should i remove the tranny and engine as an assembly if i'm not doing anything with the clutch or tranny? mitchell and all them say to remove them as an assembly does anyone know why??

 

Yeah, putting the engine back in with the tranny still bolted in the chassis can be a real bitch to align. I would pull the engine separately and put them back in as a pair. But, that will require a steep angle entry, which can be difficult, and transmission oil will run all over where you need to lay if you forget to drain the transmission. Then don't forget to fill it too!

Personally, I would pull the engine, drop the transmission, install the engine and then get a friend to put the transmission back in with a good jack.

My $0.02

 

x2 on the separate everything. I have not done it all in one before but I could see it being a pain on these trucks, no room, very steep drop in angle not to mention the trans and t-case weigh more then the engine. If it is just a 2 wheel drive I would give it a try though.

 

I've seen it done, but you need a lot of overhead clearance and an engine leveler. Even then it looks like it would be pretty easy to bust out the windshield.

I think overall it would be harder to do it that way, if you're having a problem getting the tranny bolts undone you can move the whole engine and tranny forward 3 or 4 inches and get to the bolts from the top (inside the engine bay) with a breaker bar.

 

nice thanks guys

 

Not sure where I saw this from, but it was somewhere on here and it worked like a charm --

Remove the engine and leave the trans in place. Before you drop the engine back in, but 2 or 3 bolts that thread into the back of the block in the same holes that connect the bell housing to the block. Cut the heads off of the bolts and cut a slot into each that will fit a large flathead screwdriver. Install the bolts into the block, use them as alignment dowels to mate the engine and transmission, and back them out with a screwdriver once everything is lined up correctly.

I did this about 2 months ago replacing my engine and I threw the headless bolts into my toolbox -- worked like a champ.

 

I prefer to drop the tranny/transfer first, then pull the engine. Reinstall in the opposite order.