I have a 2006 Charger 5.7, and I'm having some trouble pulling the engine.

It had the famous, "dropped valve seat" issue, and scattered one of the pistons into the crank / oil pan.
Obviously, this motor doesn't rotate at this point. (And believe me, we tried.)

So I've got a donor motor, but we can't turn the motor to get to the torque converter bolts.
We tried to remove the motor, but we don't have enough room to slide it forward enough with the torque converter still attached to get it out of the car.
At this point, we'd hit the radiator if we slide forward any more, and even then, we'd hit the front cross-member when we lifted it up.

Question:
What's the best way to get this motor out of this car?

Thanks in advance, and please, ask all the questions you want to. This is my first motor swap, so I'm still learning as well.

-Ryan
Can't remove the torque converter due the fact that the engine is locked up.

 

Pull the radiator.

Will you be able to lift the motor far enough to clear the cross member with the t/c still hanging on there?

 

I'll try the radiator tomorrow when I have more light.
That might give me enough room to pull the motor at an angle from the back.

I've already removed the hood from the car, so I shouldn't have an issue with clearance.

I'll let you know tomorrow how it went.

 

If that doesn't work, does anyone have any suggestions on how to remove that cross-member?

 

I think if it doesn't work with the radiator out of the way, bolt the trans back up, and pull the trans with the motor.

 

Removed the radiator and pulled the condenser coil out of the way.
She's out!

 

Now it's time to stuff the new one in.

 

Replace that Torque Converter seal or you'll be kicking your own *** later. Buy new ignition coils and MDS wiring harness with your new MDS solenoids as well. They start causing weird issues after about 130-150K. Oil Pressure switch too.

Where are you getting your new engine?

 

OK, new motor is in and working flawlessly.
I'm actually surprised it went so well, considering I was relying on a buddy to help me, and I know enough to change brakes.

I'll post some pictures of her once she gets a proper bath.

TNTech, I actually did replace the converter seal. I actually didn't see your reply until just now, but thanks for your advice.
Lots of extra work to have to replace a $5 seal in 40k miles.

I did not replace the MDS solenoids or MDS harness.
Are they expensive to find/buy?

Lastly, The original stock ECU works fine, but the donor car was a police interceptor, and I'd like to see if it's worth it to flash the VIN into that one to use.
I need to find someone with a decent scanner to help me reprogram the VIN into my replacement ECU. Should I even bother?

Any suggestions are always welcome and I've updated my settings on these forums to notify me of responses.

-Ryan