Engine Removal Prep Questions/Advice

[Alloyvert]

I am pulling the leaky 283 out my '64 C10 (4-speed on the floor) before winter and have a couple questions. I was under the truck yesterday to start the prep and was able to get both of the exhaust pipes broke loose from the manifolds.

Next up is the tranny.
Although everything is caked in grease/dirt, it appears there are only 3 tranny to bellhousing bolts, correct?

Also, does the bellhousing simply rest on the rubber crossmember mounts or are there some bolts?

My main question... should I remove the tranny to bellhousing bolts & leave it attached? Or remove the bellhousing to block bolts?

Once I sort out the tranny, I will deal with all the other top side items and hoping the removal goes smooth and quick.

Thanks in advance and open to any other words of wisdom!

[61hawk]

Take the hood off then unbolt the fenders from the cab and pull the whole front clip/doghouse off. It sounds like a bigger job than it is. That way you can pull the engine out easier and you might as well bring the transmission along with it and get everything checked out and cleaned up in one shot. Someone who has actually done this on these trucks can probably give you better instructions on what to do. I've only done it on cars.

[Alloyvert]

I have considered pulling the front clip, but I also don't want to get too deep and end up with not having it back together by the spring as my perfectionist nature would be hard to control. The tranny will probably come out regardless as it is a greasy mess as well and hoping it is just from the motor.

[61hawk]

The nice thing is that it stays all together and you just pull it in one piece. At most a half-day project to take off and put back on. But it does make things about 1000 times easier.

[LVPhotos]

Correct me if I'm wrong but it is only 8 bolts holding dog house on. Hood is optional but easily removed. Remove the little shoulder panels 4 bolts... keep track shims. 2 top bolts and 1 lower fender each side. 2 body radiator probly need new rubber. Take the radiator out to have hot tanked.

[AcampoDave]

On my '64 the floor pan comes out, on my '66 it doesn't. (But I wish it did.) I like to pull the floor and pull my tranny from above. There are 4 bolts and at least one lower one actually threads in from inside the bell housing I think. After I get the driveline and linkages and stuff off the tranny I wrap a strap around the tail and get the other end of it twisted in my fist then I wiggle it outta there. It sure beats trying to bench press it from below. (For the granny trannys I bring my engine hoist in thru the passenger door and just lift it out with a chain bolted to the top plate.) Once my tranny is out I unbolt the bellhousing saddles and pull the clutch and bellhousing out with the motor.

[Alloyvert]

Thanks all as this info is very helpful. Mine does have the granny 4-speed and I noticed one missing bolt on the tranny. So maybe this has the one from from the inside of the bellhousing.

I may try the tranny through the floor recommendation while I have the lift.

Does the tranny just mount to the bellhousing and simply rest on the cross member??

[AcampoDave]

The tranny does simply mount to the bell and it just hangs there. It's called a "cantilevered mount". With a 4 speed I get the wheels all chocked n' blocked, then put in neutral and pull the shifter. To do that you need to push down hard on the small sheetmetal cover/shield right where the shifter comes out and rotate it about 45 degrees to the left. The cover/shield is spring loaded. Then I get a short length of medium size chain and bolt it diagonally across the top plate of the tranny using the existing bolt bosses.
Wiggle and shake it back outta there while keeping the hoist well positioned, (I do it by myself but a helper on the hoist is nice to avoid getting in and out of the cab) and out she comes. Then put it back the same way. If a new clutch kit is being installed it usually comes with the alignment dowel for getting it all bolted up on center, but now and then it's helpful to stick that last little bit of the input shaft with a quick stab on the clutch right at the point where it's almost stabbed but just won't quite go that last little bit. Don't let the tranny hang under its own weight until it's fully stabbed because you can tweak the hub of the disc that way. I like to get the 2 top bolts installed too before allowing slack in the chain. Don't forget to check the bearing fork for abnormal wear. It does pop off the ball if you need it to and it has a funky looking retainer clip in its socket that keeps it on the bell housing ball. Also take care not to misplace the part that goes between the linkage rod and the fork it's not easy to replace.
Edit: some folks may choose to install the tranny with it in gear so as to be able turn the input shaft by rotating yoke and that's fine. The stick can be removed and installed in neutral or in gear with the same procedure and you won't need to lock the spring loaded collar down if you need to reinsert the stick just to switch back and forth between neutral or in gear.

