Engine Removal Difficulty
 

How hard is it to remove the VQ engine? For those who have done so.

Looking for a DIY thread, but no luck.

a DIY? Lol

Take it to a shop IF you have NO knowledge/space or the correct tools as this is something a person with no experience should be doing without some knowledgable/physical help.

But if you're going for it? Be warned it's going to be a PIA.

Moving forward make sure you disconnect EVERYTHING thats attached to the engine from body before you decide to yank the motor out including last but not least?

The motor mounts/exhaust/bell housing to the transmission.

Tag and take pics so you have a reference and reverse the procedure when you're installing.

Again seriously if you have no clue or the right tools get someone that does.

This is not a typical DiY project.

It is just as much of a pain in the a$$ to remove as most every other engine out there :ugh2:

There is a DIY in the Factory Service Manual which you can download from links found on this forum :tiphat:

I dunno. I used to be able to get the engine out of my El-Camino (1968) in about two hours.

Course, as Trips has indicated, I had the knowledge, tools, and location.

:ugh2:

The level of "pain in the ***" is a factor of how high you can lift the car. The guy who put my turbo kit in tells me that he can have the motor/trans out as a unit inside of 1 hour. Granted, he just unbolts everything and lifts the car off the subframe with the motor/trans still attached to it.

If you're considering doing this on jack stands, you might want to reconsider.

:icon17: Yeah, I was just assuming that the guy asking for a DIY on engine removal does not have the tools or knowledge to properly attempt the project. For someone with no experience removing engines, it's going to be a pain in the a$$ even if you have the tools to lift the car off the subframe.

I did a transmission drop on jack stands with knowledgeable help. No fun. At all. I can't imagine how fun it would have been to take the engine out :ugh:

:iagree:

Its actually really easy, if you have a hoist.

It took me 5 hours to droped it out.

remove exhaust, leave headers on.
remove drive shaft.
Unplug everything on the trans.
go up top, remove your fuel line, vaccum lines etc.
remove everything up top.
Remove bolts from top engine mounts.
go back underneath, separate ball joints from spindles on the lower control arms.
Remove the outer tie rods out of spindle, aswell as the lower shock bolts.
remove the sway bar end links.
go back back to the transmission, undo the support bracket.

lower the car, postion 4 jack stands under the subframe and 1 jackstand under the transmission.

Remove the 4 bolts out of the subframe.

The subframe should be sitting on the jack stands.
Start slowing lifting the car on the hoist, make sure nothing else is attached.

Like I said, if you have a hoist, proper tools and some knowledge. it isn't too bad to do.

Nowadays, it will take longer than that just to disconnect all the wiring. :p

One of my buddies had an El Camino SS (w/454) when we were in college. I wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard him say "Never shoulda got rid of that car" over the last 40 years. :)

I just uploaded a very comprehensive video overview of the engine removal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGEL...ature=youtu.be

Taking it out is the easy part... Lets wait for him to try to put it back in, wondering where all the hoses and wires go. :roflpuke2:

And... if you're going to do it. I would first try to get engine and tranny out together. Take lots of pictures and mark all connections before you disconnect them.