Removing The Engine From A C5 Corvette - Removal Procedures Part: 1

07 Remove the four Torx-25 bolts holding the shifter on the transmission.

08 Now remove the shifter mechanism from the interior by wiggling it off the shaft at the rear of the shifter arm to release it. a tip: lock the transmission in neutral by pushing down on the little tang in the transmission opening.

09 The legs of the two-post lift should be placed in these locations on the bottom of your C5. Notice the wood blocks being used to shim the mounts off the body-these are required as the body on the C5 Corvette scoops under to the framerail.

A few companies manufacture lift blocks that nest in the C5 body structure lift holes (like SPX and Kent-Moore), or you can just use small pieces of 2x4 wood blocks like these to keep the lift legs from touching the body panels that wrap under the vehicle.

10 With the vehicle up on the four-point lift, remove the exhaust system tubing that runs down the center of the vehicle. This Vette has an aftermarket long-tube header exhaust system on it, but the stock components remove in similar fashion-unbolt them and pull off vehicle.

11 Move to the rear of the vehicle to remove the two frame mounts on the rear sway bar to allow the sway bar to swing down. This makes room to slide the rear section of the exhaust out from under the vehicle (once it has been unbolted from its hangers).

12 Move back to the center of the vehicle to remove the many bolts that hold the chassis stiffener plate in place. It might help to have an electric or pneumatic driver to get these off as there are a lot of them. Lower the plate out of the vehicle and store.

13 The brake lines that run down the drivetrain tunnel to the rear calipers need to be unclipped from the side of the tunnel. This is to free them from the body/frame assembly as they will come out with the drivetrain. Be careful here as the lock tabs on the clips can get brittle from the exhaust heat and break easily. If you do break them, they can either be replaced or the brake lines simply placed back in the clips without the "lock" tab on the clip.

14 One of the more tricky portions of the drivetrain removal is the separation of the clutch hydraulic line dry-break connection. This is best accomplished with a radiator hook tool and pliers to push the plastic ring into the connector body to release the small tangs inside. Take your time here as the lip of the plastic ring often becomes brittle from the exhaust heat and will break off easily.

15 At the rear of the vehicle, disconnect the anti-lock braking (ABS) electrical connector on the driver-side rear lower A-arm by lifting the locking tang and pulling the male and female connectors apart.

16 Using a 22mm socket, remove the two bolts holding each of the rear calipers on its upright and hang the caliper on the lower A-arm with a small piece of wire. With a tall jackstand holding the lower A-arm just below it's fully supported height, loosen the lower ball joint (using an 18mm socket) until the spring force releases the ball joint from the upright.

About the Author
Will Handzel has written the benchmark book on the LS1 V-8 engine, How to Build High-Performance Chevy LS1/LS6 V-8s, for all LS1 enthusiasts to get more from their Gen III and IV V-8 powerplants. The book documents the fascinating inside-GM history of the LS1/LS6 architecture creation and how to achieve various power levels with performance buildups of the engine.

To order the book, of which this story is an excerpt, go to www.cartechbooks.com or call (800) 551-4754.