Greetings everyone,
I just got a “new” 52K engine and I am planning on swapping it with my original dead engine. I have been searching for resources that would provide detail on all the necessary steps for the proper swap. I am doing this work on my driveway and someone mentioned to me they are certain I will have to remove the entire front nose of the car so the engine can come out forward.
Any information that you could provide would be greatly appreciated,
Steven
If I was you I would get me a factory service manual. Look on E-Bay. Other manuals that probably tell you more than you can get here are perhaps Chilton and Haynes.
You’re going to need a lift, as the engine, transmission, and cradle are removed as an assembly from under the vehicle.
So you have to raise the vehicle high enough to perform this step.
Then when reinstalling, the vehicle is lowered onto the assembly.
Tester
Hy Tester,
Thanks for your reply but a lift is totally out of the question because I am doing this work in my driveway… I need suggestions that would guided me on how to do it with what I have… I have stands and a good 3T jack, but I am limited on how high i can safely raise that car!
Then you’re not equipped to do the repair.
The factory manual doesn’t provide an alternative method of removing the engine.
Tester
I’m a little late to the party . . .
Seems to me, you inform yourself as to the procedures and what tools you need BEFORE buying the engine
That powertrain is pretty far under the cowl . . . it’s going to be difficult, if not impossible, to remove the engine with a cherry picker
Lowering the front clip on a powertrain lift is the correct way to do the job, and this is by no means restricted to the Pacifica . . . there are plenty of other vehicles out there, that are built the same way
IMO . . . you will never be able to raise the vehicle high enough on jack stands, in order to do the job
I have done my own mechanics since I am 12 from simple staff to complete engine rebuilds. This is just another project…When there is a will there is a way, always!
I am looking for some helpful suggestions that could help me with my project!
Thanks
Do you have access to a forklift . . . in absence of a powertrain lift, that might help
Tester
3T jacks and floor stands… no forklifts
Do you have pallets?
Perhaps you could lower the powertrain on a pallet . . . using 2 or more jacks . . . and then try to clear the vehicle
Do you have a cherry picker . . . you’re going to have to somehow get the engine separated from the transaxle and lift it off the front cradle
I do have plenty of pallets and a handful of jacks, and a cherry picker. I like to have a plan before I just go and takes things a part, specially if I need to remove the entire front of the car.
The vehicle is uni-body construction.
So even if you remove the fenders, bumper, and grill/header, you still have the same size opening because of the side bulkheads and radiator core support of the uni-body construction.
That’s why everything has to come out the bottom.
Tester
Did you checked the link I post earlier for you? It has already been done!
Why not follow the link then; as condensed as it is. If there are questions regarding the removal of the few components (and I wager they did not list them all) then the factory manual should be consulted.
In some cases it may end up easier to just drop the whole nine yards out the bottom. This is often discovered after several days of wrestling the alternative.
At the last multi-line dealer I worked for (I was an import guy…) they also carried Pontiac and GMC. Domestic car dealers have their mechanics specialized so to speak. Engine heavy line, transmission, driveability, and so on.
The heavy line guy there did nothing but engine work and replacements every day of the week. He always dropped the entire cradle because in the long run it turned out to be easier.
Hey there ok4450,
The link just confirms that they successfully were able to swap that engine from the top… I am searching for step by step directions on how to go about it. This is a car I am not familiar with, so even if the step by step does not include the front part removal, that would be incredibly helpful.
Thanks
I was on allpar.com a little while ago, and you have a different cradle, FWIW
It shouldn’t make much difference, though
Just out of curiosity’s sake, I also spent some time looking for a pictorial of the process, and I wasn’t able to find one. So you’ll just have to go for it . . . or not
I never said that yanking the engine out the top could not be done. I’m only saying that simply dropping the entire cradle or engine/trans assembly out the bottom may be an easier option.
Before installation you should give some thought to replacing the timing belt kit as the engine is an interference fit. Murphy’s Law dictates that if you don’t the belt will soon snap and trash the engine.
You should also give some thought to replacing the transmission converter seal and engine rear main seal. Murphy’s Law also dictates that if you don’t one or both may soon start leaking and it will have to come apart again.
Best of luck.
Remember that movie “Flight of the Pheonix?” … yeah, I know it was fiction. But it must be possible to do this.
What if the transmission is unbolted from the engine first and a way figured out to hold it in place while the engine is removed?
What about removing every possible gadget from the engine compartment that isn’t welded down, the hood, radiator, and front grill to make some room to pull the engine out the top? You might have to cut some cross beams which are in the way etc out, then weld it back later.
You could remove the oil pan. even the crankshaft perhaps, to provide extra clearance. Likewise for extra clearance the intake manifold and heads could be removed, then all you’d be dealing with was the short block. And you could remove the flywheel and crank pulley and valve timing stuff too, so it would be a RSB – really short block. .