Guest Rob McDonald Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 (edited) I've just done a very long search and am surprised not to have found my answer: where are the best places to bolt hoist chains when pulling a 1957 Buick V8 engine and Dynaflow transmission, all in one unit?(I've removed the carb and taped off the intake manifold. It looks like I could use two intake manifold bolt holes, one forward and one back, on each side of the engine. If so, should I also remove the manifold (and tape over the intakes in the heads), so that the lifting bolts are acting on the engine block only?)UPDATE: I decided to remove the intake manifold and tape off the inlet ports in the heads. Looking at this again, I see that the manifold is not attached to the block but rather to a thin flange on the heads. I think better lift points would be the large threaded holes at the end of each head, facing the intake manifold. One of these holes is a port for the temperature gauge sensor and the other is plugged.I guess finding a balance point, which will lift the front of the engine, while dropping the back of the transmission, will require picking the right chain link to hook onto the hoist hook. I'll just keep trying that, until it seems to work.Oddly, the factory shop manual makes no mention of removing the engine. For all regular service, like cylinder honing or bearing shell replacement, apparently the engine was expected to stay in the car. If major off-board machining was required, was it just assumed that a competent mechanic would know how to get the engine out? Clearly, the authors didn't have me in mind! Edited December 23, 2012 by Rob McDonald on second look (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 Rob, I am a straight eight guy and have never pulled a V8, but have seen a plate that bolts in place of the intake manifold with a ring for the chain to attach to. Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 I used the head holes on the front and back. Never had a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 Intake manifold bolt holes in the heads front and back with or without the intake manifold in place for my 322's works to remove engine or engine+tranny.Willie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
42crazy Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 Keep in mind that a chain or bolt that is pulled steadily is very strong, but if you jerk it, it may break. They don't like sudden snaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 I have used the manifold bolt holes and the balance is pretty good. I have an assortment of eye bolts hanging on that pegboard in my garage for lifting. Then I am sure I get the benefit of all the threads working for me. Years ago I just picked up and assortment of sizes; makes life easy.Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rob McDonald Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 The job was a rousing success! I ended up using two manifold bolt holes. Their flanges are a good 3/8" thick. I was removing the intake manifold anyway, to repaint the valley cover. The holes directly into the head might have been better but I don't have any bolts that big (5/8") in my stash. Eye bolts would be ideal for a smooth, jerk-free lift.As I figured, trial and error found me a good place on the lifting chain to raise the front and lower the back at the right angle for extraction. I've had a bad experience with a broken chain, so even though it comes with the rental hoist, I intended to buy a new one. But here we were on a Sunday morning at 8:00am and I'd forgotten, so we used the one at hand.My helper ("Vanna White") and I didn't bash the firewall, nor did we hit the rad support uprights on the way out. I did run the hoist boom into a wooden overhead rack where I store my Thule car-top carrier but no harm done. Lesson Learned: look up, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1957buickjim Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 Rob..Where are the pictures? You know us forum guys are really hooked on visuals...Come on man, cough some up!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 I gave my cherry picker to my nephew last year. I figured I could sucker him into any future engine pulls. Maybe I will get it back for one more and get our own Vanna White. We could shoot for an all vowel engine pull. Maybe one of those reality shows. "O-O-O-O- Stop! Coming down fast from Terraplane!" Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1957buickjim Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 LOL...hahahaha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rob McDonald Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 Ah yes, pictures. There must always be pictures. No in-flight images, though. "Vanna" was not real good at multi-tasking.Here's the head-of-nails waiting to be bolted to the engine stand. Can you imagine - the local nut'n'bolt shops were closed all day Christmas Eve. How's a husband supposed to do his Christmas shopping?!Here's the Dynaflow searching for a couple of square feet of clear space, on which to be disassembled. I don't have a space problem; it's really a stuff problem.There's one more image that you can find at http://forums.aaca.org/f115/christmas-buicks-342133.html#post1114048 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted December 27, 2012 Share Posted December 27, 2012 "Stuff" could be a "coming down fast from Terraplane" word, not the one my son kept hearing though. Once the garage was barn find du jour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rob McDonald Posted December 27, 2012 Share Posted December 27, 2012 No, wait, Bernie's the one with a Stuff Problem. I merely have a Chinese puzzle - there is still a way to create a work space. Anyway, it's supposed to warm up tomorrow, so I can shove wifey's car outside again."coming down fast from Terraplane" - that went right over my head...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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