im sure this is asked alot.
anyways here is my problem...

i put in a new cluch in the 86' duke fiero.
i lowered the engine cradle and all that jazz. i did it all with out an engine hoist and holy jeepers. it was sketchy. had 5 jacks to lower it. took forever!!!
anyways. i wasnt able to slide the cradle out from under the fiero. so i did the clutch job with it being under the fiero and it was a pain in the arse.
took me ages to get it all back togeather.
oh i forgot to add this. i did this almost a year ago and it still sitting. i havnt started it in almost a year. and i also havnt even drivin it with the new clutch yet.
here is another problem. i think i may have gotten the disk backwards... and i dont think i tightened up the bolts to spec on the flywheel or the pressure plate....
i really cant remember if i did or not and i dont want to start driving it and something goes all messed up.

so how hard would it be to undo afew bolts on the transmission and engine. remove the axles. and unhook some wiring and pop it out. is it really that difficult? it doesnt seem like it.
but i think the biggest problem would be trying to put it back into the engine bay??
i only want to do this so i can stick the engine on the engine stand. clean it up and check everything over and write it all down so i know.
just make it that much easyer. i dont want to work under the fiero again jacked up. it was kind of uneasy working under it. i also cant slide it out cuz its parked on gravel and its stuck between the house and a fence on the other side. so i have about 3 feet on the fence side about about 4 feet on the house side. so i can really side it out. i have about 4 - 5 feet in the rear of the car to work on. there is another fence behind it. and i have a trailer and a boat infront of the trailer sitting infront of the fiero. so my car is pretty wedged in there good.
i think i have enough space to get an engine hoise back there and lift it out and get afew buds to help me carry the engine inside the garage. ill jsut remove the transmission and drain all fluids. to lighten it up abit . maybe take the cly head off to lighten it even further.

sorry im rambling on and on. i just need your opinons on what the best solution would be for my situation. i thought of many i just dont have the tools to do some of the stuff i want to do
or i wish i was the hulk. and just lift the car with one arm. and lower the cradle with the other arm and tada. problem solved!

Take your decklid off, drain coolant, disconnect wiring harness, remove engine mount nuts, remove starter and clutch inspection plate, remove alternator and mount, (optional remove water pump and manifold), hook up up lift with the hook slightly to waterpump end of chain.
Remove bolts/nuts from bellhousing, lift eng out and leave the trans. May have pry the bell housing and eng apart.
You'll have to raise the belt end of the engine higher and twist the trans bell housing up a little to get the clutch to clear.
If you leave the water pump on you'll have to manuver it around the right decklid mount but it can be done... done it several times

You could remove the brakes, left strut assembly w hub, shift cables, slave cylinder, Vss connector, loosen trans mounts, jack trans up with floor jack, remove trans mounts, support engine w 8" block of 2x4 about 8" long under starter, tip cradle down a little, pull axle, disassemble wheel well and pull out trans. However, we prefer to drop the cradle. To remove the powertrain out the top is IMO more work than trying to drop the cradle.

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" THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, 3.4" Pulley, N* TB, LS1 MAF, Flotech Exhaust Autolite 104's Custom CAI 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite.
"THE COLUSSUS"
87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H
" ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "

About 15 years ago I took the decklid off, unbolted a '87 4 tech engine, took the head off wrapped a towstrap around the engine and sat on the roof with my feet on the strut towers and just lifted it out, it was a little heavy.

i would like to drop the cradle again. i heard of people jsut removing the 2 rear bolts holding the cradle and tipping it (letting the rear of the cradle swing out)
and worked on it like that.
could try that. i just dont enjoy working under a car that is jacked up awkwardly. i find it sketchy and its on loose gravel. i woul dhave to find a sheet of plywood.

i figured the duke engine wouldnt overly heavy if you removed some of the compnents off the engine.

Just my .02 worth, but pulling the head is something I wouldn't do for this job. Duke engines have a habit of having seized head bolts and can be a real pain.
Is there any way to get the car onto pavement? I'd be VERY nervous about using jackstands on gravel. The last time I did clutch work on a 4 cylinder, I supported the engine from above (a chain hoist on an "A" frame would work) and removed the cradle from underneath. I used a floor jack to support the transaxle and pulled it off, changed the clutch, and reassembled. This avoids having to disconnect any fluid or electrics from the engine and I did the entire job in one afternoon---no rusty or seized bolts helped a lot!

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Rod Schneider, Woodstock, Ga.
"You can't have too many toys!"
1988 Fiero GT
1966 Porsche 911
Van's RV-6 airplane-under construction

If you try to swing the cradle down by removing the two back bolts, you must also remove the intake manifold for clearance.

yeah there isnt any way to get the car onto pavment. and i just rebuild the duke at my last house. so any bolts that were stuck before are now unstuck and i dabed alittle oil on the threads before tightening them down. i havnt started the car since. so all the bolts should come out fairly easy with out a problem. i bought all new exhaust and intake bolts and afew extra bolts here and there.
anyways.
i just layed down a scrap piece of plywood i had laying around 6' x 4' piece. so i layed that down under the car. luckyly there was just enough space to slide it under. im just having some breakfast before i go out and jack it up. to remove the exhaust system. i need to build a new exhaust system for it. so why not do it now while its nice out

ya don't need pavement ! ya need a 4X8 sheet of 3/4" plywood. slip it under the car & do the jacking & stands on it. trying to pull the engine out the top, you may ruin the disc or pressure plate trying to get it apart at the not so perfect angle. I made a "dolly out of 2X6s & caster wheels from harbor frieght ( cost..$25 for the whole thing). used it many times. OR get one of their furniture dolly for $19 & you can slide the cradle out from under the car (by far the easiest & sane way to do it) you own a Fiero, a dolly for engine removal os a very good thing to have ! owning a fiero, over time you will learn to make all sorts of "special tools" !

I have removed a couple of engines from parts fieros from the top and there is just so much extra stuff you have to remove.

For a simple clutch replacement, I prefer to support the engine from above, remove the cradle and drop the tranny out the side. This allows everything on the engine to remain connected and you can leave the struts and brakes alone. Removal is about the same as dropping the entire cradle, but the installation is about 3-4 times easier. No connecting fuel/heater/coolant lines, bleeding brakes, routing harnesses, installing interior, burping the coolant system... etc.

It doesn't take much to do this. I had a tranny issue in 2005 in AL and limped it to FL (I was from IL at the time). Then pulled the tranny in the garage at our rental house (only there 5 days) with a floor jack, couple of jack stands and an engine support made from pipe, chain and eyelits purchased at Lowes/Homedepot.