I'm foxed - Trying to raise engine

I'm in the process of replacing the engine mounts. I've removed the long through bolts for both lower engine mount brackets and the 13 mm bolt for the driver's side lower bracket to crossmember. I've removed one bolt and one stud for each top bracket. So there's only one top bracket to engine bolt remaining for each side.
I've removed as much weight from the engine as possible by removing the passenger side accessory bracket from the car and supporting the A/C compressor and the driver side accessory bracket using 2x4s.
I can insert a large screwdriver between the two halves of the driver's side mount and lever up the engine. However, when I jack up the oil pan (from just behind the crossmember), the whole front of the car lifts up. Is this because the front springs are extending since the weight of the engine has been taken off the chassis? Should I keep on jacking up the oil pan or will I break something?

There are only 3 bolts that you need to take out, there is one on the passenger side on the front, and there is 2 on the driver side, one on the front and one on the top i guess you would say, after that, it should lift out nice and easy, i may post pics later on tonight if i decide to go ahead and drop my motor in tonight, i got it all back together FINALLY. If i drop it in tonight, i will be sure to post some pics for you to help you along.


Derek

There should be some suspension lift with the raising of the engine, but you should be able to tell if the engine is going up or not.

Lifting directly on the oil pan is not recommended. It's cast and can be cracked. A lift over the motor would be much better.

90XR7Cougar5spd said:

There are only 3 bolts that you need to take out, there is one on the passenger side on the front, and there is 2 on the driver side, one on the front and one on the top i guess you would say, after that, it should lift out nice and easy, i may post pics later on tonight if i decide to go ahead and drop my motor in tonight, i got it all back together FINALLY. If i drop it in tonight, i will be sure to post some pics for you to help you along.


Derek

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The bolts that you mention are the ones that I've already removed. Can you post some pictures showing how and from which points you are lifting the engine. I'll buy a hoist if I have to.

Yes, i will post some pics tonight when i get it in tonight, not really sure when thats going to be, ive been working on the damn thing all day, but i will try to post some pics tonight. and you really need to buy a hoist, spend the money, and save you some headaches.

Mike8675309 said:

There should be some suspension lift with the raising of the engine, but you should be able to tell if the engine is going up or not.

Lifting directly on the oil pan is not recommended. It's cast and can be cracked. A lift over the motor would be much better.

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Would you or anyone else know roughly how much the front of the car should rise when the engine is lifted?

Gimme a few min and i will take a pic of mine and post it......... but keep in mind, it has no tranny in it either, not really sure it that matters but...

Derek

Here ya go, thats the way mine sits right now.

Derek

Thanks, Derek. As usual, pictures are worth a thousand words. Let me know how you are lifting the engine. There's no urgency as the car is not my daily driver.

Here are some more pics for ya. you can kinda see how I lifted it, you can get the lift chain from autozone. You cant see my lift but well you probly get the whole idea. The other pic is of the motor mounts on the driver side, you can clearly see the bolts that you need to take out on the driver side, the passenger side is the same way just without the bolt on the top.........


Derek

If you use something like a block of wood underneath the oil pan, you should be OK. loosen the plastic cowling so that it doesn't get cracked, then keep and eye on the intake plenum as you raise the engine. You can go ahead and remove all the bolts from the upper brackets since you are supporting the engine.. It will lift up a couple of inches, but the more you can raise it, the easier it will be to get the mount pieces out.

Here's a trick that will save you some frustration. Assemble the new mount with both brackets and tighten the upper nut where everything is in the right place. Then remove the lower bracket (2 bolts), insert the parts under the engine where they belong, then tilt the whole thing to the side and reassemble the lower bracket again.

90XR7Cougar5spd said:

Here are some more pics for ya. you can kinda see how I lifted it, you can get the lift chain from autozone. You cant see my lift but well you probly get the whole idea. The other pic is of the motor mounts on the driver side, you can clearly see the bolts that you need to take out on the driver side, the passenger side is the same way just without the bolt on the top.........


Derek

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As I suspected, one needs to remove the stuff that's on top of the engine in order to bolt on the lift chain.

