z34 Engine Removal

[Burtgtp1973]

Hey Guys, I have been searching the forum for 30 mins trying to find some answers on 3.4 removal, but to no avail...

1) Is it easier to remove the engine from the top or bottom, just the engine, no trans. EDIT: No lift, just a cherry picker.

2) Is there a general write up on some short cuts or common problems that you may encounter along the way?

ANY other tips or advise would be greatly appreciated.

TIA!

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[pocket-rocket]

If you are doing no trans and you have a cherry picker, just unhook it from the tranny and yank 'er out the top. It shouldn't be too hard. The trans dipstick tube is hooked to the rear of the engine, so be mindful of that, otherwise a trip to the junkyard for a new one will be in order. Take the fans and the top plastic radiator holder off for some clearance at the front so you can pull it forward some so the rear exhaust manifold has room to clear. Take it slow and easy. Some people also call a cherry picker a tensile strength tester, because it will (without a problem) test the tensile strength of anything you forget to unhook. I would also pull the upper intake to make it easier to see what's going on at the rear of the engine. This is all I can think of off the top of my head at the moment. Hope this helps and good luck

[Burtgtp1973]

Thanks a bunch for the input!!! My car is a 5speed, that probably means no trans tube, correct?

[pocket-rocket]

Woot! Yep, no trans tube <3 5 speed Z34s That also means if you don't want to worry about rear clearance, you could remove the rear exhaust manifold before engine removal since you can get to the bolts.

[RedZMonte]

should be straight forward.... Just be sure to get all the wire clips and whatnot free... IIRC there are a few that clip to the radiator support and the sub frame ect.... would be easiest to just pick the engine with harness right out the top... remove hood and set aside obviously. might need a pry bar to keep the engine seporated from the trans so you dont F anything up when pulling the engine out apart from the trans. Also get a load levelr for the cherry picker if you don't have one, will keep the engine from tilting make life easier especially when putting it back in.



S

[jmgtp]

I just pulled my 3.4 dohc with 5 speed trans still attached out the top. Redzmonte suggests using a load leveler and I 100% agree. I used one to pull the engine out and it made it easy. I bought a load leveler that could handle 1000 lbs since I wanted some safety margin considering I was pulling engine, trans, and all the accessories except the a/c compressor.

I removed the fans and radiator for a bit of extra clearance, unbolted the a/c compressor and set it aside on the lower radiator support. Removed the upper intake, pried the axles out of the trans, disconnected exhaust, hoses, cables, wires, etc and it came out the top without a fuss.

Like everyone else says, double check that you have disconnected everything that is not coming out with the motor...otherwise it IS coming out.

One tip I guess I can offer is to have something ready to soak up coolant. No matter how much you think you've drained, there is always more and it finds its way out as you tilt and move the engine on its journey out. Otherwise it is easy, I pulled my engine/trans out with all the motor mounts still atached and everything but the a/c and upper intake still bolted on. as I went up with the motor I used the load leveler to drop the trans end so I could slide the whole assembly more toward the passenger side, this allowed the trans to more easily clear the mess of wires, hoses, cruisecontrol etc that is mounted on the drivers side. And when you reinstall the engine it is beneficial to have a buddy operate the the crane while you push and pull on the engine to position it and move a hose/wire here or there as he lowers it in.