The majority of people these days, when removing an engine, will take it out from the top; just disconnect everything and it slips right out. That is not always the best course of action especially when you’re dealing with some particular makes, so the next best option is to remove it from underneath.

While that may seem harder, in a lot of cases it is actually a lot easier and how the factory removes their engines. Check out the steps to removing an engine out of your fourth gen F-body.

We found this how-to article on LS1tech.com and it was posted by Keliente.

The first steps are easy and should be done with most any time you plan to work on your car. Lock the steering wheel, set the car up on jack stands or a lift, and remove the battery terminals. On the F-bodies, there is a 10mm ground nut that sits behind the battery that needs to be removed.

Photos from Keliente at LS1tech.com

On the passenger-side of the car, you need to remove the plastic kick panel that runs along the bottom of the door. It is an easy removal with only four Philips-head screws. Underneath this are a couple of wiring harnesses that need to be disconnected so the engine wiring loom can be pulled through the firewall. While you are inside the cab, you can go ahead and remove the shift knob if your have a manual application.

You need to drain the coolant from the radiator, and that can be done by removing the radiator cap and opening up the petcock that is located on the bottom passenger-side of the radiator. While the coolant is draining, you can go ahead and start unplugging the sensors, including the IAT, MAF, and TPS sensors, and also remove the intake by loosening the ring clamps.

Since the coolant should still be draining out, you can go ahead and remove the throttle body cable. All you need to do is open the throttle body cam all the way and slide the cable out the side. You will find a couple of clips holding the cable to the air conditioning lines. Remove the clips and the throttle body cable.

Now that the coolant is done making a mess, you can close the petcock and start removing the coolant lines; just remember there is still coolant in those so have a bucket and some towels ready.

When you have the coolant out and all of the hoses off, start removing the fuel lines. You will need a 3/8-inch fuel line disconnect to complete the job. The fuel evaporation line that is attached to a black canister on the intake manifold needs to be removed also. Swivel that out of the way but watch out for fuel spillage.

Removing the steering shaft is the next step and sometimes the most fun. The bolts have loctite on them and are tightened extremely tight from the factory, so this is were the “fun” begins. Kelly had a good tip that should be done with the majority of the car. When you take the steering shaft out, put the 7/16-inch bolts back where they came from so you do not loose them.

Next, you can move the brake master cylinder out of your way so you can get to the shock towers. Remove the bolts from the shock tower; they will be two T50 Torx bolts with 15mm nuts on the driver side and 15mm bolts with 13mm nuts on the passenger side. Once you have them removed you can reinstall the brake master cylinder.

The brake lines need to be removed at the Electronic Brake Control Module that you can find on the driver side. The lines are marked with a LF and RF for your convenience.

Now move on to the fuse box. There will be a positive cable running to the fuse box that is held on by a single 15mm bolt, you can remove that. Underneath the fuse box you will find a ground strap that also needs to be removed.

Remove all of the A/C lines that are running to the accumulator. Then remove the accumulator by loosening the bracket and sliding it upwards. Next, remove the PCM harness and the vacuum line that is on the heater box.

If you have an automatic you need to remove the coolant lines that run into the transmission, Be ready to get drenched with tranny fluid if you’re not careful. Also, while you’re by the transmission, remove the shift selector cable with a screwdriver. If you have a manual transmission just remove the clutch hydraulic line.

Next, remove the exhaust. Depending on if you have an aftermarket or stock exhaust, the process may vary. One good tool to have is a rubber mallet. With the exhaust out of the way you can remove the driveshaft. There are four bolts on each end, but be careful when you remove the driveshaft not to knock the caps off, because the little needle bearings will spill everywhere.

When you are done with that, remove the torque arm from the transmission and go back over the vehicle. Look for any wiring harnesses, brackets, hoses, etc. that still may be connected. If everything is clear, you are now ready to remove your powerplant. Choose something sturdy that you will set the engine and trans onto.

With everything secure remove the transmission crossmember and the K-member. The transmission crossmember can stay attached to the trans mission, just remove the bolts connecting it to the frame. Before you start to remove the K-member, make sure the engine and transmission are sturdy. There are three bolts on each side; you cant miss them, they are big 18mm.

Now start to lift the car up, but go slowly. You did remove everything but dangling wire harnesses and brake lines will want to catch on anything they can find and the last thing you want to do is repair or replace anything unnecessarily.

Now the engine is out, you can do what you want with it, fix it, build it better, or throw it away and put another one in. When you are installing the engine just start at the end of this article and make your way up. Thank you Keliente for a great write up!