I am about to do a swap on a 96 T/A and can use any tips I can get. I' ve never done a swap on a 4th gen, so it' ll be a whole new experience. I know the best way to swap it, is from the bottom. Unfortunately, it doesn' t look like I will gain access to a lift to do it. Without a lift, there is probably no way to get the car up high enough to pull the engine from the bottom, right? How about pulling it from the top? I know it' s more of a PITA, but what would I need to do in order to pull from the top? The hood would have to come off, but I' d also have to pull the radiator, right? What else would have to come off? Any and all help will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

TPIS makes a motor bracket called the Happy Hooker. It bolts to your intake manifold and allows you to pull the long block out through the top. I pulled my 95 Z28 motor out the top without removing the hood! I did remove the tranny, flywheel, waterpump, radiator and AC condenser.

 

Thanks for the tip! Roughly how long did it take to pull the motor?

 

What are you calling a "lift"? You need an engine hoist (some people call that a lift) to pull it out the top. You could also use the same thing to lift the body up to remove it from the bottom.
I used a floor jack to raise my car up to drop the engine out the bottom. Plenty of room when the bottom of the front bumper is three feet off the ground.

 

I was reffering to a 2-post car lift. I didn' t think it would be possible to jack the car high enough to pull the engine from the bottom. I to want to look into the aforementioned "Happy Hooker," since it sounds like it may be the best method.

 

Out the bottom is actually easier if you got clearance. Pulling the longblock out the top doesn't take much time, it's removing all the accessories (waterpump, exhaust, driveshaft, tranny, flywheel, electrical harnesses, intake track, alternator, accessory bracket, pulley, etc) that take all the time! 2 guys could easily unbolt everything and pull the engine the same day. It goes much quicker after you've done it once or twice; you now how everything comes apart. It's also a 2 man job to ensure the longblock doesn't smack anything on the way out.

I'm seen a couple of guys pull the motor and tranny (bolted together) out through the top but I'm not that daring.