Superman09's Heart Surgery

[Superman09]

Worked hard today......


Empty bay pics








Going in....








Shes in!









Ugh, motor mounts wont line up!!







What a *****!

Many hours of prying, trying, struggling, bashing of hands/knuckles.... its in!









Hoods back on!















Thanks for looking!

[kammi10]

why did u already put the hood on... i would have waited til it was done to do that

[Superman09]

what do you mean? Its easy from now out. The only reason i had the hood off in the first place was to pull the engine so i could get enough clearance. Its back in now so its all good. Plus we dont have the room to store my hood and its a PITA to just sit it down, then when i want to work on it i have to pull my moms car out and have someone help me move it over and set it down. Just a PITA. it took 10 mins, 8 bolts and its back on so i dont have to mess with it aymore. Much better!

[ITSSLOW]

Looking great! I definantly would of left the hood off though. More clearance for your head. If storing it was a problem why didn't you just throw a sheet or blanket over your roof and lay it on top the car?

[Superman09]

lol, what is it with you guys and the hood? The hoods not in the way, nor has it ever been. Storing it on top of the car? Aweful idea. What if it slides off? Welp cya $800 for a new one.

[ITSSLOW]

lol, what is it with you guys and the hood? The hoods not in the way, nor has it ever been. Storing it on top of the car? Aweful idea. What if it slides off? Welp cya $800 for a new one.

You've gotta be like 4' tall then. If I'm spending 20hr+ under the hood of a car my back would be killing me from leaning over.

How is that an awful idea? I've done it on about 15 cars and never had a problem. Unless you are outside on a super windy day you are fine. It's completely stable up there because it only hangs over a few inches on each side.

[Superman09]

meh, i'd rather not risk it. And the hoods not in my way and im not 4', haha. I just find it funny how you guys are debating why i put my hood on, if it was in my way and i had room, i would have left it off. But i do not have room and its not in my way so why not put it back on? Also, FWIW... most of the rest of the work i have to do is from the bottom.

[ITSSLOW]

So how easy was it to pull out/put in through the top? I've never had to pull an engine on a 4th gen but I will coming up in the next few months. I've pulled a few one 3rd gens and they were easy to get out the top. I even pulled a buddies 3.8 out of his bonneville from the top and that was easy. A buddy who works at a dealership said I'd be messing with it for days trying to get it out. 4 hours later....

[Superman09]

Wasnt that bad. I had all the front stuff outfor my turbo kit. I'd suggest front bumper off, can move the picker farther in to use a better setting, also wont bang up the bumper. Then the radiator/ac condensor out. My car had all the ac stuff off already. Water pump off, power steering pump off, intake off, coil stuff off. Drop tranny, disconnect wires n stuff. I'd say the hardest part was removing the tranny. You just basically gotta clear everything out in the engine bay, then disconnect everything from the motor and its good to go.

[Superman09]

FWIW, i'd say an on and off day it took me to get all the prep work done. And Myself, Jon, and Joel together had my engine out in a days work messing with pulling my tranny for a few good hours!

[Naterman35]

I find the tranny as the hardest part.... When i was pulling the engine and tranny outa the firebird i pulled them together but it was damn near impossible to get to one of the bolts for the tranny... But finally got it... then as i was pulling it forgot to disconnect the shifter cable.... but oh well

[Superman09]

Yea, tranny was def the hardest part of removal. Im dreading having the wrestle it back up now!

[SS4Matt]

the trans isn't that hard to get in and out. after you do it a few times it's easy. remember your 10 hours to remove the intake the first time and i laughed and said it only takes me 20 minutes maybe....same thing, you'll get the hang of the trans after a few times. i used to be able to rip my T56 in and out in just an hour or so by myself on my back...

[silver6_maro]

Lookin good jonny!!

[96BlackBetty]

wow that looks good. Want some pics when it finished. Very nice motor. I bet that thing will run strong.