Ok, in my kitchen I have a rebuilt short block with 8.5:1 Wiseco pistons, Total Seals rings, Pauter rods, ARP head studs, and a AFX UDP. In my basement I have a Clutchmasters Stage III clutch, and I'm buying a head kit off of PowerEclipse's sometime in the near furture. My fuel system is already worked, I have all the other typical mods. Anything else you guys I can think of for my Stage III?

I plan on pulling the motor and installing all this sometime in Feb/March. From those of you who have pulled 420A motors, any tips? Anything I should remove first (other than the hood) like the fans or something to make it easier? Your experience is appreciated :thumbsup



1999 Anniversary Edition
HRC Stage II w/FMIC

"The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifegaurd"

If this is your first time pulling the motor, you might want to get some masking tape and a magic marker and label the plugs on the wiring harnesses. Also maybe a box of plastic baggies to keep certain groups of bolts/washers/nuts together. It just makes it easier to remember what goes where.

>If this is your first time pulling the motor, you might want
>to get some masking tape and a magic marker and label the
>plugs on the wiring harnesses. Also maybe a box of plastic
>baggies to keep certain groups of bolts/washers/nuts together.
> It just makes it easier to remember what goes where.


Hell yeah to that. I'd end up with 3 plugs and 100 bolts/nuts/whatever parts that I didn't know where they went

I ALWAYS PULLED MY RADIATOR OUT, IT GIVES YOU A LOT MORE ROOM TO WORK WITH. IT IS ALSO GOOD TO PULL THE CRANK PULLEY OFF BECAUSE IT WILL GIVE SOME MORE SPACE WHEN PULLING THE MOTOR IF YOU DO IT FROM THE TOP.

I put all my parts in bags (ziplock) and mark the bag with where it came from ect ect. As for harnesses, you can use masking tape as mentioned above. If you have the motor already built then it should only take you about a day to pull and re-install it if you have all the nessisary tools and equipment.
Good luck man.

i never really labeled anything. i was too lazy. it wasn't even that bad when i had to put everything back together - the wiring harness is idiot proof. the vacuum lines were easy too. they go to the intake manifold. the speedometer sensor plug won't fit into the TPS or anything like that. all of the plugs are different.

i also didn't organize any of the bolts that i took out. this was a bad thing. i have a pile of bolts in my garage that go somewhere in my engine, but everything runs fine and nothing has fell apart.

the UDP is a PITA. OMG. get a f'in blowtorch and heat that dam thing up to infinite tempature so you can get it off easier. like said above, definately take that thing off so you have more room to take the engine out.

i didn't have to remove the radiator to take the engine out, but it did help when i put the new engine in. you'll probably end up doing it sooner or later.

and that black POS PITA timing belt cover is the devil. have fun with that. i ended up taking off the camshafts/gears in combonation by removing the bearing things on the head and then dremeling the fvck out of that plastic thing. it no longer exsists. that thing wasted my time like no other.

and the "top secret access port that i was too retarted to find that you need to remove to take off the flexplate/flywheel bolts" thing was a bitch. took me forever to figure out where it was. if you slide under the car from the front, it's to the left of the oil pan where the block meets the transmission. i think there are 3 bolts i think. you need to take that thing off to access the 4 bolts which lets you disconnect the clutch. you have to turn the crank to get to all of them. again, have fun with that.

the passanger side motor mount bolts (at least on my car) were HARDCORE torqued. i had to take a 2' torque wrench up to 150ish pound feet of torque to even begin to get those bolts loose. i was afraid that i was going to break something. there were 3 of them too. argh.

everything else is pretty straight-forward. good luck and godspeed.

EDIT: forgot to add, about the UDP... to take it off you'll need a Harmonic Balancer Removal Tool. it's this triangular shaped piece of metal that has a thing poking out of the center (pushes on the bolt that holds the UDP in) and has 3 bolts that screw into the UDP to pull it. this is only if you have the AF/X UDP. if you have the stock pulley, use the 3 jaw 5 ton pulley puller. DON'T INTERCHANGE THE TOOLS. YOU WILL DAMAGE YOUR UDP. i happen to know. my AF/X UDP looks pretty disgruntled right now, but it still works so whatever.

