you dont have to have a lift to drop a cradle. especially on a J body, most of them come with a two piece cradle that comes apart pretty easily.


dropping tranny out>wrestling with input shaft alignment/engine on reinstall.

 

Im an idiot, didnt think about them not being w-body's which have the one piece cradle. Would you mind telling me how to get a cradle to drop out of a w-body without a lift, I need to do this soon actually?

 

you will need something to hold the engine, i have a crossmember jack (OTC makes them, as do several other places) a pair of 4x4's and chain will work....but not the best.

get the car up on stands, take the pressure off the engine mounts with the jack, then drop the cradle out with a pair of jacks.

pain in ass, but it works.

 

a grand am is an "n" body just like a malibu and it has a full subframe and compared to other common gm's (like j and w bodies) its little more difficult. you have to have a support fixture holding the engine in the car from the top as the engine only has one mount or none depending on the model. ive done a few simple clutches on the ground but i would not attemp this with out a lift