2002 Alero 3.4 Engine replacement

[Earl Ollila]

I removed the engine and transmission from this 2002 Alero from the bottom after disconnecting all the spaghetti, the cradle, the CV jts etc.My question is, how do you disconnect the engine from the tranny? I have removed all the bell housing bolts and the three bolts connecting the fly wheel to the torque converter but engine is still tight to the tranny.
A side after the fact question--- Did I have to disconnect all the plugs from the wiring harness to the various components or is there a single plug connection behind the fuse box that I could have disconnected?
Could I have just disconnectd the engine from the bell housing and then removed the engine from the top?
You can call me - day late and a dollar short!!!!!:

[xeroinfinity]

SHould be a bracket holding the trans-to-engine on the rear/pass side, should be in plain view.

Thier's no single connector...
...but you could have pulled the motor out the top and not bothered with the trans drop and all those extras.

[Earl Ollila]

Thanks for the reply. I found the bracket found that holds the Tranny to the Engine.

Does $800 sound OK for a replacement used engine.Engine rebuilders around here are quoting $2,000 for a rebuilt. This used engine has 57,000 miles and is from a Montana - 2002. I plan to install new Intake manifold gaskets on it before I reinstall the engine.

[xeroinfinity]

Yeah $800 doesnt sound to bad, any sort of warranty on that ?

They run about $1200-1500 for that low of mileage down here in Indiana.

[Earl Ollila]

I finally received and installed the engine. Two problems exist. (1) The oil pressure symbol light on the dash never goes off. The engine sounds good no tappets rattling or bearing pounding: Must have ok oil pressure. I didn't check it. All wiring harness connections are in place.Where is the oil sending switch located on this 3400 engine? There is low oil switch on the bottom of the oil pan. There is another switch that goes into the front side of the block.
(2) The steering wheel is out of alignment 90 degrees. Can I fix by removing the steering wheel and resetting it to proper alignment? Or do I have to pull the steering column spline from the rack and fix that way?

[xeroinfinity]

Oil pressure switch is right by the oil filter.
Low oil sensor is in the pan, wires coming off the right sometimes get damaged or coverd in oil and cause problems.

With the steering wheel, I take it you loosend/removed it to drop the trans/motor?
The column will need taken loose and readjusted off the rack.

Hope that helps