ONCE THE ENGINE IS OUT OF THE CAR THE TIMING BELT COVER IS EASY TO GET OFF. BUT GETTING IT OFF WHILE STILL IN THE CAR IS A BITCH. IF YOU HAVE A SERVICE MANUAL THIS PROJECT SHOULDNT BE TOO HARD.
ONE MORE WORD OF ADVICE, WHEN YOU PUT THE ENGINE/TRANNY BACK IN DON'T PUT THE REAR MOTOR MOUNT ON UNTIL THE ENGINE IS SET IN PLACE, MUCH EASIER THAT WAY. ALSO HAVE ALL OF THE OTHER MOUNTS LOOSE WHEN YOU SET THE MOTOR IN. IT IS MUCH EASIER TO LINE THEM ALL UP WHEN THEY ARE LOOSE.

Just pull the motor with the trans still on. Trust me, it makes it much easier. Its really not all that much more work, and its easier becasue you dont have to mess with bolting the trans to the motor when its in the engine bay. Remove your hood, radiator, all harnesses, hoses, A/C pump, P/S pump,battery and tray, all motor mounts, Axles, drain all fluids, exaust pipe from header, or turbo/whichever you have. Pull out the motor at an angle, so that the timing belt side of the motor is angled up, and you will have to pull it out so that the front of the motor(t belt side) is cocked sideways a bit, so that it faces the passenger front fender/front bumper corner area sort of..

Thanks guys. Your information is great. I knew there were some people around here that have done already done things as crazy as I want to do :D This is my first time doing a pull like this. I'm just trying to get as prepared as possible now so I'm ready to go.

I'm definately investing in a box of ziplock bags - I'll try to keep things labeled :wary Just to clarify about the UDP. I already have my AFX UDP installed on the new short block. Is there really any reason for me to be taking my stock one off the block currently in my car to get the engine out? I'm thinking not.

In response to RxR Eclipse .... yeah, I'm hoping it's not going to take that long to swap out the blocks. I'm probably not going to try to do it in a weekend or anything though. I'm in no rush, and I'll be doing it in the dead of winter while the car is off the road anyway. I'll probably "play" some other things too once I get the engine out.

I hoping I won't have a bucket of bolts and nuts up in the hundreds left over ...


1999 Anniversary Edition
HRC Stage II w/FMIC

"The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifegaurd":D

yes, definetly take of the crank pulley. The extra inch or two that it frees up is well worth the time. you can do it with the pulley still on, but it will get really tight and hard to maneuver the engine, plus you'll probably scratch the side of the engine bay all up

Ok, cool, that makes more sense then. So take off the hood, raditor/fans, and crank pulley. Leave on the trans on heave-ho huh? I'll let you know how it goes in a few months. Thankfully Metal Jim said he'd lend and hand, and he's done this before .... :D


1999 Anniversary Edition
HRC Stage II w/FMIC

"The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifegaurd"

i wouldnt bother pulling it with the tranny....the first thing to do is get the crank pulley off...you can just take off the one tranny mount (far left of engine bay), lower the engine and pull the crank pulley off....then pull the flywheel cover and pull off all the bolts..... there is no need to pull the tranny out...thats just more seals that you need to buy and more stuff you need to mess around with...if you get the engine and tranny seperated, its just a matter of plugs,wires,accessories, and mounts....push the engine to the left to get the flywheel to clear the transmission, and bang, its out..... take your time pulling it out...theres always something that you forget to unplug......

Thanks. I guess I'll decide on the tranny once I'm into it. We'll see how the day goes. Can't wait until Feb. ....


1999 Anniversary Edition
HRC Stage II w/FMIC

"The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifegaurd"

Yeah, it sounds a lot easier to just "push the trans to the side" and pull the motor out, but trust me, it just doesn't work like that. I have done it both ways, and IMO, the easiest way is to pull the motor with the trans. Think about it. No need to separate and reattach the trans to the motor, with the motor in the car. Its SOOOO much easier to connect the trans with the motor out of the car. I mean, its not that much more work to pull both out at once. A few trans lines/linkages, pop off the axles, and a few other small items, and thats it. Go about it however you like, I'm just stating my personal experience and preference. Now if you just need to pull the trans, then def no need to pull it with the motor. Now thats a lot more unecessary work. Also, no need to take off the crank pulley to pull the motor, if pulling with trans...another plus..

