Do you have to take out a 283 engine in a 55 Chevy to replace the crankshaft?

Answer 1

Yes, the engine must be removed from the car. Are you an experienced mechanic? The engine must be separated from the transmission, remove the flywheel. Then remove the oil pan. Take off the oil pump and set it to the side. Next, the front of the engine must be disassembled and remove the cam shaft drive gear and cam chain so you can lift the crank out of the engine block. Next , you'll need to make sure the rods and rod caps are appropriately numbered or alphabetized so you don't get them mixed up, 1-1, 2-2, A-A, B-B, and so on. This is a must. These are machined pieces and can not be mixed up with other rods and caps!!!! The same thing must be done with the main bearing caps. Number them as 1,2,3,4. Number 5 is unmistakable, it is the rear main and looks like none of the other ones. You can easily do this with a center punch, one punch for number one, two punch marks for two and so on, do them noticeably but lightly I must add. You can do this on the rods also, for marking the rods and caps. These parts may already be numbered. After you remove the rod caps and main caps, you can lift the crank out of the engine block. What happened to the engine for it to need the crank replaced? The repair work to the engine could be more extensive than just replacing the crank. I'll do my best to help you, if need help to fix the engine yourself. If you have the tools to take the engine out, then you can, with help, repair the engine, put it back in and make it run again. My name is Larry. I'll check back here to get the details of the failure from you and let's see if the engine is fixable.