Anyone help! Salt Lake City

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I am trying to drop my engine for a 78 westy. I have taken out the cross member, done all the hoses and electrical. I have disconnected the transaxle bolts and as i started to lower the engine...it wasnt moving...I am wondering if anyone has had this problem before and knows what it is. Also, if anyone lives in salt lake and has a few minutes today I would love some help trouble shooting!!
Thanks
Todd

[jeremysmithatshawdotca]

You need to pull the engine towards the back of the bus, to pull it off of the trans axle shaft before it'll drop out. Oh I see you took out transaxle bolts, did you take out all of them, or just the rear ones? If only the rear one make sure you have the transaxle supported by a chain or something, or the front mount will get wrecked. Hope you get it worked out. Good Luck, Jeremy

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There are two nuts that come off the transaxle that i got off, it is supported with a jack. The nuts faced towrds the front of the bus. I got those tow off, but they didnt seem to move anything...i have been trying to pull it forward it just seems that something else needs to be undone!

[jeremysmithatshawdotca]

I think I get you now. The two bolts you removed hold the engine to the transaxle. I'm assuming they're on the bottom. There are two more on the top as well, the might be a bit hard to reach, and could be coated in grime, but they're there. There are also bolts holding the transaxle itself to the bus, you can get the engine out without undoing them, but it's much harder, especially if you have long studs. Once you remove the bolts holding the transaxle to the bus, it needs to be supported (I know I'm repeating myself, but it's important!) You remove the bolts from the top of the transaxle and the engine, and with the engine tilted down, you should be able to slide the engine back and lower it down. Jeremy

[[email protected]]

I live in Salt Lake. I just dropped the engine out of my '79 today and I'd be happy to give you some pointers. (You might be done by now though. Sorry, I just got home.)If the '78 is anything like mine, there should be four bolts securing the engine to the transmission. Make sure you remove the engine bolts and not the transmission mount bolts. Other than those, its just the crossbar. Make sure all of your gas lines are disconnected and the heater hoses disconnected from the exhaust along with the throttle cable, he he. You'll also need to disconnect the wires going from the alternater and the starter. Getting the engine out successfully on a jack will require the help of a friend. If you have removed all of the extras from the top of the engine down to the intake manifolds (including the tin around the back), you should have about a half to a quarter inch of wiggle room when you slide the engine back off the transmission. Oh, I hope you've got the bus up on stands 'cause it stinks to get the engine out and then find that you can't roll it out from under the bus. Get your friend to stay near the engine compartment to steady the engine and crawl under with your head toward the front. I just use my feet to push gently on the heads to slide the engine off. It'll need to tip down in the back slightly in order to get clearance on the top, back side. That darn oil filler tube tends to get in the way at this point. From this point, just wiggle and slide until you get the whole thing out. It's always been a tight fit. Some people keep the engine bolted to the transmission and drop the whole thing so you don't have to mess with the tight space, but I hate dealing with the shift coupler. Besides, together, it's too heavy for me to do on my own. Once it's all out, I like to set the engine on an old tire to keep from smushing anything important. Anyway, if you need some help, just e-mail me and I'll reply with a phone number or something. Good luck!
Cheers,
Richard [email protected]