Christine - yep, that is how most vehicles have been assembled. When I had my '81 Corvette, it was quite common to build a body holding fixture out of wood, lift the body off the frame then onto the fixture. Then of course the powertrain, frame, everything was accessible. But requires space which I never had.....so I pulled the engine out, twice actually, out the top. When I had Fieros, I raised the rear of the car up and dropped the entire rear cradle out. Did this so many times that the last time it only took me 3 hrs start to cradle out, working alone.
So yeah...our Blazers are quite compact. I would not want a larger vehicle...except to work on!
I have to figure-out what to do with this starter though; even if I pull the engine out...I have to get to the starter terminals.
Starter terminals can be accessed by using some (many) extensions on a small ratchet and an open wrench. I got mine out that way after fumbling about 1 hour on these terminals. They are on the front under the exhaust manifold. Had to remove the reinforcing bar running from the #2 cylinder exhaust manifold to somewhere down the block. After that I could access the terminal nuts.
But that was on a 1994 with less of stuff on the right engine side.
Not able to see the starter terminals from either the front or through the wheel well flap...as stated above...they are under the exhaust manifold. I could probably get to the terminals if I remove the right side engine mount....but not able to get to all three mount bolts either....just too much stuff in the way.
Have not been out there yet today.
I was able to get the solenoid nut off yesterday, but that is where I stopped for the day.
I did find an engine hoist and stand on Craigslist....trouble is of course, I need the Blazer to go get them.....just not going to be able to get them with a motorcycle. Might be renting a pickup for a day.
Soooo.....I was able to get the starter wires off. Used a short piece of 2x4 to wedge the starter such that I could actually get a 14mm deep socket on the high current bolt...and it was not all that tight.
Time to drain the radiator & water pump and get those two off. Only taking the radiator off so I can give it a good cleaning....cannot believe how much debris is between the condenser coil and radiator. My last two Corvettes did hot have as much and they were both "bottom feeders."
Also spent a good 30 min with a wire wheel on the starter to get all the oil/grime off of it. And it is a GM starter...probably the original....wow 18 yrs and still going.
So far today I have a mess in the garage; the radiator, water pump, thermostat, crankshaft senor are all out. The timing cover bolts are out, but cover is not off. I need to let the coolant drip for awhile before getting back under the engine to see just how far the oil pan will drop down without dropping the diff. Maybe it will be enough to get the timing cover off without tearing the oil pan gasket....maybe not.
Will probably be a smart thing to do to get upper and lower radiator hoses; appears I tore the bypass hose in trying to jam the water pump pulley....so have to replace that hose for sure. I am definitely having an impact on RockAuto sales!! (I think I should buy some RockAuto stock.)
If your fingers are pretty nimble, you don't need to drop the pan very far, maybe 3/4". And the rubber gaskets usually stay pretty pliable, so as long as you're careful...
Yeah the bypass hose is small, but I will get an upper and lower ones as well since I have no record of ever changing them.
Today's progress: got all the oil pan bolts out. Getting those two rubber "thing" out of the bell housing took effort...man these things were soaked in oil and very difficult to get a grip on to pull out. Finally did and then got the two nuts off; they were not on very tight at all.
Then dropped the pan down....and found that someone had RTV'ed the pan gasket to the timing cover. Not going to try re-using the pan gasket, needs a new one. I went ahead and removed the four front diff bolts/nuts and let it come down onto the rear bracket. I do not think this is enough to get the pan out yet. Will probably need to separate the upper ball joint on the right side, remove the spindle nuts on both sides so I can slide the front diff to the right to clear the rear mounting bracket and let it come down and rest on the lower control arms.
If that is not enough, then will have to remove both CV axles to let the front diff lower further...possibly just remove it.
Pulling the engine sure seems like the better way to have gone....now I know.
4/13/2020: Well....not exactly how I thought this would turn-out.....but.......
the pan is out....of course so is the diff.
I got the diff to drop down, but could not get the pan to come off...something was hanging it up. I tried turning the crank to different positions...but no-go. So after about 15 minutes of trying, I decided to take the diff out. So off came the spindle nuts, separate upper ball joints, removed brake calipers and rotors, removed the stabilizer drop links. Then pop-out the left axle out of the diff which I then got a visual reminder that I had not drained the diff....so I got a nice pool of gear lube on the floor. CRAP! Oh well....guess it goes with the engine oil and coolant already there....
Removed the same parts from the right side. Decided to remove the cable actuator from the axle....so off came those three bolts. Got the vent hose loose and after 15-20 min of twisting and such....the oil pan was stopping the diff....down and out came the diff.
Took a lunch break...came back to find-out why the pan would not drop. After many looks with associated pushing/pulling I found that there is a clip/clamp that holds the transmission lines bolted to the pan. I had not seen this as it was covered in oily grime....so got that off...but still would not come down. After looking around again I saw that the only thing it could be was again the transmission lines at the very rear. They was just not enough movement in them to get them pass the pan. Took a crowbar to slide them past.....and DOWN came the pan.
Sooooo....bottom line....the diff did not need to come out.
Got back under the engine to see what was holding the pan gasket from falling and found lots of RTV. Going to take me awhile to scrap all that off....plus I need to get the proper E socket to remove the two "bolts" on either end of the rear cap to get all the old gasket off. I will take a picture of all of this.
Now I have hours of cleaning ahead of me to get all of this oily grime off!!
If it makes you feel better to laugh at somebody else's stupidity, I'll tell you a little story about when I replaced my engine.
So, I pull the old engine out, then clean all the parts I have to transfer over and install them on the new engine (except for the timing cover, which isn't supposed to be reused. I installed a new one of those.) I put the engine in, hooked everything up, filled it with coolant, etc., then turned the key and it just cranked. Didn't fire at all. I stuck the scanner on it and saw that there was no signal from the crank position sensor. See that little reluctor wheel on the front of your crankshaft? Well, I never pulled my timing cover off the old engine because I wasn't reusing it, so I never saw that thing there and never thought about switching it over. I had to drain the coolant, remove the water pump, drop the pan, and remove the timing cover after I had just put the whole thing together. Took me about three hours and a whole lot of foul language.
Thanks Tom....I needed that!!....although I think mine was far more "stupid!" I could not believe how those transmission lines would not move, especially at the rear....having to use a crowbar to slide them over the pan....unreal!
I assume your "new" engine was an older one...so no reluctor wheel? Sure be nice if I could have only taken three hours to get the pan out.
My engine does not have the timing chain tensioner, so I am going to put one on it. I have removed that reluctor wheel so I could align the crank and cam gear marks prior to removing the three cam bolts, then timing chain.
Also since I have the diff out, thought I would replace the inner seals. Might as well do something for all that added / unnecessary work I did removing it.
04-10-2020, 08:31 AM
