Hello all,

After spending all my cash on ebay for a 225 engine and trans, I now need to get some advice on swapping it into the car. Since I've never done anything with a hoist before, I need some guidance.

1--Removal of current setup. What is the best way to do this? Should I leave the trans bolted to the engine and do it as 1 piece?

After removing the hood, will I need to remove any part of the front of the car as well? I wasn't sure what kind of angle I'd need to get this out.

2--Any tricks to impart?

This will be the first time I've ever attempted something like this so I'm happy to get some advice.

Thanks

MJ

I suggest that you find a manual for just about any old rear wheel drive dodge car, and read it a couple of times on removing the engine. This is a good primer.

I've never worked on one so old, but this is my experience with 72 and up dodges with slant sixes.

You can take the engine and transmission out in one piece, but you'll need lots of room and patience.

Drain all/most of the fluids. Water, Oil (optional), Transmission Fluid (because it will pour out when at an angle with no driveshaft) Remove and protect the radiator. Drop exhaust.

Fuel lines, wiring, transmission cooler lines, transmission linkages, vacuum lines... should all be labeled and then moved out of your way.

There are holes for 3 lifting bolts on the top of the motor. Hook your hoist to a chain between the middle bolt and the rear bolt to properly balance with the transmission attached.



Make sure you have the correctly shaped oil pan on your new engine, Athough I think the new oil pans (75-up) fit old bodies (75-down) while old oil pans don't fit new bodies.

Good Luck, Lots to learn! Expect it to take longer than you expect, and then you won't be so angry when it doesn't go your way.

_________________
1980 Aspen 225 super six

i like the engine hoist! I'll start looking for those holes you mentioned and see what I can find. I'm also searching for books, so if anyone has some suggested titles, please volunteer them.

How long would you estimate Removal to take? Once I have the engine out I'll probably be doing a few things to the engine bay and parts so I don't intend to reinstall the new engine the same day or weekend. Of course I'll double your removal estimate due to my inexperience

Thanks!

MJ

In my 61 the 74 oil pan did not fit - the 74 pan sat on the center link.
Had to swap the pan and pick up from the old engine. The 62
suspension is somewhat different than a 61 and there may be no issue.
But definitely something to check out before pulling the engine again to
swap pans!

I recommend removing the radiator and fan when removing the
engine without the trans. That gives you enough clearance when
you move the engine forward to separate it from the trans.

Yeah I'll have to take a good look at the pan--Doug said that I would most likely need to swap over my A-body pan to the B-body engine. The nice part is that both engines are from 1962...which may save me some grief (I hope!) . I was planning on removing the radiator regardless to have it re-cored and worked on.

Are the 225 radiators larger than the 170s? If so then i'll swap in the radiator from the donor B-body.

Thanks and keep the info coming!

MJ

The factory service manual you just bought contains all the info, with pictures.

The B-body radiator may or may not bolt into the A-body; you'll have to take some measurements. On my '62, when we put the A/C in, we had the radiator rebuilt with a high-efficiency 3-row core.

I'm guessing the HE core would more than make up for the lack of size on the radiator. Did you bring a core to your radiator shop or do I just request a HE core? Don't want to get snowed

Yeah I saw the pics in the manual last night, they were pretty helpful! Thanks!

The shop supplies the core and makes it fit the brackets and tanks. Use caution! Call around and find a shop that is comfortable working with the "old pre-1968 Chrysler round-tank radiators"; they're somewhat tricky to seal when soldering, and it will pay you in the long run to find a radiator specialist who knows the tricks. If they go "Huh?" or "Well...shouldn't be a problem", keep shopping.

I think with a transmission that old your tranny will not leak because the driveshaft is flange mounted to the transmission using the older style U-joint. You may find it leaks down however upon removing the speedometer cable. Be gentle on the cable, the older ones like yours are getting harder to find.

Otherwise definately remove the radiator before starting.

And about oil pans, for public reference, The newer pans 71(?) and up will not fit into the older cars as they hit the Kmember and steering link. In addition to the pan one most also change the oil sump.

Sorry, I'm a bit tired today as my son has been awake most of the last few nights and me with him! Could you explain a little more on what you mean by "my old tranny not leaking" and the "speedometer cable leak" Are these things to watch for when I remove my old engine and transmission? Or when hooking up the new engine and transmission (or both!)

With the engine I bought, I've got a transmission that is coming with it. my plan was to remove the 170 engine and a904 from my Lancer and replace it with the 225 and its a904. The donor engine and trans supposedly have only 14,000 miles on them.

I just need some more info that's all (meBstoopid). Thanks!

MJ

Just for reference, they are still available at NAPA and other reasonably public sources (Imperial Services has 'em, too.)

I was fairly certain the changeover year for oil pan configuration was '67 or '68, but could be wrong. "Oil pan" and "oil sump" both mean the same thing. I think you meant to type "one must also change the oil pickup tube."

On '66 and newer transmissions, removing the driveshaft leaves open a large path for fluid leakage out the back of the trans. This is not the case on '65 and earlier transmissions (as 65Dart mentioned), but there are still several leak paths that get opened up when you remove the transmission:

• The trans fluid cooler line fittings, input and output
• The speedometer cable opening
• The shift and park cable openings

I'll write these down as the "do not stick eyes and mouth near when removing"

I think SlantSixRam suggested draining the trans first to make the removal easier and lighter and prevent the massive dumping of fluid when tilting the trans. I'll watch for even more fun from these spots. Thanks!

...Celebrate! Celebrate! Dance to the music! (the trans pan has a drain plug. The plug wasn't deleted til '64.)