first time pullin a motor, having problems...

[dream on mcss]

Hey gbf! I know it's been awhile an all but long story's short me and my bro dylan are finally pulling the 305 out of the grand prix and well basically, it won't come out lol. So were pulling the motor and trans together, everythings disconnected, wiring harness, fuel lines, trans linkage, all that stuff. We removed the bolt that connects the trans to the xmember, motor mounts unbolted, the motor mounts themselves have even been removed from the block but basically the problem is when we lift it for some reason the motor won't lift forward so it can slip out it's like its stuck on something. What happens is when we lift up the motor it goes up and the trans hits the floorpan and starts lifting the whole front of the car so I dunno what the problem is. The only thing that's still connected is the driveshaft since we thought it would just slip out but idk if that would cause a problem so gimme some ideas guys.

 

[jrm81bu]

The stud on the transmission mount going through the crossmember will keep it from coming forward when you lift it high enough to clear the mounts. Raise it a few inches and then get under the car and lift at the tailshaft housing, or pull the crossmember. I didn't see you mention it but I assume the exhaust is unhooked?

 

[CGimbel]

There's one thing Pontiac have that the other models don't and I have seen many who didn't realize it when pulling engines. Pontiac's have a ground cable (thick as a battery ground wire) going from the left front lower firewall to the lower left transmission bellhousing bolt. Just unbolt it from the trans. This is probably one of the many things holding you up. Other thing to try is remove the crossmember / Y-pipe / starter.

 

[Justink]

The stud on the transmission mount going through the crossmember will keep it from coming forward when you lift it high enough to clear the mounts. Raise it a few inches and then get under the car and lift at the tailshaft housing, or pull the crossmember. I didn't see you mention it but I assume the exhaust is unhooked?

x2 I had to pull my crossmember and throw a floor jack underneath the back of the transmission.

 

[dream on mcss]

There's one thing Pontiac have that the other models don't and I have seen many who didn't realize it when pulling engines. Pontiac's have a ground cable (thick as a battery ground wire) going from the left front lower firewall to the lower left transmission bellhousing bolt. Just unbolt it from the trans. This is probably one of the many things holding you up. Other thing to try is remove the crossmember / Y-pipe / starter.

Thanks man I'll see if we can find that ground strap because your probably right about us missing it because you can't really see it since the motors been pushed in, so I'll keep my eye out for that. And yea another thing holding us up is the starter it keeps hitting the crossmember so it's probably gonna have to come off. To jrm81bu yes the exhaust is unhooked, and I dunno about that pin because the trans isnt sitting on the crossmember anymore after moving it a bit, but I definitely tried to jack it up and it seemed to help. Any other ideas and like I said the driveshaft is still in there so idk if that would be the problem or not. I'll be able to check it out on thursday hopefully we can figure it out.

 

[CHRIS.O]

Take the transmission cross member off and the drive shaft out. If your sure there is no wiring getting caught up anywhere, no fuel lines, no linkage or cables then the cross member and drive shaft can be the only thing holding it. Don't be gentle either, sometimes you gotta use some force. Do you have a load leveler? They help a lot when removing an engine/trans combo.

 

[Phoenyx]

Shifter linkage?

 

[Bonnewagon]

When you remove the driveshaft, quickly plug the trans with a plastic plug or even a baggie tied up tight with rubber bands or best an old shaft yoke. A transmission oil shampoo is no joke.