Engine removal and driveshaft questions

Manx · #1 (**permalink**) 03-24-2008, 02:10 AM

Hi guys, two quickies (hopefully).

I'm removing the motor from my 74 GTV. Nearly ready to go with disconnecting the driveshaft as the almost last step. Of the four bolts in the centre of the shaft two came undone relatively easily, however some clown and rounded off the other two to the point where an open-ender won't get a good grip. There isn't enough space in behind the nut to get a ring-spanner. So before I grind my 13mm ringspanner to within a mm of it's life in an attempt to make it fit, is there an easier way?

Second - is it really safe to pull the motor with the hook on top of the motor? With gearbox attached? Just seems a lot to ask from two studs.

Cheers.

**Chris1750** · #2 (**permalink**) 03-24-2008, 04:09 AM

The clevis between the central headbolts seems to be what the guys in the factory used to lift the engine, gearbox and tailshaft as a unit.
Attached are a couple of old photos from the archives.

As to the tailshaft, it may be easier to disconnect it from the hexagonal rubber doughnut at the back of the gearbox. Once you remove the diff end, you can get it out and work on it on a bench where access is easier. Remember to mark it before you dismantle the two parts.

See what others think.

**Gary Williams** · #3 (**permalink**) 03-24-2008, 09:23 AM

Yes, it's safe to lift with the bracket. I like to put on one that is already dinged up, though, when pulling the motor. The hook on the hoist can gouge the sides of the bracket.

Somewhere on the BB are detailed threads about pulling motor and tranny. We pull them together, after taking off the hood, taking the driveline loose at the donut, removing the shifter from the top of the tranny, and making sure all appropriate wiring, engine mounts, and hoses are loose or off.

We jack the rear end up and put jack stands under the differential. Then we pull the front wheels and drop the front of the car as low as it will go on a floor jack. That angle makes it easier to get the engine and tranny out. Don't know that many guys get quite so extreme as we do by taking off the front wheels, but I can say that it works really well.

**Bill S** · #4 (**permalink**) 03-24-2008, 09:52 AM

Love those factory pics, Chris!

Those center joint nuts seem to always give me trouble for the reasons you've described. You may wind up having to use a hammer and chisel in a counter-clockwise orientation to break the nut loose. You're gonna have to replace the rounded ones anyway.

**gprocket** · #5 (**permalink**) 03-24-2008, 10:54 AM

No expert am I except that I've needed to pull a number of motors over the past year or so. Aft of the center support is a grease cap for the spline. If you unscrew that with channel locks the shaft will easily separate when you pull the motor. Just be sure to mark the shafts so the they go back together properly.

Attached is the engine removal procedure that we use these days. Sounds like you are past this stage but you might find something useful.

Engine Removal Procedure.xls

**Chris1750** · #6 (**permalink**) 03-27-2008, 04:42 AM

One last old photo - this time the lifting bracket is between the second and third head nuts on the inlet side of the engine .....

The engine, by the way, was a twin turbo (driven by engine oil pressure not exhaust gas) twin plug 1600cc GTA beast delivering 220HP.

Chris

**ossodiseppia** · #7 (**permalink**) 03-27-2008, 05:06 AM

Great care should be taken to save those screws. They will be nearly impossible to replace.

Andrew · #8 (**permalink**) 03-27-2008, 07:44 AM

GTAs (picture above) had the lifting hook oriented differently from all the single-plug cars. The standard location is crossways in the center, between cylinders 2 and 3. The head studs it attaches to go all the way down into the bottom of the crankcase, and unless corroded, are very strong. I've never heard of one breaking on removal.

I just pulled and reinstalled a Ford 360 V8 (750 pounds) in my F100 with a carb-base-plate lifting device, which is held on only by four 5/16"ish studs threaded into the intake manifold, and they held. So I think you're OK here.

Andrew

**GTV4EVR** · #9 (**permalink**) 03-27-2008, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manx

Hi guys, two quickies (hopefully).

I'm removing the motor from my 74 GTV. Nearly ready to go with disconnecting the driveshaft as the almost last step. Of the four bolts in the centre of the shaft two came undone relatively easily, however some clown and rounded off the other two to the point where an open-ender won't get a good grip. There isn't enough space in behind the nut to get a ring-spanner. So before I grind my 13mm ringspanner to within a mm of it's life in an attempt to make it fit, is there an easier way?

Second - is it really safe to pull the motor with the hook on top of the motor? With gearbox attached? Just seems a lot to ask from two studs.

Cheers.

Andrew · #10 (**permalink**) 03-27-2008, 07:56 AM

It's a lot easier to unbolt, and mark for reassembly, the simple regular bolts at the middle join that fighting the donut bolts. I've done it both ways.

Andrew

jimcra · #11 (**permalink**) 03-27-2008, 08:05 AM

Chris 1750, Great factory pics!!

**GTV4EVR** · #12 (**permalink**) 03-27-2008, 08:48 AM

I am probably going to be pulling 2 engines this spring, maybe I'll try one each way. What do you do to stop the driveshaft stub from wacking the front of the car as it comes out?

Andrew · #13 (**permalink**) 03-27-2008, 09:00 AM

If you have the tail of the car as high as it will go, and the lift pulling on the hook in the center position, it all comes out at a pretty extreme angle, and misses all the bodywork. You need at least two people to do a good job (one doing the hoist, one or two wrestling with the engine/trans, and to keep it from hitting stuff), especially if you care about your paint. A key sticking point is often getting the shifter stub past the front top edge of the trans tunnel.

Andrew

Manx · #14 (**permalink**) 03-27-2008, 12:50 PM

Thanks guys, I think I'm ready to finish it this weekend - with three options for disconnectiong the driveshaft if need be. I'll snap some photos to complete the thread and let you know how it goes :-) And thanks for the old photos.

M

**GTV4EVR** · #15 (**permalink**) 03-27-2008, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew

If you have the tail of the car as high as it will go, and the lift pulling on the hook in the center position, it all comes out at a pretty extreme angle, and misses all the bodywork. You need at least two people to do a good job (one doing the hoist, one or two wrestling with the engine/trans, and to keep it from hitting stuff), especially if you care about your paint. A key sticking point is often getting the shifter stub past the front top edge of the trans tunnel.

Andrew