jhall Posted December 12, 2004 Report Share Posted December 12, 2004 Hi, I've pulled off the array of items to get ready to pull a N* 4.9L from my '97 Deville (130K miles - head gasket blown). I've looked at the past posts (very helpful), but have a question on whether it's possible to pull the motor and leave the tranny in the car. I saw this on a past post ('94 Seville - I think), but I'm not sure if this can be done on a '97 Deville. There's about 2-1/2 inches clearance on the passenger side of the engine, but I'm not sure if this is enough to clear the transmission converter / engine shaft so the engine can be tilted out. One issue is the big fat wiring harness that appears will be a real pain in removing from the top of the tranny. Car is on jack stands - I can work underneath - sort of.... I plan to drain the tranny and replace / clean the filters while the engine is out. Any advice from someone who's done this type of work would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadillacjeff7777 Posted December 16, 2004 Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 I have never pulled a cads motor but have pulled a many other cars motors. All I can say is that it has always been easier to just pull the whole thing and then seperate them outside of the vehicle. 2008 DTS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navion Posted December 16, 2004 Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 Jhall, I was probably the one that wrote about pulling the engine from the top on the 94. It was a challenge, but do-able. The first thing that I would do, if you haven't already, is get a manual from Cadillac. I don't know about the 97, but they had a very good set of steps for the 94. You need to follow them exactly. I believe that whoever wrote the book for the 94 actually pulled & reinstalled the engine. There are several tricks that have to be done. One is removing the starter so it won't interfere with the trans housing while you are lifting the engine. You will need one of those engine tilting attachments for the hoist as the rear exhaust maniflod hits the underbody while lifting the engine straight up. I ended up destroying the plastic cover that goes over the heater/A/C unit. (it was so fragile that a touch would shatter it.) With the engine loose I had less than an half an inch clearance between the crank pulley bolt and the right subframe rail. A real tight fit when you are doing this all alone! If you elect to drop the engine & trans together, (again I don't know about the 97, but the 94's engine, transmission and subframe come out as a unit.) I elected to pull from the top, but it was a task. There is a lot more stuff to un-hook if you drop the sub frame. Not to mention you have to have room to jack the car up high enough to slide the engine & subframe out from under the car. You will also have to have a set of dollys to roll the subframe around on. If I had to do this and get paid for it I would probably have to charge about $2,000 just for the labor. But in doing it myself, I know that ALL of the wiring harness clips and standoffs are back in place and no lines are rubbing, etc. Whichever way you decide to go, keep us informed. I guess that just changing the head gasket is out of the question? Good Luck and Merry Christmas Britt Britt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navion Posted December 16, 2004 Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 Jhall, I just reread you post and found that you car is a DeVille. (Mine was a Seville SLS)If yours is a rear wheel drive, almost everything that I said won't apply. I should read the posts more carefully before I open my mouth. Mybad Good Luck! Britt Britt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northstar Posted December 16, 2004 Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 That car is front wheel drive, you were right the first time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.