Pulling V8 motor

I know this has probably been discussed before, but I'm curious about the best way to pull a V8 (283) motor from my '67 108 van.

I understand that people have pulled the sixes up and out through the side doors... but I'm not sure that this would be possible with a V8 motor. At the very least the headers would have to be removed, which could be very difficult if not impossible if the header bolts/nuts are frozen. Then I'm not sure the heads will clear the lid opening anyway.

The other method, I understand, is to raise the vehicle high enough to drop the motor from below. A couple of concerns spring to mind: how high? Since the front axle would be in the way, it would have to be removed to drop the motor. Then the question of how do you support the front of the vehicle with the front wheels removed?

MOst of the lift's I've seen (at the local community college) don't have lift arms long enough to connect to the lifting points for this van - which are basically at the axles. With the front axle removed, the next place to lift the van at the front would be the "frame" supports just inside the front bumper. I've used jack stands there in the past (really big semi truck size jack stands, at that). I could see maybe a drive-on lift, then jacking up each wheel and using the semi size jack stands to rupport the front, remove the front wheels/axle, then dropping the motor providing there is space on the drive on lift for dropping a motor.

Ideally a two-column lift would have arms long enough to connect to all four corners of the van, but I'm not sure these exist - or if they do, they are at big garages that normally handle things like city buses or RV's.

Well, long winded, I guess, but has anyone ever pulled a V8 motor out of an early Chevy van? Short of chopping off the dog house at the van floor, how did you do it?

fhis pic is from 3years ago ,a big lift and 4 of us to keep her steady went up and in in minutes . Bill

I did a 6 in a chevy van at work once. The shop had 2 of the huge old bumper jacks. I was able to get the van a good 3 feet in the air. Not fun.

I plan on building a support for the engine and trans, something that will fit on a rolling tool cart. Put the van on a drive-on hoist and then lower it while positioning the engine. I will not have to clear the axle like yours, but if you build the support so it will clear the axle, you should be able to feed the engine forward over the axle to clear.

A 2 post is not the best way to lift the earlys, but it has been done.
Since you have the big jack stands, a combination of that and lifting like donivan shows would work. consider how to get the engine under there, and how to raise it.

I dropped in my v8 through the side cargo doors with ease... but of course no manifolds installed and I removed the valve covers... it was a tight fit but still went in easily. I had no problems at all going through the top.

The only thing I would have done different is insulate the doghouse before dropping the motor in....

Thats a pretty sight right there.

Are Chevy vans smaller in the door openings than a Dodge?
Or is the engine wider than a small block MoPar?
Mine went through the doors with bno problem - take the door strap off to allow maximum opening....and use an engine crane/hoist with a couple of jack stands.

Kiwi, the Chevy doghouse is welded in. whole different ball o' wax....
See mo_1040's picture....

I lowered the engine, lifted the van up, slid the engine out, slid the new engine under, lowered the van then used a krane through the front door to lift the engine up to the van.






click on the photo for full picture.
M1D

RodStRace wrote:Kiwi, the Chevy doghouse is welded in. whole different ball o' wax....
See mo_1040's picture....

Thanks for clearing that up...I learnt something today

the pics above make the job look quite a mission. I now see the difficulty involved.

Great photos and descriptions.

I like the "big lift" approach, but the gotcha there is finding someone who has one and is willing to let it be used to pull the motor and then after the rebuild let it get re-installed.

I'm thinking I want to keep the motor stock - 283 - so it would take some time between pulling and installing. I have a used 350 on a stand in questionable shape that surely needs a full rebuild, but it could be an option as well.

You know if you had a shop close by even if it wasn't a buddy's place you could tow the van there after getting her completely ready to come out just lift her up drop the motor and trans and leave .then when it's ready to go back in do the same in reverse.If I ever have to remove my engine again this will be the way I do it. Bill

One question: if one lifts the front end as shown, is it necessary to remove the front axle in order to drop the motor?

This is a V8, which might be a bit shorter than an L6.

No, it is not necessary to remove the axle, or steering or sway bar. Look at my pictures above. I lifted my van by the axle.

disconnect everything from the engine.

three bolts and an engine crane lowers the old engine to the ground.

lift the van (its not so heavy without the engine/trans) but it is heavy enough to kill you so take precautions.

transfer the mounts and cross member to the new engine and trans, slide it under the van.

lower the van over the engine.

pull the engine up to the frame with an engine crane.

its easy
m1d

M1Dadio,

OK, thanks.

If I did this at home, I'd have to do it outdoors since the roof beams in the workshop/garage aren't much higher than 8 feet. I could hoist a motor up to the peak of the roof between the roof braces, but not a whole van.

