ok so my engine has been rebuilt for a while but last week when i tried to install it (note it is not connected to the transmission) i tried for about 5 hours trying to get the damn thing to mesh with the transmission. all this work was to no avail and left me very frustrated. i tried removing the mounting bracket and still nothing. my dad wants to try and take the actual motor mounts off and see if that gives us any clearance but im afraid they will be too hard to put back in if we do get the engine on. we got to the point where the end of the block was about 1/2 inch from the transmission but couldnt get it to link ( i spun the flywheel and it spun freely) i do have a racing beat lightened flywheel if that makes any difference. is taking out the transmission installing it on the engine then slipping the entire assembly in my only option? if so how much work is it to get the transmission out and how can i do it without crushing myself hehe. if you have any ideas or solutions please post them asap as i will be going down to San Diego to try again on sat. oh and if youre in the SD area and want to help it would be appreciated
thanks guys.
nopistonsforjoe
-Joe

 

i ran into the same trouble about 3 weeks ago putting a motor back in (and i'm pretty experienced with engines, just never did a rotary before) i thought about taking out the tranny, but decided to try once more. anyways, i found it worked best if you have a cherry picker and an engine sling (you are using one, right?). anyways, instead of using the hooks already on the motor, try to hang the front side of the motor from two points in order to center it a little better. i just used a bolt and nut behind the thermo housing and hung the other side of the chain onto a bolt for the AC. the backside needs to stay on the hook provided. center it well in the sling, and the motor goes in like a charm. they're awkward little things
just be sure to line up the exhaust well when you are putting everything back together.

 

i got the same problem also the second time i was putting the engine in, i just ended up playing with it a little bit. One trick that works for me is to start screwing in a few bolts from both sides of the tranny into the engine, as long as they do not go in very hard it should work.

 

make sure the clutch plate is centred on the flywheel too

 

I would go ahead and pull the tranny and install the motor/trans as a unit. Be sure and cover the rear seal of the tranny with a plasitc bag and rubber band it on so you don't get gear oil all over when you have to tilt the assembly during installation. The tranny only weighs about 70 lbs. so I doubt if it would crush you. You could always put a jack under it to support it while you remove the mount, that's what I do.

 

thanks for the awesome advice guys...
if anyone else has some tips or tricks they would be appreciated! =D

 

Here's a good trick: spray armor-all on the rubber donuts when removing or reinstalling the bolts in the transmission mount. Then the bolts won't tear up the rubber donuts due to friction.

 

engine assembly lube is good for the same thing, and won't leave the same sticky residue

 

when we changed the clutch in my car we had the same problem. it takes a while to get it lined up. we had a person on each side benching it up and on and a person up top looking in and trying to guide them. also requires a certain combination of cuss words. like up, down, up, right, x, o, r1.

 

You wont get crushed by the trany, its not that heavy. I took it out by myself when I was doing the clutch last summer. It just takes a bit of time to line everything up again.

PS If you took off the cluch, make sure you lined up the disk with the input shaft, otherwise the tranny wont mate

 

2002 Labor day was swap engine day for me...Started Friday evening (able to drop tranny)... Pulled spare engine out by Saturday... and started on the busted engine.. Anywho...I was able to get one car rolling by Sunday nite.. All in all.. I dropped 2 trannies...swapped both engines and reinstalled trannies in 4 days (did the busted engine the weekend after.. too tired) almost all by myself with someone watching me and being a gopher getting tools..boy that was fun.. but thats what you do when you wanna save some bucks..

As far as the transmission goes.. I had the car on ramps up on the front, pumpkin resting on a 2 ton jack while I had 2 jack stand on frame rails in the rear and 2 stuck in the front (just in case... cuz you never know). I find it easiest to have my knee hold/brace the trannie while I gun the mounting bolts off last after the eng-trannie bolts (air tools are the bomb). Make sure the engine is held in top by a picker or the bottom by a jack so the oil pan does not rest on the steering rack (or whatever you call it). Now mating the trannie back takes a bit of patience and a whole lot of b1tching. Input shaft HAS TO fit perfectly inside into the pilot bearing, otherwise God can't even help. The trick to having the mounting bolts goes depends on the angle of how the trannie/engine hangs. Good luck man and in the end its all worth it.. then you can do it all by yourself next time. Bench pressing trannies/mating it and bolting it in, is what I live for nowadays.


as far has putting both the transmission and engine in as one unit. I've tried it once but was not able to get the unit high enough to get the rear of the trans to clear the firewall. Ended up going engine on first. Then tranny from bottom up. YMMV

 

To align the engine and tranny I put a jack on the front end of the transmission (rear end holding on its mount)
The engine is held up by ether a chain block or picker.

raise the transmisson so that it is about 1 inch from the top of the tranny tunnel.

Get your helper to "operate" the jack while you are IN the engine bay (I like to get inside the engine compartement to facilitate ajustments)

Play aroud with the chain block/picker to angle then engine in line with the tranny. At a certain point you will no longer have enough ajustment capabilities to make a perfect fit. At this point your helper will use the jack to raise or lower the tranny to get the perfect alignment. The two parts should slide together with little effort.
Once the engine and tranny are together, bolt them up and slowly lower then engine on its mounts

Hope this helps good luck!

 

I did mine outside the engine compartment. I had my engine hanging from my hoist, and I just picked up the tranny and put it on the engine, then held it there while my Dad put the bolts in and torqued them down (impact wrench makes it fast, I didnt have to hold it very long . Then, we just dropped the whole unit in the car. Easy as pie .

~T.J.

 

i have found that if you slap a 19mm on the main bolt and spin the motor over it helps to gethte tranny input shaft in..... but yeatsome times it a major pain in the ***... speaking of taht i have to go help a friend do a rear main seal.

 

Same here

I stood the engine up on the front end with wood blocks. Then I picked up the bell housing/transmission and carefully slid them down, rotating the bell housing/transmission until the output shaft dropped down. After that, just line-up the bolt holes and tighten the bolts.

 

Haven't done it on the 7 yet, but it sounds like it's about the same as any other car, and then you gotta use a pilot tool to make sure the clutch plate is just right, and the input shaft oughta slide right into the pilot bearing. Local Garage Gorilla did my 83 about a month ago and reported no problem.

B

 

I removed and replaced my engine 4 times in the last 2 years separate from the tranny.. putting it back in is always a headache....

I found that having the engine on the hoist, front end a bit higher than the back end, and then standing in the engine compartment with it, putting weight on the fron of the engine as necessary, while gradually lowering the hoist arm and pushing the hoist/engine towards the back of the car, was the easiest way to do it....

I also found that finally "giving up" and swearing at it while jumping up and down on the two engine mounts on the side helps as well

 

Joe,
Im in SD...it's just about Sunday now, dunno if youre still in around town and where...PM me, I might be able to help you out.

 

Funny, I've found that installing an engine is actually easier than removing it.