hi guys in the next two months i say i will proberely be ready to remove the old 1991 vette engine and fit my new 388 c.i engine!!
the old engine that has the 8 t/b intake and haltech fitted has a left hand side head gasket problem at the moment.
its leaking coolent out spark plug hole when plug is out and also i noticed when i drained old engine oil out coolent was coming out of oil drain plug as well.
its stuffed.
for tempory use to fix head gasket problem, can i add " chemi weld" solution in coolent to help plug old head gasket to stop it leaking to see me thru the two months ??
im not sure if you sell this chemi weld solution liquid weld there in the usa ,but here i can buy the stuff from autobarn here.
they say to remove thermostat when adding chemi weld to coolent and fill up.
so here is another question guys,should i remove engine with 6 speed box all togeather or leave 6 speed in car ??
what problems or difficulties will i encounter ??
i know that i can leave the hood attached still while pulling motor out!
any tips/tricks would be much appreciated.
cheers
glen

easiest way is to disconnect the transmission, and if its leaking badly enough to see coolant in the oil, I wouldn't try a dump in sealer

Leave trans in car , remove dist so you can angle engine back so balancer lifts clear of steering rack as engine comes forward to clear trans.
I recall there is something tricky about removing the ZF6 clutch fork;it has to have the fork pivot bolt undone

STOP!!!!!

You cannot leave the trans in the car with a manual. It's just going to cause you a ton of grief.

The clutch will protrude so far off the back of the engine that clearing the bell housing will teach you about 40 new cuss words. I am not kidding.

Remove the trans and c-beam first, then remove the bell housing and clutch. Don't short cut this... there just isn't the room to do this with out bashing the firewall or breaking the windscreen. Unless you have pulled a number of engines from a C4, I would advise against it.

Seriously, removing the trans first only takes about an hour... so take your time and don't mess things up.

To remove the trans, remove the shifter knob and console. There are 4 chrome nuts that retain the rubber shifter boot, remove them. Then remove the c-beam - I highly recommend Beam Plates - and then the drive shaft.

With this new engine, I would be looking for new u-joints.

This is also a good time to replace the output shaft seal on the tranny, it's the same part as on the TH400 automatic.

Remove the clutch hydraulics and then the transmission, bell housing and finally clutch.

The bell housing comes off by removing the bolts off the engine and turning it to about 4 o'clock. The fork can be released from it's normal position with a prybar. Check the Helm for details here.

My 2 cents, brah.

The only different about removing the ZF6, is you cannot seperate the bellhousing from the motor unless you first remove the transmission. This is due to the pull-type clutch.


So you can either unbolt the trans and try to pull the engine+bell...

or you can remove the trans, remove the bell, remove the clutch and flywheel, then pull the engine.

Dont bother with that stop leak stuff, just fix it right.

Quote:

They probably say that because its so thick it'd "chemiweld" the thermostat shut.

Makes you wonder what it'll do to the radiator.

hi guys,
thanks heaps for your help and advice.
ok,i shoulndt put that chemi weld in the old motor then as it will stuff up radiator.
i will follow your help closely.
btw andy,thanks for agreeing to post up my 8 t/b avatar picture for me soon!!!
cheers
glen

This is an age old C4 discussion topic...

Personally, I find it easier to remove the engine and trans together, then separate them on the garage floor. The only drawback is that you need two people, one to guide the motor around the firewall and the other to work the cherry picker.

I also remove the hood - many people tell me I'm foolish and it can be done with the hood in place. Yes, it can. But it's 4 freakin' bolts, does that take so long to remove? Just mark (paint) the bolts before you take the hood off so you get it aligned properly upon reassembly.

Quote:

hi mate,
i think i will just remove all at once like you mentioned.
but do i need to remove radiator at all ??
what else do i need to remove please guys ??
cheers
glen

Glen, I'm one of the "remove trans guys"

I can not always depend upon somebody to be around to help remove the hood or re-install it. So removing the trans first is what I do.

When I pull LT5's, I do not remove the radiator. No need to. Just go in from the side with the hoist and lift and tilt. Make sure you watch the HVAC box and also the windshield wiper motor.

hi jeff,
how are ya mate!!
thanks for your reply too mate!!
much appreciated .
cheers
glen

Quote:

You can leave the radiator in the car. Really the only thing I'd warn you about is the coolant line across the back of the heads. Maybe some of the AC lines? I never had any problems.

g,day mate,
i have deleted the a/c already!
which coolent lines did you mean on the back of the heads please mate ??
i dont think i have one ??
cheers
glen

You dont, you have the L98. LT1 heads have this feature on them. Just take a careful look over, under, behind multiple times. There always seems to be something small hooked to these one way or the other.