yurizx6r

Hey guys, I need to swap out the motor mounts and oil pan gasket, so I need to lift the motor. I've never done it before, and I'm borrowing my buddies cherry picker. Does anybody have pictures on where to lift the motor from? Also on a side note, to change to oil pan gasket I only need to lift the motor like 5 or 6 inches rite? Once I do that it shouldn't be too hard? lol Thanks for any help in advance!

dawson1112

In order to use a chain hoist on the engine you need to find a few places on the block that you can bolt the chain to , some engine hoists also come with a set of metal straps with holes for the hooks that you bolt onto the engine. Usually the heads have extra threaded holes in them , and its always better to use 4 points to lift from 1 on each corner of the engine.


That said, I suggest since you have never done this before to just go ahead and pull the entire engine out and do it out side the car. And here is why... The limited space you have to drop the pan in the car and remove the old gasket is tight to say the least. In order to remove the old gasket and make sure you have cleaned the mating surface's the pan needs to come completly off the engine. In order to raise the engine high enough to remove the pan the tranny needs to come loose anyways.
You will save yourself some serious frustration by removing the engine and doing it correctly the first time. Changing the oil pan gasket and having it leak after your done will totally ruin your day.

yurizx6r

It just so happens I'm swapping out the clutch and rear main seal, so when the transmission is down/out, will it be easy just to lift it a few inches rather than taking everything off and taking the motor out?

dawson1112

Yea as long as you can get the engine high enough for the oil pan to clear the oil pump pickup , but really once the tranny is out , the mounts are off, and the exhaust is off the only things left are a few sensor wires and the radiator . And seeing that youll be doing the rear main seal as well pulling the engine just makes more sence to me.
The rear main in itself is a pain to work on laying on the ground under the car.
Im just telling you how I would do it, Ive done it both ways and believe me pulling the engine makes it so much easier to do. Lol at least for me Im getting older and I hate being under a car when I could be standing at a bench .

yurizx6r

Oh don't misunderstand me, I'm taking your advice, I just don't know any better with this car because I have not done it yet. It SEEMS like I could get away with lifting it a few inches to do the job due to the sub frame being int he way, but I thought putting in the long tube headers would be a breeze......... lol So that being said, I've been wrong, and I'm not sure what to expect.

yurizx6r

Also, would you happen to have pics of where to lift from the heads/motor? My buddy said use the threaded holes that you use for the headers... that scares me.

mjr46

no need to pull the pan out to change the gasket, lift it high enough so the pan drops down enough that you can fish a new 1 piece rubber gasket in place, did one at christmas like such

bluebeastsrt

I've also done the oil pan gasket. Unless your a fairly good mechanic (I'm not). Lifting the motor and putting it on an engine stand is sooooooo much easier. Working under the car completely sucks laying on your back in your driveway. As far as lifting the motor. Get a couple of lifting plates and bolt it to the header mounting holes. Heres a video it'll look like this coming out.

petrock

I recently pulled my wife’s 3.8L out of her ’98 mustang. I agree with others that it will be easier to pull the entire motor to replace the rear main seal, oil pan gasket & motor mounts. Since your also replacing the clutch, you do not also need to pull the tranny. It can stay in the vehicle.

I used the A/C bracket & Power steering pump mounting bracket mounting wholes in the heads and the matching wholes on the back side to lift the motor.
You can use the bolt that you took out of the head to get a set of 4 new ones from your local hardware store. On my wife’s ride I used M10-1.5 x 45mm bolts with some washers for extra spacing. They may be different on your motor.
I would also recommend picking up a load leveler instead of using a chain or cable to lift the motor. A load leveler will make the job SO much easier, especially when lining things up on re-install. I picked up a 2 ton load leveler from Harbor Freight for $20 during an "open box sale" a few weeks ago. It allow you to rotate the motor backwards/forwards to different angles to give you better clearance and/or alignment.
Once I got everything disconnected, it took me 10 minutes to get the motor out with the hoist and load leveler.

Good luck...

tinman

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^
He's got the right idea with the load leveler.