[AcampoDave]

If your bellhousing saddle mounts are all oil soaked and shot out, you can still buy them at your local parts store. The saddle cushion is an "Anchor 2107" and the part the underneath the crossmember where the bolt pushes up is an "Anchor 2108".

[cwcarpenter98]

When I did my engine swap, I unbolted the bellhousing from the engine. I left the transmission and driveshaft in place. Wasn't too bad, but I did end up removing my hood because I couldn't get it out all the way with the rigging I had done

[Alloyvert]

Great intel and was very helpful as I tackled all the underside stuff. I decided to go with the motor only removal route for now and removed the bellhousing bolts, starter, dust shield and motor mount to frame perch bolts. I will get all the topside parts removed tomorrow and should be ready to pull the motor. Hopefully I can get things in place for next Saturday.

Another question. My truck has a deluxe heater and it looks like heater core box may get in the way. Do I need to remove it?

Thanks again for all the great information as it has been very helpful!

[cwcarpenter98]

My 63 doesn't have the under hood heater, so I didn't have to deal with it. Taking it out of the equation probably will make removal of the engine a little easier as it does hang over the valve cover a smidge

[Alloyvert]

I pretty much wrapped up the prep, but the clutch cross bar is giving me fits. I removed both the push rods along with loosening the pivot nut and popped the bar out of the frame mount, but it does not want come fully out. I know it will pop free when I pull the motor, but I assumed it should come out prior, correct??

[Chevy Fleetside]

Originally Posted by Alloyvert

I pretty much wrapped up the prep, but the clutch cross bar is giving me fits. I removed both the push rods along with loosening the pivot nut and popped the bar out of the frame mount, but it does not want come fully out. I know it will pop free when I pull the motor, but I assumed it should come out prior, correct??

To get mine back in I had to remove the bolt from the left motor mount and lift the engine up just a bit for it to go back in. I probably pulled it as I was lifting the engine. You just have to remember to put it back in when reinstalling the engine. At least this was my experience with it.

https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=795604 This was my thread on it but not many pictures.

[Alloyvert]

I figured that was the case based on how it was hanging up as there is not enough room to get it free from the bracket. Thanks for the link to your thread as it is a good reference and helped ID a source for the engine grey paint.

My engine looks very similar with all the caked on oil and dirt. But we shall see how things look when I start opening it up.

[AcampoDave]

[QUOTE=Chevy Fleetside;9137957]To get mine back in I had to remove the bolt from the left motor mount and lift the engine up just a bit for it to go back in. I probably pulled it as I was lifting the engine. You just have to remember to put it back in when reinstalling the engine. At least this was my experience with it.

Same here. The the ball broke off on mine so getting it out was no problem. (To my amazement the broken stub came right out of the block too.) But.... I had to lift that side of the engine to get it back.

[Alloyvert]

Thanks for all the help as the motor popped right out yesterday morning. It took longer to pick up/return the rented hoist than to get it on a stand. Now the fun starts!

Think it will need a new clutch

[AcampoDave]

Yikes, are you gonna run the flywheel to the machine shop for a re-surfacing? Or is it wasted?

[Alloyvert]

Fortunately the clutch damage was on the pressure plate side, but surprisingly enough you could not tell this happened. The flywheel is very clean and will be resurfaced.

[Alloyvert]

Slowly getting things tore down and cleaned up. I took advantage of probably our last super warm day of the year yesterday and hit the frame and bellhousing with some engine cleaner followed by a hot water power washer bath. What a huge improvement as you can actually see the color of the tranny.

I had to do some research to figure out the name of the part in the lifter valley. Any recommendations with how to remove it without damage??

Next up is to call a couple machine shops and get this rebuild underway.

[geezer#99]

It’s an oil baffle for the road draft set up.
Why do you want to remove it?

[Alloyvert]

I assumed it needed to come out before taking it to the machine shop. If not, even better.

[geezer#99]

I suppose it might depend on the machine shop’s requirement.
No gentle easy removal on them. They usually get mangled.
You need to drill out the hot rivet on the bracket and apply some heat to the back side to get them out.
Are you putting the stock intake back on?

[Alloyvert]

Yes reusing the stock intake.

[geezer#99]

Good!
Just so you know, newer intakes don’t clear the baffle. The baffle needs to be tapped down a bit for clearance.
Are you keeping the road draft tube also?