!!!i Need A Lot Of Help!!!

[Drewet88]

like the title says I NEED ALOT OF HELP!!!!!

Normally my friend would help me with this but he went to the marines and left the job half done. Then my cousin was going to help me but he moved to miami so now I'm all alone and I've been saving up until I could buy everything I need and its finally time for me to tackle this project alone.

When I got an engine off of ebay and my friend dropped it in for me he said it didnt work. He took it back out and opened it up and it was worse off then my original engine he said. From what I could tell it was just a lot of metal shavings to much to be normal wear and tear but I found a place where you can recycle metal and I took both of my busted engine up there and got a little less than 900 for the metal, so I made a nice profit off of that but that just went towards the new engine hoist and some more tools (craftsman to replace the stuff I bought from Target). Then I got a job @ starbucks and bought a new engine hoist (I forgot to buy chains to lift the engine out with guess that has to wait), a remanufactured engine from GM and Chilton manual. The problem is the Chilton manual I bought is for RWD vehicles and mine is a FWD and when I went back I couldn't find one for FWD vehicles and most of the pictures do not match. I also looked for a shop manual but I could not find one for my car...Heres a list of what I've done so far..

*removed the radiator
*removed the air cleaner assembly
*removed belts and hoses
*disconnected all of the wiring (i was told i didnt have to take a pic of it because the connectors can only connect into ont thing and cannot be mistakenly put into the wrong place)
*removed alternator
*disconnected power steering pump
*disconnected the exhaust pipes
*drained out the oil
*removed the oil filter adapter

Doing all of this was hard because I had to do it on the side of the street since my uncle wouldn't move his 86 Buick Century out of the way (he hasnt driven it in the last 2 years) but he finally sold it so now I can work without worrying about cops or getting hit by a car.

As far as I know I still need to unhook the tranny, remove the starter, and my friend said since its a FWD I have to remove something called a drive train. My chilton manual doesnt say anything about a drive train but it says something about a flywheel. My friend also told me I dont have to worry about that because I do not have a flywheel .

This is where I get confused I understand disconnecting the tranny and removing the starter but what/where/and how do i remove the drive train he said if I dont my axle would break when I was trying to pull out the engine. I can handle myself when I have instructions but since my manual is RWD i cant follow it anymore because nothing else matches....

So actually this will be the 3rd engine going into the car but this one has a money back guarantee and a warranty.

I NEED HELP!!! I wish I helped with taking out the other engines so I could know what I'm doing now guess I always have to learn the hard way.

ANY HELP IS APPRECIATED AND I'M SORRY IF MY STORY IS LONG WINDED I JUST WANTED TO TELL THE ENTIRE STORY.

I Love my 87 Olds ninety-eight and I dont ever want to part with it and I plan on keeping this car until the wheels fall (may not be to far from now) off or until I am not capable driving anymore. To me its a classic and I'll do anything to restore it.

PLEASE AND THANK YOU

[GTP Dad]

OK here we go. The drive train is the transmission. You can change the engine without taking out the transmission just make sure to support it with a jack underneath. Your does not have a flywheel but it does have a flexplate that connects to the torque convertor. You will need to get under the car remove the dust cover from the transmission and unbolt the four bolts that hold the torque convertor to the flexplate. After that you need to remove all the bolts from the bell housing and you should be able to lift the engine out of the car. Make sure to support the engine with the hoist before you attempt to unbolt the transmission because they support one another.

Make sure you get all the bolts out of the tranny to make sure that the transmission doesn't catch and hold the engine. When you attempt to remove the engine make sure that you lift it gradually so you can move it around as needed.

[Alibi]

To be honest, It is easier to just remove the whole tranny, engine assembly unless you happen to have a large car lift. With similar tools as you, It took me and a couple other guys (who helped off and on) about 2 weeks to do an engine swap.

Basically, You just have to slowly lower the engine into the bay and hopefully get all the mounts to line up....go here:

http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBr...3d8015ddd8.jsp

That ought to get you a good start. Otherwise, search the forums. Olds 88, 98, Pontiac Bonneville, Buick Lesabre, Buick Park Avenue (FWD) all have the same basic design and engine. Your best bet would be either the 88 or LeSabre forums, since they get the most traffic of the above listed.

[Drewet88]

Originally Posted by GTP Dad

OK here we go. The drive train is the transmission. You can change the engine without taking out the transmission just make sure to support it with a jack underneath. Your does not have a flywheel but it does have a flexplate that connects to the torque convertor. You will need to get under the car remove the dust cover from the transmission and unbolt the four bolts that hold the torque convertor to the flexplate. After that you need to remove all the bolts from the bell housing and you should be able to lift the engine out of the car. Make sure to support the engine with the hoist before you attempt to unbolt the transmission because they support one another.

Make sure you get all the bolts out of the tranny to make sure that the transmission doesn't catch and hold the engine. When you attempt to remove the engine make sure that you lift it gradually so you can move it around as needed.

Ok so disconnect the four bolts on the torque converter to the flexplate disconnect the tranny bell housing bolts and I'm done? Nothing more?
And I'm guessing I'll have to remove the oil pan in order to access the torque converter bolts, and how do I turn the torque converter to access the bolts easier?

Originally Posted by Alibi

To be honest, It is easier to just remove the whole tranny, engine assembly unless you happen to have a large car lift. With similar tools as you, It took me and a couple other guys (who helped off and on) about 2 weeks to do an engine swap.

