Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications General Mods Pulling motor.....how hard is it really?

Just FYI for you folks pulling engines:

1.) Pulling through the top is superior due to leaving the subframe and rack and pinion alone! No realignment necessary and no broken bolts there! It is also easy because you only need a cherry picker, not a lift.

2.) When pulling the axles, if you have original axles and nuts then it might be simpler to leave the axles in the hubs.
All you do is pop the axle loose at the transmission as is stated above...use your method. Then, unbolt the lower controll arm at the ball joint from the spindle. Notice the brake caliper is removed and hung from the fenderwell.
Unbolt and pop loose the tie rod. Use a pry bar and hit the side of the joint and it will pop right out easy with no boot damage.
Finally, if you have an impact wrench, unbolt the top strut bolt from the tower with an 18mm socket. Then just lift the whole strut and axle assembly right out and lay it on the ground. Now you have simplified your work, prevented having to deal with axle nuts and the problems associated with having your wheel bearings go bad later due to bad preload on the wheel bearings when you pull the axles, AND made a whole lot more room to work on everything!
With practice, you can have both axle/strut assemblies off in 30 minutes and out of the way if you already have it jacked up and the wheels off.
Oh, then you can wire tie the brake caliper to the lower control arm so it doesn't continue to pull on the rubber hose.