P-15 engine removal

[radioguy7]

Hey guys, going to remove the engine from my P-15 sedan, what's the best way to go about it?? I already tried hoisting the car up from a tree by the rear axle and then giving the car a good shake but the engine doesn't seem to want to fall out. Yes, I removed the hood first, any hints??

[greg g]

If you haven't removed the front sheet metal, you at least need to remove the radiator. The engine should be seperated from the bell housing, and you need to pull it out at a very steep angle front of engine up probably 30 degrees or more. Are you using an engine hoist or a tree????

Check Dennis Hemingways members page, if he has a linnk to his photobucket, he has a real good picture of the engine ad the angle needed.

[claybill]

radio....what kind of tree did you use..? that might be the problem..

bill

[claybill]

radioguy. i have done it 3 times....

the most thorough way...is to remove the front fender/grill/unit...it all comes out in one piece removing 13(?) bolts. then you are lookin' at an easy job!

another way.....unhook everything including the tranny and you will find that

sometimes the radiator support bracket gets in the way..you must remove rad of course.

also..another way...i chose to pull the tranny and engine in one piece, with the fenders ON. in that case you definitely need the hoist attachment that lets you tip the motor as it comes out.

in every case you will find that the radiator top crossbar is in the way...

choices..cut it and reweld...easiest...or remove the whole front end...

it is lots of fun and not difficult...drain rad first and oil and block!!

[claybill]

absolute trick...camera. take pics of elec hookups, wires etc..ALSO, pics underneath of hookup of tranny rods and e-brake set-up, and carb linkage etc...use tape to identify wires and where they go.

i took advantage of the motor out to scrub down and re-paint the interior motor compartment walls. good idea.

stock color was black...but a light gray lets you see under the hood lots easier.

bill

[radioguy7]

Been there before with many other animals, most of them non mopar. Sounds like pulling the front end is the easiest and dropping it off to the side. The engine compartment is in amazing original condition as it looks like nobody steam cleaned it in it's entire life so it had a nice coating of oil and road grime to protect and preserve it. I'm pulling the radiator tonight and getting started, funny thing after reading that radiator cap thread is that my cap won't come off, no problem in losing it if it won't come off!! lol. It quarter turns but then that's it, it needs further investigation. I'm excited to finally get started on this project. Dreaming of doing some P-15 cruisin this summer!

[radioguy7]

absolute trick...camera. take pics of elec hookups, wires etc..ALSO, pics underneath of hookup of tranny rods and e-brake set-up, and carb linkage etc...use tape to identify wires and where they go.

i took advantage of the motor out to scrub down and re-paint the interior motor compartment walls. good idea.

stock color was black...but a light gray lets you see under the hood lots easier.

bill

Oh yeah, learned the old polaroid trick years ago when my brother and I had a shop, we did work for people at night after our regular jobs. No time or money to buy a slew of manuals and polaroid film was cheap!

[Dennis Hemingway]

Here is the hard way to remove an engine from a 48 P15. If I have to do it again I will remove the hood.

Dennis:eek:

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[BobT-47P15]

My old radiator cap got real hard to remove. That's because the gasket under it was

ancient and kind of mushy......so I went to NAPA and for about 3 bucks got a new one.

We removed the hood, but left the fenders in place. You just have to lower it at the

correct angles as you go.

The tranny was still in the car......bellhousing on engine.

Edited May 21, 2009 by BobT-47P15

[Don Coatney]

My old radiator cap got real hard to remove. That's because the gasket under it was

ancient and kind of mushy......so I went to NAPA and for about 3 bucks got a new one.

We removed the hood, but left the fenders in place. You just have to lower it at the

correct angles as you go.

The tranny was still in the car......bellhousing on engine.

Bob;

As I see it you should have used the tree in the background to R&R the engine. By doing so the car would have been moved out of harms way,

[BobT-47P15]

Now you tell me............................

[Plymouthy Adams]

pulling an engine is about 7 bolts more than taking the engine off a pushmower, thats sounds about right does it Don C.?

as for the tree method...must have be a pussy willow...else it shuold have worked..actually just take off the hood, unbolt the engine and tranny and roll the car over onto a couple matresses...it will fall out before you complete the roll back onto its wheels...be sure you have room for this operation...

[Don Coatney]

pulling an engine is about 7 bolts more than taking the engine off a pushmower, thats sounds about right does it Don C.?

as for the tree method...must have be a pussy willow...else it shuold have worked..actually just take off the hood, unbolt the engine and tranny and roll the car over onto a couple matresses...it will fall out before you complete the roll back onto its wheels...be sure you have room for this operation...

I think it is 8 bolts but I would have to contact the GMC forum to make sure:D

Now removing a radiator cap is fodder for a whole new thread.

[Niel Hoback]

Tim, you may have been kidding, but I actually tried that with a 65 bonneville convertible. It was way more work than it was worth, and it is almost impossible to roll one of those big flat boats by pulling it with another car. I wound up dragging it sideways several yards at a yank and literally pulled the tires sideways off the wheels.

Stupid? Yes. It was about ten years old with 49k on the odometer. Someday I will learn. Not much chance tho.