Cheers Kate! I have seen the sorry little man down the street laying
on his back under his Dodge pickup with a tranny on his torso trying to heft a
transmission up into his truck having not heeded this very advice. It was
quite a sight, I think that tranny may have weighed just about as much as
him...LOL
I have watched my father, brother, and husband (all mechanics) hoist
engine/tranny out as one unit for many, many years, and for those very good
reasons that you listed. I appreciate your two cents, it is nice to hear
from you. An experienced mechanic should be able to take the entire
thing out in not much longer than just the engine. As you mentioned,
not only worth the time...but definitely worth saving the risk of ruining any
parts.
In my case, the starter for my 1959 is a one year starter. A
replacement, while not only hard to find, is very costly compared to other Mopar
starters. My father has his own version of the penny saved story, and goes
like this "A penny saved is better than a penny earned...you've already paid
taxes on it." Unless you have money to burn, and time to hunt down those
ever elusive parts, your point is well taken.
Thanks again!
Teresa Smith
1959 Imperial South Hampton Custom
Kennewick, WA
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, July 15, 2004 7:57
AM
Subject: IML: engine removal and
reinstallation
Ok guys, just two cents from a 5'-4" 140 pound
woman with too many permanently mashed knuckles and a healthy respect for iron
tonnage.
It may be one heck of a lot more work to pull all
the radiator support hardware, grille, etc to get that engine and tranny out
as a unit, but I can guarantee you that it is worth the extra
effort!
NOT having to lift nearly half a ton of fragile
metal parts out of a rats nest of iron protrusions and hoses, wires etc and
getting it high enough and angled enough to have the tailshaft clear the floor
AND not hang up and damage anything in the process is worth the extra time by
itself.
The OTHER important benefit of having the
front end stuff out of the way is that you will not have to mate up the engine
and transmission while you are under the car, swearing a blue streak and
hurting your (already bashed) fingers, and those of the other person you will
have to have helping you reef the darn thing in!
I have seen too many shadetree mechanics do
considerable damage to input splines, bolt flanges, starter parts, etc., to
take this advantage lightly. Mating up an engine and transmission on the
ground outside is a job. Doing it blind while half of the parts are not in
sight and just that little bit out of alignment is a long and painful
stay in purgatory. A little extra time will likely save you untold misery and
possible injury - to you and the car!
As before, just my two hard-earned
cents....
Kate Justet Triplett
Kate's Custom Gunleather
Monroe, WA
"Lucille" 1968 Crown 4 door
HT
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