pulling 4.3L vortec
 

Greetings,
I'm in the process of pulling a 4.3l vortec out of a '98 and am reinstalling it into a '99 S10 Blazer.
my question is: how do I get to the top bell housing bolts to remove them/ install them?
Thank you so much for any & all info

You can get them from the bottom with a series of extensions and a swivel socket or from the top with a wrench after removing the lower intake manifold.

Without removing the transfer case and lowering the rear of the engine....... Pull distributor, remove oil sending unit and fuel lines to injector spider. Lots of patience. Don't forget ground straps on passenger head, fuel line clamp at rear of driver's head, and transmission cooler line attached to oil pan. 4WD is more difficult than 2WD. Good luck. Ask if stuck.

I just pulled the motor out of an S10 (RWD) a couple of weeks ago. I removed the cross member and tilted the transmission down so that I could get to the top bellhousing bolts. I used a 3 foot long extension and a swivel socket. I believe the bolts were 14MM, but I really had problems with that and used a 15MM and my impact gun. In order to drop the transmission cross member, I had to remove the driveshaft and most of the exhaust. It was a real PITA. Then, when I tilted the transmission, I lost a ton of ATF and made a huge mess.

The FSM for the 96 S10 says to remove the cab to frame bolts and jack up the cab. I'd try that first.. The transmission tilt method sucked. This is RWD. If you have 4WD, I really can't help you. I had the LIM and left head off and still couldn't get to the upper bellhousing bolts from the top. I'm on an S10, though and a Blazer might be a little more friendly.

Also, there was one bellhousing bolt at about 10 o'clock looking from the back to front (so, its on the driver side). I got it out with a chrome Craftsman swivel, but I could not get it back in all the way. Its right up against the cab/transmission tunnel.

still having difficulty pulling 4.3L
 

Greetings again,
so I finally was able to remove all the bell housing bolts , got about an inch of separation between the engine block & the tranny, and now am faced with another issue: it seems I am unable to remove the engine due to the oil pan coming into contact with the front differential. and I am unable to hoist the engine up any further since the top of the tranny is against the bottom of the body( I hope that makes sense).
What is the procedure for overcoming this problem???
I certainly welcome everyones great solutions.
Thank you so much for all the great help.

More than one way to skin this cat, but personally I drop the trans before I remove the engine.

I'm following out of curiosity and as motivation to keep up with my engine maintenance so that I'm never faced with pulling the motor.

Also, I wanted to say I'm cheering you on! :)

Good luck and keep us posted.

Just pulled the motor from my 2000 4WD and by getting those top bellhousing bolts out you've cleared your biggest hurdle. Wish I could meet the engineer that designed that little challenge. I've heard guys saying to drop the rear of the tranny and use 3'-4' of extensions - problem is 4WD has a welded cross member under the tranny so can't tilt it down. Some guys actually drilled a hole in their floor board to get to the bolts. I did what the manual says and removed the 2 body mounts on the front and also pulled 2 on each side. Jacked the front end up about 8" to get to the top bolts.

I had the same problem trying to get some separation. While I was underneath trying to figure out some way to get a pry bar in there without tearing something up my son was up top manning the hoist and (without telling me) he yanks it forward hard a couple of times and it came right apart. Scared the crap out of me. The key is to have the front body elevated enough so you can raise the engine/tranny high enough so the oil pan can clear the differential. And might sound stupid but I saw where a few people missed a bell housing bolt and spent hours pulling on their engine. Hope this helps.

Careful what you wish for steveduns. I've lived in the motor city my whole life. In 1991 walking into a restaurant on a first date a well dressed man pointed at my fiero and said "I was one of the engineers of your car". Without thinking for a second I punched him in the shoulder hard. He laughed and his wife told him to stop telling people that. He blamed the bean counters and was very nice considering how large he was. Tip, don't punch smiling strangers on a first date. She'll think you're crazy.

As a woman who has worked on cars and turned a wrench or two, I'm one who would totally understand the desire to hit a GM engineer in the should if he (or she) admitted to designing one of the bone-head contraptions I've had to fight.

Note, I did not say I'd condone such action, just that I'd understand. :)

If you just can't get the flex plate in front of the tramsmission bellhousing, then you will have to loosen the mounts for the front differential so it will move forward far enough. Mine did not require this, but admittedly it was difficult to get that flex plate in front. Are you supporting the trans with a floor jack?

Engine Removal Success!
 

Greetings & salutations;
with my Dad's help, the rite amount of luck & very useful info & tips from all you great & knowledgeable Chevy people , we finally was able to remove my 4.3l. I just wanted to take this opportunity to give you all a shout out & say Thank you, & I'm sure we'll talk again.