I took off:
Hood, fans, radiator, battery, batt tray, P/S and A/C pumps set aside, all electrical connetors, fuel lines, vac lines, radiator hoses, motor mounts, trans linkages, drain trans, pull axles, and i'm sure i forgot a few things. Nice thing about doing it this way, is that you dont even have to take off the alternator or crank pulley. It really isnt all that hard to do it like this. It was much more time consuming to pull just the motor out.

45 degree angle. Remember that. Get yourself a nice long jack. When you have the chain hooked up to the engine lift, pull it out at a 45 with the passenger side first. Take that nice long jack, put it under the tranny and adjust accordingly. It's trial and error. I've done it three time in a matter of 1 month. The 3rd time took me about an hour to disassemble the minor kicks and kinks and finally pulling the engine out. 45 degrees!

....its either disconnecting transmission lines, axels, plugs, etc. or underdrive pulley, transmission to flywheel....i havent actually had a need to pull engine and tranny...i did change my tranny once and i just dropped it down, and i figured, what the hell ill pull my engine out and clean her up..... when you pull engine and tranny together, do you drop it down, or will it clear comming up? that could be another factor if he doesnt have a garage thats too easy to drop it....

>....its either disconnecting transmission lines, axels,
>plugs, etc. or underdrive pulley, transmission to
>flywheel....i havent actually had a need to pull engine and
>tranny...i did change my tranny once and i just dropped it
>down, and i figured, what the hell ill pull my engine out and
>clean her up..... when you pull engine and tranny together, do
>you drop it down, or will it clear comming up? that could be
>another factor if he doesnt have a garage thats too easy to
>drop it....
>

YOu have plenty of room, with the hood off, to use a normal engine hoist to lift up and out the entire motor and trans. Like said above, you have to go at an angle though. We once had dropped the motor through the bottom of the car, leaving the trans, and i'll tell you what, never again :o Dont make it harder than what it should be, just use a hoist and pull the whole thing. Hera are a few of my pics:





You can see what exactly was left on the motor, and what needs to be taken off.

I pulled mine with the trans attached as well.

The whole ordeal was time consuming, but not hard at all. The hardest part about the whole thing was removing the crankshaft pulley and re-connecting the tranny halves after the LSD install.

Once I learned the technique with both though, everything's pretty simple. Labeling isn't necessary but makes things a lot easier. The freezer bags for the different parts make things a LOT more organized as well.

Have friends as well. That'll make hoisting the engine a LOT more doable. It's heavy to even manuever on a cherry picker.

Yup, I got friends. Myself, a mechanic, another friend, and Metal Jim. I'm going to be mounting it on an engine stand to complete the rest of the work. I'd like to do some stuff to the head while it's out and just go over everything else real well. As I said a few times, it'll be the dead of winter, I have another car, so I'll be in no rush. It could stay out until spring for all I care. My biggest concerns are traction issues once it's back in ....

XtremeRS - I was hoping to run 15lbs daily the way my short block is set up. I noticed your rebuilt, but you only run 13, any reason I should be aware of?


1999 Anniversary Edition
HRC Stage II w/FMIC

"The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifegaurd"

Yeah I just got my motor in a week ago. Trans on the block drop it in at 45 digree angle. Mount the side mounts first, then the front/rear. The most important thing is TAKE YOUR TIME. It took me about a month to get everything togeather and 2 days to get it in. Actually only 1 day because I was toolin with the trans all day saturday. I just made sure i had everything I needed before i started.

>
>XtremeRS - I was hoping to run 15lbs daily the way my short
>block is set up. I noticed your rebuilt, but you only run 13,
>any reason I should be aware of?
>

Nope, not at all. The only reason i'm not pushing more right now, is that I dont have the fuel to safely, and consistantly run more boost. I am still looking into several different fuel setups as of yet, so just waiting on what i figure out. I need larger injectors btw..The 30# are getting maxed out at 13 psi. Plus a nice FMIC is in order too. The 1G SMIC is getting heat soaked on hot days at WOT full boost runs. Plus I'm upgrading to a Super 20G turbo over the winter, so i really dont want to have to re-tune the whole damn thing again :)

Hmmm, that's interesting b/c I have 30lb injectors as well and I was hoping they would be able to handle the 15. I know the block won't be a problem, it looks like it's just going to be a matter of supplying the right amount fuel. I guess I've just joined the club huh? Thanks for the reply - Chris


1999 Anniversary Edition
HRC Stage II w/FMIC

"The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifegaurd"