97 Ram 2500 5.9 V8 engine removal - tips and tricks?

Hi all. This wens/thurs/fri ill be swapping my engine with another 5.9 i rebuilt. What tips and tricks are there for yanking this cast iron beast out? Also, FSM says do not lift by intake manifold. Where do i lift it from then?

Thanks.

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Because nobody replied, I figured it out myself.

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Looks good. I would've replied but didn't see your post until now. Looks like you had it under control anyway. It's a pretty basic removal and you have pretty good access. When are you installing the new engine?

Is that a can of Sparks behind the windshield?

Does the transmission simply unbolt from the engine? Is it that simple for the swap?

When installing the new engine:

Put a bell housing bolt thru a chain and bolt it in the rear of the engine. Loop the chain thru the cherry picker and down to the A/C compressor bolt so you have the engine hanging by the two bolts and the chain is in an upside down "V" shape. Adjust the chain so the engine is slanted slightly pully side up. The firewall is a ***** when installing the engine, have fun with the damn bellhousing bolts. I destroyed my hands putting them in.

While the engine is out, clean the engine bay! Pull the torque converter and check the shaft it rests on for ridges. If there are ridges (you can run your fingers over the shaft and feel the bumps), take some extremely fine sand paper (I think I used 1000 or 2000) and lightly sand the shaft by going back and forth (not towards and away from you, more side to side if you are facing the trans head on). Check the seal at the base of the shaft and replace if it looks dry, cracked, mushy or old. Check all the connectors on the harness to make sure they look like they are in good shape, this is the perfect time to replace them.

Installation tips:
Leave the crank position sensor off until you install the engine. You will probably have to leave the exhaust manifolds off as well for install. Make sure either you have a balanced TQ converter or balanced flexplate, having both will cause vibrations as another user on this forum I believe experienced.

Might want to get the clutch fan removal tool from advance auto (rental) when installing the clutch fan after the engine is in.

Good luck! I did a full swap myself a year or two ago and helped a friend with his, let me know if you have any specific questions I will try to check back each night after work.

Edit: check your engine mounts. I had already set my engine in the truck when I realized they were near completely shot. I had to pull the engine back out, proceded to strip a bolt that mounts the mounts to the block, and a few trips to the parts store later I got them off. Then they had to order the mounts from a big store which took another day. So plan ahead for that kind of stuff, hopefully you have a daily driver you can use if something like that happens.

Mohpar said:

When installing the new engine:

Put a bell housing bolt thru a chain and bolt it in the rear of the engine. Loop the chain thru the cherry picker and down to the A/C compressor bolt so you have the engine hanging by the two bolts and the chain is in an upside down "V" shape. Adjust the chain so the engine is slanted slightly pully side up. The firewall is a ***** when installing the engine, have fun with the damn bellhousing bolts. I destroyed my hands putting them in.

While the engine is out, clean the engine bay! Pull the torque converter and check the shaft it rests on for ridges. If there are ridges (you can run your fingers over the shaft and feel the bumps), take some extremely fine sand paper (I think I used 1000 or 2000) and lightly sand the shaft by going back and forth (not towards and away from you, more side to side if you are facing the trans head on). Check the seal at the base of the shaft and replace if it looks dry, cracked, mushy or old. Check all the connectors on the harness to make sure they look like they are in good shape, this is the perfect time to replace them.

Installation tips:
Leave the crank position sensor off until you install the engine. You will probably have to leave the exhaust manifolds off as well for install. Make sure either you have a balanced TQ converter or balanced flexplate, having both will cause vibrations as another user on this forum I believe experienced.

Might want to get the clutch fan removal tool from advance auto (rental) when installing the clutch fan after the engine is in.

Good luck! I did a full swap myself a year or two ago and helped a friend with his, let me know if you have any specific questions I will try to check back each night after work.

Edit: check your engine mounts. I had already set my engine in the truck when I realized they were near completely shot. I had to pull the engine back out, proceded to strip a bolt that mounts the mounts to the block, and a few trips to the parts store later I got them off. Then they had to order the mounts from a big store which took another day. So plan ahead for that kind of stuff, hopefully you have a daily driver you can use if something like that happens.

Click to expand...

96+ 5.2 and 5.9 both use the same tq converter. Just the flexplate is different and that's where he had troubles