Build My first 80 Series

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Got a closer look today and was able to pop the speaker cover out by pressing my finger on the back side by the clips.
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Side clips hold the speaker plug.
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Then pull the 3 plugs under the ECM.
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Pulled the A/C Amplifier, disconnected 2 plugs off the main harness, and pulled it through the firewall.
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The throttle cable conduit was cracked and peeling off in spots so I used a razor blade to trim the bad from the good and then using some Industrial Quality Heat Shrink, made a repair. Not sure if it'll hold up to the heat, but I figured it was better than nothing right now. In the future it may be better to add a layer or two. Here's how it turned out:
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One thing I'm running across about pulling the motor is that the FSM recommends pulling the whole drivetrain but doesn't mention anything about removing the condenser or center section of the radiator support. I assume you have to do that to get it out with a regular engine hoist. If this is the case and I didn't want to deal with the A/C are there any tips on removing the upper bellhousing bolts? Am I missing anything here?
 
Bump on the above and need some tips on the nuts holding the exhaust upper pipe to exhaust manifold. I tried putting my impact on them and then my breaker bar and no luck. I'm afraid to break the manifold studs. Any suggestions? I've soaked it in penetrant for several days. Thanks for the tips!
 
Either heat or a stronger impact would be my suggestions. They will probably break off if you put enough force on them. You're ahead of me on doing the same job on the same year truck. I'm curious about pulling the front axle too, that wasn't something I had planned to do.
 
Yeah, I'm piddling away at this as I have time and between snow storms outside learning more about it as I go and reading Mud.
 
I'm using the 96 as well. There's a guy on mud that used a come along to get the whole driveline over the core support and another who separated the trans, but said you need 2 to do it because the guy under the car cant find the upper bellhousing bolts. I'm considering dropping the rear crossmember and lowering the drivetrain to see if I can get to those bolts easier. I'd prefer to not deal with the A/C and not sure about the comealong trick as he had the head and oil pan off too.
 
Piddled on the Cruiser tonight. I put more penetrant on them the other night and again the impact wouldn't break them. 165 psi on a basic 1/2 inch drive Campbell Hausfeld impact. Decided to try the breaker bar again and broke them free. Put the impact on the motor mount nuts and they came off just fine. Had to smack one of the washers under them to remove.
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Hitting a snag right now. Motor is locked up and wont turn. Any suggestions? Not sure how I'm going to unbolt the torque converter to separate the trans.
 
Went ahead and did a few more things today with a friend without much for pics. Removed driveshafts from front diff and rear transfer output. Tied the front shaft to the trans, removed trans shifter, finished removing sway bar, removed crossmember, headlamps, turn signals, and front valence. Unbolted cooler. Also removed cat heat shield and the bolts are so rusted that I'm going to have to cut them off with a cutoff wheel.

Decided after going back and forth on removing the whole drivetrain or just the motor to do the whole thing. I was hoping the crank would turn. :(
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Working today again. Remove shifters starting with linkage clips. 10 bolts and 3 connectors and it's main top plate out. Then, 4 lower transfer case shifter bolts.
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Then had to use a cutoff wheel to cutoff the catalytic converter bolts that connect the two as they were too rusted. Also, found a ground behind the transfer case.
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Some kind of clamp repair on the speed sensor. Pulled the hood, 4 bolts and 2 struts and yanked the motor out!
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I did. It just wasn't worth any shortcuts. Since my motor wont turn, I need better access to see how I'm going to remove the trans. I prefer to leave the torque converter on if I can. Congrats on getting it out. Our biggest issue today was getting over the front lower core support while pulling the engine hoist over the garage threshold.
 
That does add some challenge. I removed all the bolts on the flex plate / torque converter before I separated the engine/tranny and the torque converter came off with the engine anyways. There does not seem to be much holding it on to the tranny.
 
I may pull the oil pan off first just to see if part of the broken rod is lodged preventing the crank to turn.
 
From your pic, now I can see why I had trouble with the trans cooler lines. I took the nut off the top of the engine mount and the engine mount stayed in place, you took it off the bottom, bringing the mount with it. Your method is superior. I had stopped looking at the FSM by that point, it seemed obvious.
 
Thanks. I think it left more room to slide the whole assembly out. We also just tie wrapped the front driveshaft to the trans. It worked out just fine.
 
Ran into a bit of a snag last weekend. Found out my subdivision covenants do not allow for an inoperable vehicle in the driveway so I grabbed a couple of friends to push the cruiser in the garage after rearranging inside. This has also has me needing to finish a shed I've been building. Nevertheless, it rained tonight so I started engine disassembly with a couple of hours I had. A good view of my ventilated oil pan:
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Then the contamination in my lower oil pan. I think I might need an oil analysis. :)
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Then removed the A/C bracket, driver's motor mount, starter, and oil dipstick.
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