Best way to pull 240sx motor?

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DavidM

New member
Title pretty much says it all. I get to pull two motors to swap the one from the current car to the new tub. Never done it before. I'd like to leave as much on the motor as possible since I don't need to break it down. What's the preferred method and attachment points? Anything specific I should watch out for?

I'll pull the stock 240k mile one out of the new tub first so that if I fubar something it won't be the end of the world. I'd prefer not to scratch up the body, though.

Thanks in advance.

David
 
David,

I found that you can pull the motor without pulling the transmission with it. I still removed the header (had to with my design) and the intake manifold. I also found that taking the weight of the motor mounts and then unbolting the motor mount brackets made it a lot easier to move the motor forward as you lift it.
 
Have a lift? We did a similar swap like that dropping the engine out the bottom... Or more precisely, by lifting the whole car off the subframe, engine and trans. Even better if you have to swap the suspension over anyways! :D

Also have done engine and trans on the ground, out the top with the front of the car jacked up. Didn't enjoy that as much :/
 
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I pulled/installed mine from the top with the transmission attached; it was a little tight but not horrible, just get (if you don't already have) one of those load levelers (like this one) so you can tilt the engine to clear the front crossmember. I'm sure the header was off, can't remember if I had the intake off but I'm guessing I left it on. I did it by myself, so it can't be that bad. I did mine in '07, so all the little details aren't quite fresh in my mind, but it seems to me this was one of the easier engines I've pulled out.
 
I'm borrowing a lift. It doesn't come with a load leveler, but harbor freight is 10 mins from the house.

Since I'm swapping everything over I will have the entire front of the car off - bumper cover, radiator, etc. I was thinking pulling the tranny off might make things easier. It'll be tight confines in garage. What I'm thinking of doing is backing the new car half-way out of the garage to give me some space. Not sure how that's going to work yet.

Does the header have to come off? Like I said, I'd like to leave everything on that I can. A big question I have is what to use to lift the motor. I've looked at a couple people's posts on the Inet and they wrapped chains around the intake and exhaust runners. That seems like bad mojo to me, but maybe they're strong enough. Using the alternator bracket was mentioned by someone else. I just don't want to attach to something that is going to break. That would suck.

David
 
The donor car will have seat belts,correct? Cut the seat belts out of the car,unbolt them from the rear seat bottoms,what ever you only need one. Just cut long enough to wrap around the intake manifold and a lift bracket on the exhaust side. DONT laugh im serious.. The seat belts will fold around something other than breaking any part of the engine,intake,valve cover etc.

The aluminum used for all the parts on the top half of the engine are not as strong as a CHAIN the chain will destroy parts,dosent slide on the hook of a crane,is a pain to find the center of gravity and hook to a sturdy part without damaging any thing.

Been using the seat belt trick for 10 years after the junk yard dropped off a motor with 1 attached as a lift piece. Ive pulled out everythig from 2.5 fiero motors to 6.0 silverado engines. Just wrap around tie a square knot and lift.

Dan (GM Tech for 20+ years)
 
David - I'm pretty sure I had some lifting "tabs" with attached chains that came with either the lift or the leveler, and bolted them to the various unused bolt holes in the block. That's the nice thing about using the leveler, it doesn't really matter if the chains are perfect.

I'm also pretty sure you need to pull the header, it sticks out quite a bit and is just fragile enought that it could be bent up if you aren't careful. Not to mention it's pretty easy to get off, so I didn't even give it a second thought. You can try...but don't say we didn't tell you :D
 
The header is one-of-a-kind so I don't want to fubar it. It's likely the most valuable part of the car considering everybody wants to see it. :) I'll have to lock it up after I take it off.

I've got some scrap steel pieces lying around so maybe I just drill some holes in a piece and bolt it to the block. Think I'm going to use a piece of nylon strap to lift it instead of the chains. I don't want to mess up the seat belts as I'm going to see if I can sell them because they're the fancy auto moving ones.

Stopped by the shop today and the cage is looking good. Did a final seat fitting. Should be ready to pick up tomorrow. Then the fun begins.

David
 
I typically pull motors with the transmission still in the car.

As mentioned above, lifting it a little, THEN unbolting the motor mounts...THEN removing the motor mount brackets...makes it easier to move things around.

And use a leveler..save yourself the headaches of trying to lift it "static". They are $40 for a decent one, from even Advanced Auto Parts.

I bolt the leveler to the head...front pass. side, rear drivers side. Use extra, longer bolts...with washers, to bolt the leveler on. Mine came with decent "L" brackets, so I used those.

I pull the header, but leave everyhting else on.

Good luck, have fun!

- Brian
 
by lift, I meant car lift, but your response did answer the question... We were lucky enough to be able to do this one at my work :)

industrial cart, it will roll easily with +500 lbs on it!
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As far as what to hook to... I've done this stuff enough I don't really think about it, couldn't even tell you what we used when we did it the old school way...
 
You can pull the engine/transmission together but it's a LOT easier if you remove the shifter. I pulled mine with the stock intake/exhaust manifold and everything else still attached. I only drained water/oil/power/steering fluid and unbolted the a/c compressor and dropped it. You will have to jack the front of the car up a bit and remove the hood; and remember to drain the transmission ;-)

I recently helped a buddy remove a Mustang motor from the bottom and it was surprisingly easy (once we got that last hidden subframe bolt out!)
 
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