zbomb5610

I am about to pull my motor out, car really hasn't been running for over 2 years now, which sucks since i put a lot of money into it but it had a really bad rear main seal leak and was shooting out a lot of blue smoke from the rear exhaust.

i am finally getting around to doing it and i am going to try to have it done within 2 months. going to redo the seals and get all new gaskets, pretty much a rebuild.

so my question is i have been reading on people removing the motor/tranny from the bottom which i plan on doing, but when people put the rear wheels on a set of wheels, why do they put the outer face of the wheel downwards?

won't that damage/scratch the wheel since it will touch the ground? is there a reason they don't just have the wheels facing up and then put the rear wheels on top of those?

i am asking because that is how i did it today and the car is sitting like that in my garage right now, then i looked up threads and pictures on engine removal but people seem to do it the other way.

one benefit i see on the way i did it is the car is lifted off the ground higher, seems like it would be easier to remove exhaust components.

just trying to get some feedback, thanks

mvvette97

I just put one in my 94 from the top. It wasn't that bad really.

zbomb5610

i just want to try it from the bottom because it seems like it might be easier.

but i was just worried about sitting the rear wheels on the outer part of the front wheels because i am hoping the stock aluminum wheels can handle the weight and won't break. and if you put the wheels upside down and then sit the rear wheels on them doesn't that scratch the outside of the wheels?

khojo16

this is just a guess, but when u have the wheels on the ground facing down, yeah ur car will sit a little lower because the rear tires will sit in the recessed part of the rim, but i think it is for safety reasons basically. think about it this way, ur car is much more stable and unlikely to roll off the rim if the tires are partially inside the rim when its face down on the ground as opposed to when the rim is face up on the ground, ur tires are just sitting on top, and the car could roll off should something happen...personally i think you should be able to do it either way just as long as ur sure the car is supported properly...

o and +1 for engine swap in through the top....i've done it about 5 or 6 times and its not very hard at all...dont ask why so many times lol

niteninja

I used spare tires to go under the rear wheels. I had them, plus if I took my front tires off, I wouldn't be able to roll it out.

I would suggest spare tires, because with the weight of the car, nice wheels will get sratched.

ACE1252

If the tire is at the recommended air pressure, the rim will never touch the floor. Now the width of the tire could play into this....I have 245/50R16 on my "salad shooters". With this width tire though....the rim never touches the floor. If using another type wheel other than what I'm talking about...be careful.

JooneJune

I just pulled two motors out of the bottom this month...

Put the tires/rim face up (remove the center caps). Bottom is much easier, I won't go out the top. Make SURE you have a cart to put the motor on, and 2x 4x4 block of wood for easier install(about 2-2.5ft long).

97Z28Muscle

Just put the wheels face up, if your worried about scratching them put some folded up towels on them. Take the engine out the bottom. There are some people that say take it out the top, but trust me and everyone else telling you to do it out the bottom. It is a ton easier and the only way I will do it. I know, I know, it sounds like a cluster $(*% taking it out the bottom, but then you have EASY access to everything. The exhaust, the transmission, bell housing, everything. It took me two FULL days to go from my "K" member with engine/trans bolted up to a fully running car. The hardest part was lining everything back up to put it back in with the jacks, etc. Everything went in way smoother that I was thinking it would, and I did not have any problems getting my car running. Just make sure you have at least two floor jacks(one can be a small 2 or 3 ton), but two jacks makes it a lot easier on you. Then go to harbor freight and buy a small furniture cart to roll the tranny's tail end around on. You will be so proud of yourself once you take it out the bottom and put it back in. Your friends will think your a genius...