How to pull a motor?

[Doug]

Are you going to reinstall a 230 or do a swap? Exhaust manifold can be taken loose and wired off to the side to keep it out of the way, or sawzalled off and removed completely if not going to be used. Take all the linkages hoses and etc off, pull the four bolts that hold the trans to the bell housing, motor mount nuts, just the one on each side, the whole mount need not be removed.. Radiator should be out, along with the fan and it's pulley. I never bothered pulling the lower pulley and balancer...but that's the real tight spot when pulling a 230 without removing the radiator support. You have to have the engine tipped WAY up in the front to get it out.

Seems easiest if you do it in two stages... lift the engine level and moving it forward to move the motor mount studs over and ahead of their holes, then rehooking to the chain 3/4 of the way to the front... Should have said to begin with, I cross a chain from one side of the engine on the back to the other side on the front. Chain should have no more slack in it than possible, Slack will just decrease the final height with to hoist all the way up. Not a bad idea to pull the carb if you wish not to damage it.

Another wise move is to use a good ratchet strap to sling under the trans to keep it supported. Being able to use it to slightly raise/lower the trans helps in disassembly and reassembly. I once removed and replaced a trans in the campground using nothing more than ratchet straps to drop it out and lift it back in....just keep your melon and anything else you wish not to flatten out from under it.

With the engine tipped so far, a typical hoist is not tall enough to get the engine high enough to clear, but I was able to muscle the back half of the engine up high enough to get it over the radiator support. Pushing a hoist with an engine that high is spooky business, doesn't take much of a hiccup in the concrete to make the hoist want to tip instead of roll. I prefer to get the engine up and roll the truck out from under it.

It's been a few years, but for a while I was blowing up and installing one every year/ year and a half. Also parted a couple trucks. I'm sure I didn't cover everything involved, but this should at least give you a vague mental map of what all has to happen... just enough for you to form your own plan in your own mind.

Don't over think it, it's all just nuts and bolts. Not a terrible job, matter of fact, my 15 year old pulled the last 230 for me when he was 9. Did everything except the muscle part of forcing the engine level to clear the radiator support while rolling the truck backwards out from under it. No kidding, I was in the house working on something else while he did the job with occasional coaching and help breaking loose a tough bolt.

Ask specific questions if you have them, I'm sure some others will fill in a few of the blanks too.