Engine pull! Elation to frustration…

[Cribbs74]

So I pulled the 302 out of my sons ‘72 coupe. I have pulled engines many times, but never out of a car with a 6 foot nose. My hoist barely reached the engine lift points without hitting the bumper and even with the boom extended to the 1/4 ton hole. I was lifting the engine and trans as a unit so it was definitely heavier than 500lbs.

This caused the engine to pull forward before coming up and out. Which put me in a bind with the rad support and because I used the forward holes in the lift ring it caused an extreme lift angle with the tailshaft pointing straight down. with the lift fully extended I was about 6” shy of clearing the rad support so I decided to just horse the tail shaft over the support. stupid heavy, but I managed it, well.. almost managed it. My fingers slipped after I cleared the support and the tail shaft came down on too of the grille and obliterated it…

Now I have to source a grille. My son wasn’t upset because he wants a Mach 1 grille anyway; but I am as it was in perfectly good shape.

If anyone had a Mach 1 grille I am all ears, but my real question iis does anyone have any tips on engine removal so I don’t have to go through this again? I have to pull the engine out of the 73 parts car next and then clean it up and set it in the ’72.

 

[sicndhed]

C3 Vettes are too long for many cherry pickers. I pull a front wheel and come in from the side. If the hoist's casters rotate then you can still push the engine forward in relation to the vehicle. It's a pain but it's worked for me.

 

[Bentworker]

When I install or remove the engine in my 71 I do it with the front wheels on the ground, back wheels up on tall 6 ton jackstands.

 

[71coop]

I always come in from the side. This is the only I could do it with my 71 Mach as well as the C3 I used to have.

 

[boxgranch]

I always come in from the side. This is the only I could do it with my 71 Mach as well as the C3 I used to have.

Wow, wish I had thought of that, though it might not have cleared the cribs we used to get the car up. We had the same issues as Cribbs74, but just managed to get it in and out. We had three people pulling and pushing and barely avoided bending stuff. We also had issues with a bent engine mount on the frame, so it took several tries to get the thing in. We also did the transmission and engine as a unit, coming and going. It was a lot easier pulling and replacing the engine on my Austin Healy 3000 way back when.

 

[Stanglover]

I've pulled my 351C twice now, and as I have no room in my 1 car garage to work from the side, I just go ahead and strip the front end down to the rad support. The first time I was able to borrow a 2 ton hoist with a longer beam which made life much easier. The second time, I only had a 1 ton hoist, so yes, I had to strip it down. A lot more work, but less worry of damaging the painted urethane bumper and I'm good with that.
I also put it back in with the gearbox attached and no, no headers on my car to worry about.

 

[giantpune]

Sounds like the only thing you did wrong was your fingers slipping and letting the engine and transmission swing around and smash into something.

When I do mine, I come at it from the front with the cherrypicker. Lifting the engine with a chain stretching from the back of the passenger side to the front of the driver's side. You can also use a load leveler instead of a chain. That lets you shift the point where you're hoisting and tilt the engine at different angles as you go.

One thing we do in machining is use a block of wood. When changing the headstock on a lathe, the headstock is pretty heavy. It is right over some precision ground ways. If you drop it, you can damage the machine. Its common practice to put a piece of scrap wood over the ways to protect them in case you do happen to drop the headstock. You can do the same in your car. Cut a scrap of plywood or even 2x4 to stretch between the inside of your fenders and use some of the fender mounting holes to secure it in place. That way if you accidentally slip and your engine starts swinging, it will hit the wood instead of your grille.

 

[Hemikiller]

I had to drop the bumper on my 71 to use the furthest hole on my 2 ton hoist to pull my 302, it just barely made it. For reinstallation, Tp install the 351C, I made a new boom with a "bit" more reach. The low profile lift plate setup allows me to R&R the engine without removing the hood.

 

[Cribbs74]

Well, I am glad I am not the only one who has had this issue. All good suggestions from everyone. I have a plan going forward now. Thanks everyone!

 

[kcmash]

I jacked the rear end up on mine. Pulled the engine and tranny together and re-installed the same way. That was with just the hood removed.

kcmash

 

[Hotstang]

Once I bought a load leveler it made it a 1 man job...much easier.

 

[72MustangSprint]

So I pulled the 302 out of my sons ‘72 coupe. I have pulled engines many times, but never out of a car with a 6 foot nose. My hoist barely reached the engine lift points without hitting the bumper and even with the boom extended to the 1/4 ton hole. I was lifting the engine and trans as a unit so it was definitely heavier than 500lbs.

This caused the engine to pull forward before coming up and out. Which put me in a bind with the rad support and because I used the forward holes in the lift ring it caused an extreme lift angle with the tailshaft pointing straight down. with the lift fully extended I was about 6” shy of clearing the rad support so I decided to just horse the tail shaft over the support. stupid heavy, but I managed it, well.. almost managed it. My fingers slipped after I cleared the support and the tail shaft came down on too of the grille and obliterated it…

Now I have to source a grille. My son wasn’t upset because he wants a Mach 1 grille anyway; but I am as it was in perfectly good shape.

If anyone had a Mach 1 grille I am all ears, but my real question iis does anyone have any tips on engine removal so I don’t have to go through this again? I have to pull the engine out of the 73 parts car next and then clean it up and set it in the ’72.

Where are you located ? I have a complete Mach style grill but Leary on shipping it . I’m outside of Nashville, Tennessee

 

[71coop]

Wow, wish I had thought of that, though it might not have cleared the cribs we used to get the car up. We had the same issues as Cribbs74, but just managed to get it in and out. We had three people pulling and pushing and barely avoided bending stuff. We also had issues with a bent engine mount on the frame, so it took several tries to get the thing in. We also did the transmission and engine as a unit, coming and going. It was a lot easier pulling and replacing the engine on my Austin Healy 3000 way back when.

I've never done the engine & tranny together - but I've never tried to pull from the front (it just wasnt possible with my vette due to the long nose). With both cars, I park them on the 4-post lift, raise it about 6-8 inches, and come in from the side. You can't really see the lift in the picture. This setup allows me to drop the engine, then easily raise/lower the car to secure the trans bellhousing, flexplate & converter, motor mount bolts, etc.. It makes for easy access to get everything bolted in.

When I did my first engine swap with the C3, I didn't have the lift - I was able to clear the jackstands placed under the jack points no problem. The placement there vs the Mustang are similar, I think it would be possible to angle the lift in if you had to go that route.