facelessnumber

Hi guys, first post. Nice board you have here! I'm hoping someone can help here...

I'm going to help some friends with an engine swap this weekend. It's a '99 Taurus wagon, with the 3.0 Vulcan V6, pushrod.

Everything I've read talks about unbolting the subframe and dropping the whole powertrain and all its associated entourage out from underneath the car. Maybe that's not as bad as it sounds, but it sounds sucktacular to a guy who deals with RWD stuff. Is there no way to pull just the engine from above? Or would that really be a lot harder?

Assuming I have to pull it from underneath, I don't think I have a way to get the car up that high, unless maybe I can take out the radiator support and roll the car back, but something tells me that's not going to work. I was thinking, if I disconnect everything and follow the written procedure as described until I get to the point where I drop the subframe out... Can 3-4 guys just lift up the front of the car, (sans engine) roll it back like a wheelbarrow and set it down on jackstands? Is that idea completely insane?

Thanks!

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chipset

Pretty much so insane. If the manual says it comes out the bottom it comes out the bottom. Look very closely at the top. If you have clearence from the shock towers it might come out the top. The rad support is the entire front end of the car bumper and all. You will need about 4 feet of clearance to get the motor and trans out from the bottom. If your swapping an engine you had better have the computer that belongs to the new engine. It had better be a computer from a wagon and not a sedan. They are not the same.

facelessnumber

Good info on the wagon vs. sedan thing. Thanks for that. Although I'm not a stranger to EFI, this is not the type of car I typically wrench on, and it never would have occurred to me the wagon would have a different ECM. Fortunately though, it's my understanding this is a '99 wagon engine. I don't know whether we have the computer, but if the engine is identical to the one I'm removing, would this really be a problem?

Regarding the removal question though... Which part are you saying is insane? Picking up the front of the car and rolling it back, or trying to pull it from above?

I've about decided I'm going to just do it by the book, but now I have to figure out how I'm going to lift the car that high. Is an engine hoist suitable?

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chipset

If you have a new wagon motor to replace the old wagon motor the computers will work
providing they are within the same years. You do have some leeway. Yes lifting the car
is the insane part. It is a lot easier to pull the motor from the bottom because everything comes out in one piece. Then you can take the trans and motor apart.
I've pulled many of those engines from the top. A LOT of work. If you have the room
try it. If you can get the motor out the top don't forget the 3 bolts holding the motor and transmission together. VERY WELL HIDDEN. You can see them threw the right hand
front wheel just above the frame rails up agains the fire wall.You will need a 2 foot extention. Good luck.