Outdoors, looks like I might be able to use one cherry picker to raise the front of the van (like Don showed) and another one to lower the engine out of the doghouse.

Are those really tall jack stands showing up in the second photo? Are they bolted to the floor?

I'm wondering if I can put the van up on regular jack stands in front, take everything off the motor, hook up the cherry picker to the motor through the side doors, lower motor onto dolly, unhook motor from cherry picker, then use same or another cherry picker to raise the van up so the motor can be rolled out to the front on the dolly?

Reinstallation might be trickier since no way will I get under the van when all that's holding it up is a cherry picker. Maybe I could raise the van with the picker, push the motor into position using long 2x4's attached to dolly, lower van onto regualr jackstands and motor, then hook up cherry picker through doghouse to raise motor up to installation position?

If you do it outside you could always dig a hole in the ground to drop the motor into then push the van out of the way...
Just an idea and yes I was raised by a redneck

Redneck safety tip: don't use cinder blocks or those concrete blocks to hold anything up you are going to be under!

Yup,them kill.

yes those are jacks I have for lifting aircraft, they go about 9 feet tall. I was just using them as saftey stands.

Chock the rear wheels so they won't roll, I like the rope overhead because nothing is in the way of moving engines in and out.

Rolling over a hole is a desent idea. I remember my friends older brother about 30 years ago just droping the old engine into a hole and bearying it right there.

Do you have a large tree? when at the cottage we made a large trypod out of trees to lift the engine off an airplane wing that was 10 feet off the ground.

M1D

Um, the area where I'd be doing this is fully paved with concrete, and a big hole in the ground would be a definite construction if not safety issue.

No tree big enough around to hoist a van from. And I can just see the limb overhead breaking off.

There is however a beam at the front of the carport that could be used to hoist up the front bumper, as long as the van doesn't roll forward and smack into the beam - because it's only about 8 ft high off the ground. But clearance on the side door side could be an issue - it's too close to the property line...

A portable gantry crane is another possibility, I suppose, providing it's tall enough.

the engine will come out of the van through the front pass door
very easy with a cherry picker. you have to remove the exaust
and possibly the fuel pump off the block. removing the engine
cover lid will make working on the engine a lot easier, also remove
the pass front seat. only way i would remove from the bottom
would be if i had a twin post lift to work under, I have done it
that way, was fast and easy. if you use a cherry picker to set the
engine on the floor under the van why not just lift it through the
top of the engine cover, and out the side door?

Pulling the engine through the top is also easy. But its debatable which is more or less work. I believe either way is about the same work, Like Panelmanrd says get rid of the front seat and the dag house lid.

The difference is dropping out the bottom is less removing stuff off the engine inb that tight space but a little more work lifting the van. Where pulling through the top you have to spend alot more time stripping down the engine before pulling.

No matter how you look at it, its going to be either 6 one way or half a duson the other way.

I just found it alot faster, easier and less busted nuckles to to chop the exhaust pipe and get the old engine and trans out of my way in one quick chunk, and also not dissasemble the replacement engine to get it in. In my expirience the less you take apart on an opperating engine the less problems you create for yourself. Thats the only real reason I chose to lift the van. But either way may be restricted buy your facilities and equipment.

M1D

veefre - If I'm not mistaken your '67 is a 108. I think it would harder to go through the side doors on a 108 compared to a 90. I put my engine in through the passenger front door with the turbo 350 attached. I removed my doghouse and the heads and exhaust were not on the engine. I supposed you could put just the engine alone throught the front door and lower through the doghouse. Extra pair of hands would come in handy to avoid any dents. I would remove and replace engine without exhaust manifolds. Good luck!

KC,

I hope you meant you removed the doghouse LID, not the doghouse itself (since it is welded in place).

I was wondering if the placement of the side doors is different on the 108 wheelbase (which I have) vs. the 90 wheelbase. The extra distance, if so, might make side door engine pulling difficult with a standard cherry picker.

Dadio,

I agree that the less disassembly of the motor prior to installation, the better. I'm especially leery of trying to get the original exhaust manifolds off. My experience with other old motors is that the nuts are usually frozen on the studs, and can present a real problem pulling them off. On the other hand, my home setup probably doesn't allow for raising the front of the van up high enough and safely enough to get under there to drop the motor.

Anyway, this is all good info for when I decide to rebuild the current motor. It's a bit moot at present since I broke my elbow last Friday... will be a couple three weeks before I am wrenching again (the break is a "good" break and is expected to heal up well without needing a cast or months of recovery). Fortunately the motor is running pretty good. Got 18 mpg going about 60 miles over hill and dale last weekend, for example ;-).