im getting ready to pull my motor in the next couple of weeks. ive heard to do it both ways so i thought id ask yall, should i pull the motor and tranny together or just the motor? i dont plan on doing any work to the transmission, but would it be easier to pull them together?

By all means, pull the engine only! You will find this much easier. Just make sure to support the trans after you separate it from the motor, a wire thru one of the bellhousing holes to something sturdy on the firewall works great - and oh yeah, replace that front pump seal on the trans (assuming auto) after you get the motor out of the way!

D/W

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If it ain't broke, fix it!

I agree with Dennis whole-heartedly. We just put my son's engine and tranny back into his project car this weekend. It was a pain working with them bolted together. It wasn't nearly as much trouble, two years ago, when we pulled the engine for rebuilding. We separated them and, like Dennis said, supported the tranny. I believe we looped a chain around the torsion bars and let the tranny settle down on it. Our parts Duster we bought had its tranny hanging with some wire from the wiper motor studs on the firewall.

We measured the motor/transmission combo Sunday before we started. It was approximately 5'-3" from pulleys to end of transmission shaft. If we had not thought to borrow an engine tilter, I honestly don't know how the two of us would have gotten them back into the car. We did the engine pull without the use of a tilter just fine.

Jerry

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There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.

If you have no reason to pull the transmission, then I agree with what has been said.

If anyone does need to pull both, don't be afraid to do it. It can still be very manageable to pull them as a unit. I just pulled a motor/transmission by myself in my garage. The critical info is finding the center of balance.

It also helps to remove the thermostat housing so you can get enough tilt when pulling them as a unit.

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1980 Aspen 225 super six

Here's something to try....I did this last time I pulled both together. I simply pulled the front wheels off and got the front of the car as low as I safely could. Then, I jacked the back up some...I seem to remember sliding car ramps under the rear wheels. It worked pretty well...as I didn't have access to an engine tilter at the time. The radiator was out at that time as well....But by far the best pull I ever did was removing and installing the whole works by unscrewing the k member and droping the entire front end off!!! I've got pictures some where of that one

That's alwez a viable option, and fun too, I might add. After all, that's how it went in!

D/W

Then there's my tried and true junkyard technique of having the car tipped on it's side (safely wedged in place with old driveshafts, of course), loosening the nasty undercar stuff at arm level then pushing the motor out onto a stack of old tires!

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If it ain't broke, fix it!

On a a-body, just the engine.
F-body with tranny, because I cannot reach the bolt on top without dislokating my arm.
If you have a good hoist I don´t think it matters much

Generally I would say unless it's a FWD, it's almost always easier to pull just the engine...

Dont forget, regardless of whether you replace the converter seal, never leave the torque converter hanging in place in the transmission for extended periods. The rubber will take a set in a flattened condition and leak once youve reassembled everything.

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I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.

In july, before I had a real engine hoist, I was able to put the engine back in my car by myself using the homedepot version of 'stack-o'.

This photo is my cousin helping me with the first install, but it had to come back out because the oil pan was wrong. After finding the correct pan at the junkyard and installing, I put the motor in by myself, because it was getting dark.

I love this photo, I just couldn't resist posting it again.

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1980 Aspen 225 super six