TbirdSCFan said:

If you use something like a block of wood underneath the oil pan, you should be OK. loosen the plastic cowling so that it doesn't get cracked, then keep and eye on the intake plenum as you raise the engine. You can go ahead and remove all the bolts from the upper brackets since you are supporting the engine.. It will lift up a couple of inches, but the more you can raise it, the easier it will be to get the mount pieces out.

Here's a trick that will save you some frustration. Assemble the new mount with both brackets and tighten the upper nut where everything is in the right place. Then remove the lower bracket (2 bolts), insert the parts under the engine where they belong, then tilt the whole thing to the side and reassemble the lower bracket again.

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I kept jacking up the engine until the body finally stopped moving (after 1-2") and only the engine kept rising.
I have another problem. All the bolts for the mount brackets were extermely difficult to remove. I'm left with one bolt - the 13mm one for the upper bracket next to the steering shaft. The head is completely rounded.
I've moved the steering shaft aside and removed the exhaust manifold to have better access. I've tried different bolt grips and removers. There isn't enough space to use a drill and easy-out. Unlike the passenger side, the upper bracket will not rotate when it is held on by only one bolt because of protrusions in the engine block.
Other than removing the engine from the car, the only alternative I can think of is to cut up the upper bracket and leave only a small piece around the bolt. I can then take a hammer to this piece and try to rotate it and thus loosen the bolt. Does this sound workable? If so, what tool should I use to cut the bracket. My experience with cutting metal is extremely limited.

That one is tricky.. Here's what I used.. extensions but with an unchewed bolt head.

Before you cut the bracket, you might want to check out the Sears Bolt-outs They're supposed to be good and considering that the bracket bolts aren't all that tight (relatively speaking), it should work. They also make them as bigger bolt caps.

The extensions and universal joints are what caused the bolt head to get rounded in the first place. I tried using them before I disconnected the steering and manifold. Even with no obstruction, the large diameter of the OEM mount forces one to use a short extension because the ratchet will not fit directly on the socket.

I've tried the Craftsman Bolt-outs - both the socket style and the nut style - with no success.

I was able to rotate the upper bracket slightly by inserting a screwdriver between the bracket and the engine block at the front side and then twisting the bracket using a large adjustable wrench. The bolt rotates along with the bracket which means that if lock-thread was used, it's not a problem any more. The bracket cannot be turned any further because it will hit the oil pan.
I noticed that the base of the bolt head is shaped like a cupped washer, which leads me to believe that if I can chisel off the base, then it will be much easier to unscrew the bolt.
I'd still like to know how to cut the bracket. I'm assuming that it is high quality steel. Is there an inexpensive cutting torch that I can buy? An electric grinder will be hard to fit in there and I don't know whether it's up to the job.

If you really want to cut the bracket i suppose either an acetylene torch, or a plasma cutter would do you just fine.

One other way to jack the motor up would be to jack it up by the transmission. I have done this countless times without a problem.

Shane

91supacoop said:

If you really want to cut the bracket i suppose either an acetylene torch, or a plasma cutter would do you just fine.

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I was told today that heat could crack the block. I'll first use a dremel ($7.99 from Harbor Freight , with 60 accessories ) on the wide part of the bolt head to try to free the bolt from the bracket. As I mentioned before, the bolt and bracket turn together. If that doesn't help and I don't kill myself with Harbor Freight's special, I'll attack the bracket with an angle grinder.

quick35th said:

One other way to jack the motor up would be to jack it up by the transmission. I have done this countless times without a problem.

Shane

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I did think of that before I started this thread, but I felt that the weight of the engine hanging from the end of the transmission housing might crack it. I suppose one could go one step further and shape a large block of wood to fit under both the oil pan and bell housing, and place the jack in the middle to distribute the load.

J.D. said:

I did think of that before I started this thread, but I felt that the weight of the engine hanging from the end of the transmission housing might crack it. I suppose one could go one step further and shape a large block of wood to fit under both the oil pan and bell housing, and place the jack in the middle to distribute the load.

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I just place the jack right under the bell housing and jack it up from there. I have had it supported like that for hours at a time without a single problems so I would not be worried about it if I were you. I would worry more about my oil pan more than the bell housing.

Shane