IDI swap

[smooth]

Okay, so a while a go (almost a year) a cracked a cylinder wall. I was going to wait until money and time would allow me to sleeve my engine, but a good deal came a long on a used IDI and I thought I'd jump on it. SO, I'm now faced with swapping these engines out (and throwing a turbo on the one going in).
First, is it possible to pull an IDI out of a 92 F350, no lift, tires flat, without removing the entire grill, radiator support, etc. with a cherry picker engine hoist? As in, up and over? Right now, I'm facing an aftermarket bumper (with winch) that's welded to the frame and it's inhibiting me from getting the arm centered over the engine. I was thinking, if I got creative (and removed the hood) I could hoist it up and pull it forward with a longer chain, then set it down, get a lower grip on it, and lift it up and over (actually up, and the pull the truck out from underneath it, working on carpet-over-dirt floors). My main concern would be, when I go to set it down to get another bite, that 1 ton of weight's going to be resting on something not designed for it and I'm worried I'll damage the motor mounts, or something else. What do you think?
Second, assuming I can't do that, how the hell do you remove the damn headlight fixtures? It seems like the faux-chrome bezel is attached to the turn signal and running light, but I can't seem to remove them. I got the screws on top, I got the one behind the running light towards the center of the truck, but I'm missing something. Please help!
If you haven't realized it yet, I obviously started out trying to remove the front components, faced the daunting task of the headlights, and started hypothesizing about going up and over.
Beyond that, what else should I know about this swap?

Thanks in advance!

MoMo

 

[GenLightening]

I was able to just clear the core support on a '90 F350 2wd with the tires aired up. The drain plug just cleared. I kept the chain as short as I could get and still lift it to the max height. You may have enough room with the hood on and up against the cab. I pulled mine, but it probably would have cleared.

 

[RLDSL]

It can be done, but I sure wouldn't do it that way. Too much work that way and REAL dangerous. HArd to fit the thing in. BEst to pull the core support. Even better to pop the cab mounts and jack the cab up and set it on about 6" wood blocks for extra clearance to get your hands in.

 

[Dave Barbieri]

Even better to pop the cab mounts and jack the cab up and set it on about 6" wood blocks for extra clearance to get your hands in.

Did you have to remove the brake lines from the master cylinder to do that?

 

[RLDSL]

Did you have to remove the brake lines from the master cylinder to do that?

No, there is a coil in the line, plenty of flex in the thing ( don't push limits ) JUst don't let it slip off the jack or it'll get all cattywhompus on you

 

[91f2504x4]

I put the engine in my blue truck in the picture with a regular 4,000lbs engine hoist. To make things easier on yourself pull everything off the front of the engine that you can easily do (i.e. fan, alt, psp, etc.) also the radiator. My truck is 4x4 with a 3 inch body lift and 36 inch tires and I still managed to get it in there, and I am very confident that I could pull it back out the same way. The way I chose to do it was not move the hoist with the engine up in the air but move the truck and by that I mean, I raised the engine as high as it would go and then pushed the truck under it, and then I let the engine down into the bay. It would be nice if you could remove your front bumper but as things are, you might have to raise it a little and then stick some wooden blocks between the crossmember and the motor mounts while you shorten the chain, to raise it higher, and once you get it up in the air, push the truck back out of the way so that you can lower then engine before attempting to push that hoist around.

 

[smooth]

and once you get it up in the air, push the truck back out of the way so that you can lower then engine before attempting to push that hoist around.

It's funny you say that as that's what I'm doing, but that's because I have no choice. I'm working on carpet-over-dirt floor so once the hoist has the weight of the engine, it's not going anywhere.
Either way, I ended up removing the front end, at least most of it. I'm down to just the core support. Once I figure out how to get it over the body mount bolts without catching the other sheetmetal, I'll be set.

Thanks for all the help. If I run into any snags, I'll post them up!

MoMo