The FSM says leave the transmission attached but I'm trying to do as much as I can by myself so I was thinking about removing the tranny first then the motor. Any advice will be appreciated.

There a few ways to pull the engine and transmission. If you've got to remove both then I'd suggest removing the hood (obviously), jacking up the rear of the vehicle (place rear wheels on blocks or use jack stands) and remove engine/trans as one assembly. A rolling engine hoist would be needed to follow my suggestion. This allows the assembly to be tilted far less to clear the tunnel and radiator support.

Either way works. What seems to sway people to doing it altogether is the problem of putting the trans back onto the engine and getting it to line up and back on, if you have to do it with the car on jack stands, by putting the trans on your chest then up and into place. uggg. No fun. I always do them in and out together now. I don't even take off the drive shaft. Slips right off on the way out, and just takes a second pair of hands to guide it back into the tail on the way back in.

Remember what will come pouring out when the driveshaft exits the tail too.... Drain it first.

Edited October 18, 201113 yr by zKars

There a few ways to pull the engine and transmission. If you've got to remove both then I'd suggest removing the hood (obviously), jacking up the rear of the vehicle (place rear wheels on blocks or use jack stands) and remove engine/trans as one assembly. A rolling engine hoist would be needed to follow my suggestion. This allows the assembly to be t

ilted far less to clear the tunnel and radiator support.

If you do pull the engine with tranny attached, don't forget to drain the transmission oil and wrap the the rear with plastic. Otherwise, you'll have two quarts of thick oil on your garage floor. Right Mark?

You can pull them as a unit ( make sure the radiator is out ) or unbolt the trans and then block the front of the trans and pull the motor first.

The best way to do it also depends on your engine hoist and how much room you have in your garage. I tried to do engine and transmission together but I could not get my hoist high enough to clear the fenders and miss the suspension while not hitting other things in my garage. I got half way out and ended up starting over. For me, removing the transmission while the engine is still in the car is the easiest way to go. A transmission jack adaptor makes pulling the trans a very quick process.

Edited October 18, 201113 yr by steve91tt

You can buy a plastic plug that will fit into the rear of the transmission if you decide to drop the driveshaft. The shop that did my work had it on hand, I suspect it is a standard size item - not specific to Z's.

Transmission/gear lube is especially smelly - it will PERMANTLY stain and smell any fabric it comes in contact with. Ask me how I know!

Jim

For that I just use a plastic bag and a twist tie over that end of the trans........

Having done it both ways, pulling the engine/trans as a unit is actually much easier out and back in. It can be a one man job, but it goes better with a friend. Take your time, +1 on the draining or blocking off the rear of the trans, mark your wires as you remove them, have fun.

Cheers, Mike

"Transmission/gear lube is especially smelly "

Go with Redline MT-90 when you refill to avoid that in the future. That's the reason I went to synthetic gear oil years ago.

Although it still isn't fun having it spill out on the floor.

"A transmission jack adaptor makes pulling the trans a very quick process."

If you pull the transmission while it is in the car an adapter (if one will work with your jack) or a Harbor Freight transmission jack is a wonderful thing. I just pulled the Trans on my Z and it actually went back together faster than it came apart. I might have just got lucky on the angles when sliding the trans back in but I was ready for a long battle and it took less than 10 minutes to get it slid back into place.

I got some great tips in the thread at: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?43545-One-man-job-Removing-and-replacing-transmission&highlight=

saved me several of the usual 'ooops, didn't think of that' moments.

Trevor

http://www.240z.me

Edited October 18, 201113 yr by ta240

I have pulled dozens and dozens and I have found it to be way easier as a unit. I pulled the front U-joint from an old driveshaft to leave just the yoke and I use that to plug the trans to keep the oil in. I can have a carbed engine out in less than an hour and a FI engine out in 1.5 hours. It takes about the same amount of time to reinstall each of them.

The key is to get an engine hoist with a long arm. The hook on the hoist arm must reach the breather port on the valve cover. If not, the engine will be very tough to line up on the motor mounts. I use two pairs of ratchet straps to lift the engine. By using two on each lifting eye, I can keep loosening the rear straps an inch at a time to angle the engine up and out. Just make sure the factory lifting eyes are still there and if they are not, make some from shop scraps. It is 1000x easier with the eyes in place.

Wow! Ask and you shall re"Z"eve. My car is on stands now and I was going to use my motorcycle jack for transmission jack to remove the trans seperate. Then put the tires back on and off the jack stands so I could roll it while pulling the motor with a extendable arm motor hoist but if it's easier to do as a unit then when I get it out can I just lower it to the floor and remove the trans then put the block on a engine stand? So I should raise the rear and lower the front for a better angle. Thanks for all the input.

Edited October 19, 201113 yr by siteunseen