out. went back in just as easy.

ljnowell

[QUOTE=chevy89camaro;3996710]And who lined up the tq arm and driveshaft for you down there while you installed the engine and trans in one piece? Did the driveshaft hold itself up and into place and turn itself enough to slide onto the splines of the output shaft?

chevy89camaro

[quote=ljnowell;3996854]
I had the car on stands.... when i went to put it back in i leveled the engine up close then climbed under the car. i barely sliped the torque arm in the carrier... then twisted the drive shaft where i needed it and pulled the tranny back. it wasnt hard. (..cherry picker....wheels....pavement..) Bolt the tranny crossmember up and go around front to lower the front of the engine to get your motor mount bolts through.

I did everything myself with no one around.

Its as easy as you want to make it.

Dont get pissed cause you couldnt pull that off.

84Z28406

That's how I did it when I put my 350 and T-5 into my 84, so he isn't the only one who's done it while keeping the torque arm on. I did remove the driveshaft though, but that's because I needed to do a little work on it anyways.

SomeGuy25thZ

Yea I guess thats another way to do it... but I am replacing all suspension anyways so might as well have just gotten it all out.

Now time to strip the engine bay and send car to body shop.

ljnowell

[QUOTE=chevy89camaro;3996882]
I dont get pissed about anything, unlike you apparently. I hate to break this to you though, I have probably pulled off a lot more than you could imagine when it comes to cars, being that I work flat rate for a living fixing them. I wouldnt do it that way for one simple reason. If you pull the trans out without taking out the driveshaft or taking off the pan or anything like that you usually dump about a gallon of trans fluid all over the floor. I dont like my shop floor to be covered in trans fluid.

Please contain yourself and keep the attitude to a minumim. It would also help to not assume others abilities because it can really make you look dumb.

v10viper04

How much you gonna be selling the 305 and tranny for?

SomeGuy25thZ

How much will you pay? If you can pick this up I will be very willing to work with you on it. Send me a PM and we'll discuss. I have seen the engine itself for sale around $500-700 in the classifieds...

chevy89camaro

[quote=ljnowell;3997369]
Its seems your the one thinking people are dumb. listen to your own advice about the attitude. you made the snappy comments ... ( and the drive shaft just lined itself up while you put the engine and trans in ) ... have you ever heard of a floor pan, rag, and rubber band? no mess !

I too work for a Auto Shop.

(R.S. Auto ... in Lockridge, IA)

ljnowell

[QUOTE=chevy89camaro;3997838]Thats funny. I guess when I was 22 I had a lot of attitude also. Just get over it and dont ruin this guys thread.

BTW, are you planning on being a mechanic by trade, or what do you do there? A PM will work so as not to clutter the thread.