pulling a blown engine from 89 GMC 2500 with the 350

[2boys1truck]

this will be my first engine removal. I've worked on a lot of engines but have never pulled one out. I have the fluids drained, radiator removed, fan assembly off, exhaust manifold unbolted, and starter taken off. Bare with me im 19 and could really used some help. what would be my next steps? whats the best way to go about separating the engine from the tranny. also any additional information would be sweet regarding the swap and steps to follow. also for the future what engines can i swap some what easily how hard would it be to but a newer 350 in say 99 and how hard would it be to drop a 454 in? My boss gave me this truck for free the paint and interior is in perfect shape and i would love to get this thing back on the road im open to any suggestions and I know that putting a older 350 would be the easiest but just curious how hard an updated 350 with fuel injection would be? thank you to anyone that helps much appreciated.

 

[Joaquin P]

If you haven’t already make sure to drain the block itself too, there’s a plug on one side near the bottom of the engine block that’ll drain the block of any coolant it has inside. Also check to see that your engine doesn’t have any grounding straps that connect it to the body or chassis. As far as the transmission, the easiest way I have found is to remove the top two bolts from over the engine, so remove the hood if need be. There’s a total of 6 bolts If you have a 700r4, but the 4l60e should be the same thing as it’s the same bellhousing. There’s two bolts on either side, make sure you have an adapter that pivots as you’ll be taking these out at an angle. For the four on the sides it’s easiest to take them out from the bottom of the truck.


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[Joaquin P]

Before you you go to pull it out, hook it up to a cherry picker, the way my brother and I did it is we had it so that most of the tension was towards the front so that as we jacked it up the motor would swing out towards the front. Put a little tension in it and remove the motor mount bolts. These should be pretty accessible. Your engine should already have the hooks to pull it out, when you go to pull it out have a friend help you. Jack it up with a cherry picker a little and keep an eye on the motor in case you forgot to take something off.


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[Joaquin P]

If you can remove the front radiator support it’ll make your life a lot easier. You could just then roll the truck back instead of having to drag the cherry picker out. But if not then just take your time and have a friend help. Once the motor is out clean your engine bay out, what I did is I sprayed the whole thing down, power washed it, and sprayed some paint on it to protect it against rust. Since you’re gonna swap a new motor into it I’d opt to replace the motor mounts as well.


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[Erik the Awful]

Since you mention using a newer motor, it sounds like you have a TBI truck. (EDIT: Doh! Title says '89. I guessed right.) I'd stick with another TBI motor. They're cheap and easy to find, and don't require the modifications that a Vortec motor requires. 454 swap? Yeah, I'd love to do that too. Probably more work than a Vortec swap.

Pull the distributor. Pull your wiring from the motor and remove your fuel lines. Take note where the harness grounds to the front of the block - if you don't bolt that terminal onto the new motor, it won't start. It took me a week to figure that out the first time I did it.

I use a HF flat ratcheting wrench to take the top transmission bolts loose. For the lower bolts on each side I have a three-foot extension and an impact wobble socket. Easy peasy, good and greasy.

With a TBI motor, you drop the torque converter cover, remove the torque converter bolts - a flexplate holder is worth the money, and your transmission is free.

(EDIT: Disregard!) With a Vortec, remove the support arms to the motor mounts, unbolt the torque converter cover plate, and remove the torque converter bolts. It's another degree of difficulty over the TBI motors. Thin wrenches and strong fingers help.

Your hood will be in the way. I usually wrench by myself, so I take a thick old comforter and lay it across the windshield. Tie a rope onto the hood latch and tie it to the back bumper. Unbolt one side of the hood and let it rest on the comforter. Unbolt the other side. Pull the bottom of the comforter up to cover the hinges. Pull the hood back with the rope until the hood's laying out of your way.

Take the center bolt loose from each motor mount. Raise the engine just enough for the top half of the mount to clear the bottom half. Wiggle the motor, and if it starts separating, coax it with a prybar. DO NOT PRY THE ENGINE LOOSE. You're only using the prybar to wiggle it and convince it to separate from the transmission. If it doesn't come free, check to see what's hanging up. I've never had to get violent with a prybar to get an engine loose. Sometimes you might need to put a 2x4 on a jack and give the transmission a lift.

Once the engine is free, start raising it, checking every foot or so to make sure nothing's attached. I've been wrenching for a couple decades, and I still find stuff attached most times.

If your hoist won't get the engine over the core support, you can pull the core support or take the front wheels off and lower the truck down. My Stepside cleared. On my Suburban I lowered the front end onto the shortest jackstands I had, putting the brake rotors about an inch off the ground.

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

Before you pull the trans to engine mounting bolts, remove the inspection cover rotate the engine and remove the 3 torque converter bolts. Then support the front of the trans.

There's 2 block drain plugs, one on the driver's side and the Knock Sensor by the starter on the passenger's side.

just curious how hard an updated 350 with fuel injection would be?

Technically, the 89 350 is fuel injected, it's a TBI. If you want to go with a Vortec (96+) engine, you'll want to get the corresponding wiring harness and ECM for it.

Edit: I see Erik the Awful replied while I was responding - this is somewhat redundant.

 

[Erik the Awful]

Nah, you got the order of operations correct. I, too, would remove the torque converter bolts before unbolting the transmission bellhousing.

 

[2boys1truck]

Hey thanks guys I’m going to keep it simple and go with a tbi 350. I’ll keep you guys updated and I’ll probably have some more questions thanks again!

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

Good luck and enjoy!

 

[skylark]

If you're an automatic take note of how close the torque converter is to the tranny, it should be about 1/4 inch. When you go back make darn sure that you have the same clearance or you'll damage the front pump in the tranny. The torque converter should spin by hand with the engine bolted to the tranny, if not then something is wrong.