adamatism

Alright, I already posted this in another thread, but the title is a little vague and I realized I needed to start a new one.

Alright, after owning this car for a little over two days, I'm ready to pull this 12A out. This car's been sitting for who-knows-how-long (3+ years) and itsn't even close to running, so I figure I'll start at the beginning and do it the right way.

For now, I'd like to know if there are any tips/tricks to removing this engine. I've already disconnected everything I can see, including the exhaust, all the various sensors and vaccuum hoses, removed the radiator, fan and shroud...basically everything that I can see that's necessary. I've pulled engines before, but never a rotary, and with a manual transmission I've never worked on, I'd like to make sure that I've taken every precaution and am going about this correctly.
Anyone know who rents engine hoists?

This post is quickly becoming too long...reply with suggestions. Thanks. -A

Project84

I don't know what sort of tools you have available, but some people find it easier to loosen the main pulley bolt and flywheel nut while the engine is in the car. Do a search on flywheel nut and main pulley bolt. You'll come across many ways to get those parts loose with a variety of tools ranging from compressed air to a tube of chapstick and a post-it note.

hanman

First question, why are you removing the engine?

Rotary13B1

iTrader: (8)

Question:
Answer:

djmickyg

this is enigne is easy to pull out cus its soo small the the engine bay is soo large.. just make sure the loom is all out of the way, all the water pipes.. take off ur carb cus u dont want the cables hitting any linkages and braking something.. the altinator can stay on,
i found it easier to take it out with the trasmition on, save u tring to suport the tranny up with the engine out..

and make sure to undo the 2 engine mount bolts.. when ur jacking the engine up and the car starts coming up too.. that aint good

adamatism

How many bolts connect the engine to the transmission? What needs to be done to the transmission besides removing those bolts? Sorry if my questions are redundant, I've found the dearch tool to be kind of finicky. If I do like djmickyg said and remove the transmission at the same time, is there enough room in front of the engine to pull it forward and out or am I gonna have to pull it out at a mad tilt? -A

djmickyg

if ur gona take off the tranny then there is about 6 bolts holding it on. u undo 2 or 3 from the engine bay and the rest of them u undo from under the car.. u have to remove the starter motor wires.. and take off ur clutch slave cylinder from the engine.

if u take the tranny out with the engine then take off the drive shaft ( 4 bolts on the diff and slide out of tranny) and when u pull it out u will have to tilt it down and roll the car back (or pull the trolly forward) as u pull it out..

i wish i took pictures of the times i took my engines out but i was to busy..

Rotor13B

I still don't understand why your pulling the motor either. Have you done a compression check? If it was blown, then yeah, I understand your problem but if its something else, well.....

adamatism

If you saw a picture of this engine you'd stop asking why I'm removing it. This car has been sitting under a post-oak tree in texas for 3+ years and is totally trashed. Like I said, I want to this the right way- I've restored a few cars and regardless of how much work I could do to a decades-old engine from above, I've always ended up removing it. If I can find a picture small enough I'll post it. -A

adamatism

here.

adamatism

and another. -A

Rotor13B

I see, you want to clean it up and put a new pan gasket on and such?

Rotor13B

Oh, and if you have an ace hardware or rental city, they rent engine hoists.

adamatism

Yeah I was thinking pan gasket and then I'm probably gonna put it back in. Haha...

Clean it up, along with the engine compartment, rest of the car, etc. I picked this car up from a mechanic that comes into my work all the time (I work at an auto parts store that doesn't rent engine lifts) for 100 bucks and I've got a few other projects so I'm going to take my time and learn as much as I can about this interesting little car. And considering how small and light the engine is, removing it is really a pretty easy job, I've learned.

I've got Autozone, Advance Auto Parts, NAPA, Tractor Supply, Carquest...any of those rent engine hoists that you know of? Thanks. -A

Rotor13B

Check out U-haul or some other moving rental places, they usually rent other off the wall stuff too.

adamatism

well I found out that one of my buddies has a hoist that we can use once he gets off work. I'll take pics while we're doing it and post them tonight. Thanks for the help guys. -A

FB II

yes, post pics, i'm pulling mine in a couple months! thanks!!!!

-zac

1984se

get the haynes manual trust me...theres a lot of good stuff in there that will tell you what order you should go in removing the engine...and the tools and marking stuff as you pull them so you can align it when putting it back... good luck

1984se

(after seeing the pics) aahhh yes the one with the custom speaker install on the rear cubbies....i suggest gutting the car too and cleaning up the chasis,carpet, who know what could be lying beneath it. trust me you'll love sitting in you car after you personally know that the interior it clean!

TIPS:

1. Take caution when removing interior body panels.
Do it slowly. Screw back screws, bolts, nuts after removing a peice, so you dont lose any or mix them up.
2. Remove your seats and remove the carpet and wash it. Maybe remove the spongey padding on the underside of the carpet as it may fall apart when washing...mmm what else.....

White84SE

I'm going through this right now, and I was kinda surprised at how easily one can yank the engine from these cars. A trick I've found to make it a little easier is this. Make sure your buddy's hoist has a load leveler. This'll make it much, much easier to fish the engine and tranny out still together. Take out the metal "cage" that the rad bolts, too and yank the AC condesor out, too. Put the car up on cinder blocks at the front and attach the lift to the engine and put some tension in the chains. Remove the four bolts holding the front mount to the engine, and then remove the engine mount from the chassis. Crawl under the car and remove the transmission crossmember from the car, too. You'll have to unbolt it from the tranny, too. Now, lift the engine slighty and pull it forward. The driveshaft should drop out of the tranny. Oh, you'll want to crawl back under there REAL quick with the plastic cap from a can of spray paint and shove in the tailhousing, otherwise there'll be tranny fluid everywhere. Now, using the load leveler, tild the engine/tranny, so the tranny drops down towards the ground. Slide the hoist back from the car until either A) the tranny hits the front crossmember of B) the engine touches the front of the engine bay. Take a floor jack and lift by the front crossmember, pull the cinder blocks out and alternating between slowing lowering the car and pulling the engine further out of the car. Once the car is down, tilt the engine/tranny back to horizontal and roll the car out from under it. Voila.. done..

--Danny

adamatism

Well, guys, it's done- here's a pic, and there will be more posted at this link in a few minutes. Thanks for all the advice- I'll take more pictures as I'm cleaning it up, etc. -A

adamatism

Here's the link again.
http://community.webshots.com/user/adamatism

It may take a few minutes for the new photos to upload...they'll be under "RX7 Engine Pull."