Basically, You just have to slowly lower the engine into the bay and hopefully get all the mounts to line up....go here:

http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBr...3d8015ddd8.jsp

That ought to get you a good start. Otherwise, search the forums. Olds 88, 98, Pontiac Bonneville, Buick Lesabre, Buick Park Avenue (FWD) all have the same basic design and engine. Your best bet would be either the 88 or LeSabre forums, since they get the most traffic of the above listed.

Thanks for the site. Much more detailed than my Chilton manual.

[Drewet88]

alright well i dropped the oil pan and got off the torque converter bolts (there were three and i have to buy new ones now) one was stripped already then i accidently stripped a bolt.

i got off the top four tranny bell housing bolts but there are two more. i need a deep socket for them and i didnt have one so i have to go buy it in the morning. i also cant find a way to get to the one in the back. so i have to do some looking in the morning.

just that alone took me about 2 hours

[Alibi]

As for the last bell housing bolt that is in the opposite direction of the others, you need a long extension to reach it. You run the extension through the hole in the tranny-to-engine mount...and you really didn't need to pull the oil pan. You did, however, needed to pull the starter and plastic covers over the "flywheel".

You also need to remove the tranny to engine mount bolts.

Overview: You have to remove the 6 bell housing bolts, 2 tranny to engine mount bolts, tranny mount to chasis bolts (or tranny to mount bolts), torque converter bolts. That should do it....and, of course, remove the CV axles (be careful to not split them apart!).

Are you supporting the engine somehow? Come-along, cherry picker?

[Drewet88]

i'm using a cherry picker and how do i remove the cv axles (i'm going to do a search and find out)

I think i may be able to finishe this up over the weekend if i keep going at this pace thanks....

[Alibi]

CV axles...hehe...fun (sarcasm).

First, you gotta pull off the wheels. Next, you need a 36mm socket to remove the center axlt nut. Then, remove the cotter pins and bolts (19mm...or 18, not sure) from the tie rod end and from the lower part of the spindle. At this point you may need to invest in a pickle fork (~$30). Use said pickle fork to get the tie rod ends and spindle loose. DO NOT bang on the threads with a solid hammer to get them out so that you don't mash any of the threads. Loosen them up with the pickle fork then try to have a buddy get them loose with a pry bar...or a jack of some sort.

After this, you should be able to swing the whole strut/spindle/rotor/caliper assembly off and away from the cv axle. You may want to secure them out of the way with a bit of wire or something.

To actually get the axle out, you should be able to pull it out. However, to avoid pulling a boot off one of the knuckles, I suggest you GENTLY pry them out between the tulip and transmission housing.

Everything else doing OK for ya otherwise? PITA, ain't it?

[Alibi]

BTW, it took me and an experienced mechanic about 6 hours to replace a transmission...and that was with a lift and air tools. The whole pulling out part isn't too bad...it is the whole getting it back in that was challenging.

[Drewet88]

Originally Posted by Alibi

CV axles...hehe...fun (sarcasm).

First, you gotta pull off the wheels. Next, you need a 36mm socket to remove the center axlt nut. Then, remove the cotter pins and bolts (19mm...or 18, not sure) from the tie rod end and from the lower part of the spindle. At this point you may need to invest in a pickle fork (~$30). Use said pickle fork to get the tie rod ends and spindle loose. DO NOT bang on the threads with a solid hammer to get them out so that you don't mash any of the threads. Loosen them up with the pickle fork then try to have a buddy get them loose with a pry bar...or a jack of some sort.

After this, you should be able to swing the whole strut/spindle/rotor/caliper assembly off and away from the cv axle. You may want to secure them out of the way with a bit of wire or something.

To actually get the axle out, you should be able to pull it out. However, to avoid pulling a boot off one of the knuckles, I suggest you GENTLY pry them out between the tulip and transmission housing.

Everything else doing OK for ya otherwise? PITA, ain't it?

O goody. This sounds like fun...... and I'm guessing theres no way around that....

So in the end I'll have the entire front axle off, or just a part of it?

alrighty i'll try to get everything else done and then do that....
so looks like i have to get out that last bell housing bolt off which sounds like it will be a pain but not as much as the CV axles....

everything else is okay....... only thing left is the last bell housing bolt, a couple of motor & tranny mounts, and the CV axles

and yes this is a PITA.
i never thought it would be this hard to do an engine swap....

[Drewet88]

Originally Posted by Alibi

BTW, it took me and an experienced mechanic about 6 hours to replace a transmission...and that was with a lift and air tools. The whole pulling out part isn't too bad...it is the whole getting it back in that was challenging.

when you do a tranny swap dont you have to take out the engine if you dont have a lift?

[Drewet88]

ok stupid question..... how do i take off my hubcaps?

O and do I take off the cv axle after or before I take the bolts out of the mounts and will i need to go under the car to remove the cv axle?

[GTP Dad]

Do you currently have the engine completely loose, including the bell housing bolts? If you have removed the torque convertor bolts, try to move the engine slightly forward from the transmission and lift it out of the car. If everything is loose you should have enough clearance to pull it from the top and leave the transmission and CV shafts alone. This will save you a lot of time an effort if it works.

[Drewet88]

Originally Posted by GTP Dad

Do you currently have the engine completely loose, including the bell housing bolts? If you have removed the torque convertor bolts, try to move the engine slightly forward from the transmission and lift it out of the car. If everything is loose you should have enough clearance to pull it from the top and leave the transmission and CV shafts alone. This will save you a lot of time an effort if it works.

Yes the bell housing bolts are off and the tranny has jack stands under it. I dont have to remove the CV shafts if I have enough clearance to pull it out?
I dont have to do anything extra in order to pull it out without taking out the CV shafts?
Just undo the mounts, pull it foreward and, pull it out?

[GTP Dad]

You got it!!!