pulling motor out of 72

[toddtheodd]

Ok,
For the first time ever, I am pulling a motor out of one of these trucks (72 c/10 350/th350), and so of course I have a few questions.
1) Should I remove the hood? I know I have to remove the radiator, but should I also remove the hood?
2) What is the best way to hold the transmission up? I am pulling just the motor, and not the transmission. I remember seeing somebody pull the motor out of a Chevelle once, and he used a few bungie cords to hold the transmission up. Good or bad idea?
3)
4) After I get this thing pulled, and stripped down to the short block, can somebody come over and tell me if the short block is ok or not?

I am pulling this motor myself, and doing the work myself, because I can't afford having a shop do it. So a few of the things I know I should check, but don't know how, is the crank and block. I don't know what a good cylinder looks like compared to a bad one. And I have no idea about cam bearings or crank bearings.

I just can't see paying a place hundreds of dollars to take apart, and put back together my motor, when I am perfectly capable of doing it myself.

Toad

[dallas71]

Hey Todd....definitely pull the hood it will make the job much easier. You can hold the transmission up with a 1x4 slide up under the transmission and the ends set in the frame. Concerning the block. The best thing to do is tear it down, (and label the rods, rod caps and main caps) and then take it to a machine shop and have them clean and check. The bearings are a tough call...you can check the gap and replace with the proper size or just take the chance if you old ones look good and install with the existing. The only thing is is that you want to do this job right the 1st time and not have to worry about it down the road....Good Luck

[kingsolver72]

I would remove the hood.(I bet some here probably has pulled an engine with out removing the hood).Trace your hood hinges with white chalk or spray a little primer,anything to give you a refence for putting the hood back on.This will save a lot of time and hassle of aligning the gaps.Yes,I would support the tail end of the tranny.

[Daubs]

Pulled my 350 about a month ago. Yes, take off the hood. But before you start anything, take loads of pictures! Everything from hoses to PS, alt, wires, etc.

And use zip locks to bag and label all nuts / bolts / parts. These two things will help you a ton when putting everything back together.

I agree with dallas, tear the engine apart and have machine shop check for problems. It's going to cost you some $$$, but it will be money well spent. You do not want put engine back together with something "broken" and have to pull her again.

[shifty]

like everyone else said - yeah, remove the hood. get some masking tape and label your connections as you disassemble them, i don't care who you are, if you don't do this often, you'll get stumped by one or two, especially vacuum hoses.

if your bellhousing is bolted to the crossmember, just leave it on and you don't need to hold up the tranny. if you must keep it up, i just use a floor jack and sandwich a 2x4 under the tranny to keep from contacting metal-to-metal.

[Palf70Step]

In addition to the others, if you think you may need to move the truck while you are rebuilding, I took and tied my T350 up to the cowl with some bailing wire, because I knew I would have to move it out of the shop the few weeks it was torn down for the engine rebuild. On another one I just left the stock truck bottle jack under the front of it to keep it up while the engine was out

[bigfredtn]

I would pull the engine and transmission together. If you are working by yourself, it saves a lot of time when putting the engine back in.

[Steelawork'n]

Why not just strip your engine and trade the short block in on a new one? It will save you time and a lot of head aches.

Neat thing about the '68 3/4 ton is that it has a transmission crossmember that holds the tranny. No need for blocking there. Not sure if if the 1/2 tons have that.

[toddtheodd]

Originally Posted by Steelawork'n

Why not just strip your engine and trade the short block in on a new one?

Because I don't have the $350 to pay for a new/rebuilt short block.

I'm only pulling the oil pan off long enough to change out the gasket. I'm not even removing a main bearing cap unless it looks like I need to.

The reason I'm pulling the motor is because it leaks oil like a... something that leaks really bad... I figure it's easier to change out all of the gaskets and seals with the motor out of the truck. Not to mention that the heads need work as well.

If I see a lot of scaring on the cylinder walls though, I guess I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get a new/rebuilt shortblock.

Toad

[toddtheodd]

Originally Posted by bigfredtn

I would pull the engine and transmission together. If you are working by yourself, it saves a lot of time when putting the engine back in.

Last time I pulled the trans with a motor (in my chevelle... with no front clip) I have transmission fluid all over the place. Looked like I had shot somebody.

Toad

[TugOwar]

got an old yoke from a driveshaft layin around? stick it in there while you pull it. no more bloody mess.

[truckdude239]

Originally Posted by toddtheodd

Because I don't have the $350 to pay for a new/rebuilt short block.

where can you get 350 buxs for a new/rebuilt motor? i want to come live out there the cheapest out here is 960 buxs

[4x4Poet]

I don't remove the hood to pull the engine in these trucks (done a K10 350/4 spd & a C10 350/TH350). I remove the inner and outer grill and rad core support instead. I do this because I've been the first to pull the engine and both times found the rad support to be close to deteriorating from rust pits to rust holes under the battery tray. The core support *body* mounts, sleeves, & bolts were rusty, as well. Better to clean them up to stop further rusting to the point of structural damage. What better opportunity than when draining & disconnecting the rad to pull the engine?

Just have two friends pull the fenders outward slightly when removing the unbolted core support to avoid paint scratches. Those with pristine paint jobs may not want to pull on the fenders. I'm doing the engine R&R before body & paint work. Swing one end of the core spt inward to take it out diagonally.

With the core spt removed, it is very easy to pull the engine and transmission together. The combo need only clear the frame crossmembers. 2wd drive trannys have two mount bolts, shift linkage, the speedo cable, cooler lines, and a harness connector or two. Simple since the tranny crossmember can stay until the combo is pulled. Easier to pull the tranny crossmember with nothing on it.

BTW, just undo the tranny cooler lines from the radiator and run a clamped hose from one line to the other to keep the tranny fluid in the tranny. Pre-made plugs are available for the splined output. Check an auto parts store rental. Without the splined output plugged, tranny fluid pours out the back.

One of these load levelers helps keep the engine/tranny combo level so the end of the tranny clears the crossmembers with less lift than otherwise. Available as a rental. Short rear chains and long front chains on an engine lift do the same thing. Just takes longer.

Be sure to drain the block of oil & coolant. Less messy that way. I remove the old filter and install a cheapie new one ($2-3) to reduce oil spillage.

[dwaite72lnghrn]

First let me say congrats on starting the job. Second great you are looking for pit falls before you start.
Take the hood off, 1 person can do it(getting it back on you need 2).
Support the front of the tranny if it does not have a frame mount(or you will tear out the rear trans mount).
If you put a jack under it be prepared to jack it up as you pull the motor out.
You will have to add a front trans seal to your list. Unbolt the torque converter before you pull the engine.
If you are just doing seals you could probably do them with the engine still in the truck.
The rear crank seal will need replaced also.
Pull the valve covers and if your valve train is hard sludge coated I think you will need more than seals. Have fun.