Hi

Im a novice, but the problem i have is that my engine needs a rebuild and im skint,
I have found that the cheapest way to get it rebuilt is for me to remove the engine from the engine bay and send it to my local specialist.

Im just wondering, is there a way inwhich i can remove the engine without having to lift the car up and remove the transmission?, can i disconnect the engine from the transmission without having to raie the car off the ground?

and can anyone tell my anything that i would need to watch out for when removing the engine?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Chris

 

The car should be on jack stands at the least. There's stuff you have to get to and it's impossible without lifting it some even if it's just to slide under it. I did mine in the driveway without any major problems and only pulled the engine. The tranny will have to be lifted till it touch's the body when its ready for removal and supported while the motors out. There's all kinds of things to watch for, the clutch release seems to be a big snag with most new to a pull type clutch (but is really simple once understood) you've got to be familiar with engine removal to tackle it as it not any different in that respect. Do a searh there are lost of write ups and pictures on here. Jack

 

Thanks for replying. This may sound like a really silly question but how far off the ground do you need to raise the car?, cos i only hav a 2 tone jack and it doesnt lift higher that 40cm

 

" There's stuff you have to get to and it's impossible without lifting it some even if it's just to slide under it." (CantGoStraight)


You must at least get jack stands, three would work. This would be a good investment.

PLEASE do not do this with a jack only!

 

Your jack is plenty for the lift (4ooolb's) the hight can be suplimented by raising the car blocking and then puttin wood between the jack and car to lift higher. Jack stands acn be bought for next to nothing from harbor freight, pep boy's, auto zone sears. Three will work two in the front one under the rearend. Here is mine in the drive way, tires are about 1" off the ground maybe less. How high depends on how big a boy you are. If your large you'll need more room.

 

yeah, getting under the car must be done...remove the tranny with the engine it will be alot easier. These are what worked well during my engine swap, those plastic ramps, get 4 of those and you'll have no problems..

 

Hi,
thanks for getting back to me, sorry it has taken me a while to reply. How long does the engine removal take?
does the transmission have to be removed or can the engine be parted for the transmission and the transmission left under the car?
Is there alson anything i should whatch out for when removing the engine?
I really wish i was more experienced, but im that skink im trying to economise as and engine rebuil in the uk is around £3500-£4000 sterling which is around $7k - $8k equivelent

Thanks

Chris

 

It should take few hours if you work continuously, it will also go alot faster if you have someone help you work. after you prep the engine for removal its pretty easy from there...you can pull just the engine and leave the trans (its alot easier to remove both IMO) if you do leave the transmission, make sure it is supported with jack stands.

have a jack under the diff and slightly raise it, unbolt the ppf (don't do this if you want to leave the trans), and just go on from there and it should work out fine.

7-8k for a rebuild? damn!

 

Another vote for pulling the tranny off with the engine. i've done it both ways, and it's much easier leaving it mated to the engine.

take off the PPF
take off the drive shaft and pull it out of the tranny
take out the clutch slave
undo the 2 engine mount bolts
undo the rad hoses and oil cooler lines
undo the ECU wiring and push it through the firewall (undo the abs bolts to make room for the wiring harness)
undo the driver's side wiring harness plaus for things like the alt., a/c, power steer ,map sensor, cruise, etc...
make sure to unscrew the gear shift **** and pull the center plastic piece out of the way.
then pull it out, and undo the xmission when it's out of the car

 

Im getting a core engine replacement from a company in the uk and its pretty much a new engine. Would it be easier to take everything off the engine in the engie bay or remove everything off the core engine when the engine is out of the car?

Thanks again for all the help

 

you need to leave the UIM on because that's one of the hoist points. you could take the alt. and the air pump off for a little space ,but there is no real reason.

take everything off when you get the engine out. and use a digital camera to take a lot of pics as you take stuff off. it will REALLY help when you put it back together. especailly the hoses.

really, you should mark the hoses with tape on both ends and number them to make it really easy.,

 

So far so good, i got the engine out with out the tranny, I decided to leave it in cos the thought of removing that altogether scared the **** out of me. I now have the engine back in but im having big problems re-attacing the clutch cover to the fly wheel as the cover wont go any closer than 1.5cm to the flywheel, should there be somthing i should have done?

Thanks

 

Did you leave the motor mounts off while putting the motor back in ???? The reason I as is that is next to impossible to allign the motor and tranny with them on. The angle will be too steep to line up the input shaft and pilot bearing without damaging the pilot bearing. Hate to say it but you may need to repull it to chek out hte pilot bearing for damage, if the mounts are on you may be able to pull them and then look at your angle of attack and try again. I may be way off here but without being there to see it I'm going with what I've seen happen on two of my installs (my first one and then helping some one else when they had this issue). Jack

 

try backing everything out and then tighen the bolts a little at a time, all the way around- do bolt one a little, then the next, etc....

I had the same problem - turned out it just wasn't going on straight.

 

i did it with the motor mounts left on when i did it. it was hard as **** thou. i forgot how i did it thou. it was like a year ago. i guess im usless

 

I tried doing screwing one bolt on but the problem i had was i couldnt rotate the flyweel at all in order to try and screwanother bolt in. what apeared to hapen was when i screwed the first bolt in slightly, it seemed to tilt the clutch plate at an angle so that when i tried to rotate the flywheel the lot refused to move? do I need to to try and push the to pf the clutch plate forward to try and straighten it?

Thank again for all the help

 

Chris

There are 3 locating pins that need to be properly aligned before the clutch plate and flywheel will rotate together easily. Separate the clutch plate and flywheel again. Insert a flat screw driver through the inspection cover hole onto the teeth of the flywheel. Rotate the flywheel until one of the pins is visible. Then work the clutch plate around until one of the holes lines up with the pin - try working the clutch plate both ways - it may move easier one way than the other. Once roughly aligned, insert a socket set extension bar (or similar) through the inspection cover onto the rear side of the clutch plate (all the way in) and gently prise the clutch plate onto the 3 flywheel pins. You should find that the pins will enter the holes properly aligned but not all the way home, however, the whole assembly will now rotate together and keep aligned while you fix the 6 clutch plate bolts in place

Hope that helps, Gary

 

Hey Chris,
Just so I understand, you allready have the engine and transmission bolted together and are just trying to bolt up the clutch plate to the fly wheel ? ? ?

 

Just for future reference, its a HECK of a lot easier to bolt the pressure plate to the flywheel PRIOR to installing the engine. Then once you install the engine, and bolt it to the bell housing, you can just snap the throwout bearing in place.

-Rob

 

This would be ture if the motor mounts weren't installed on the motor when installing it. The motor will not achieve th correct angle (even with the transmission pressed against the body tunnel) because the motor has to be high enough for the motor mounts to clear the sub frame and then the angle is too stteep to line up the clutch disk and the pilot bearing. There may be enough room for error if the pressure plate isn't bolted to the flywheel.

 

Exactly. Although, it's very possible to install an engine with both the PP and motor mounts attached (I've done it several times), but it doesn't give you much of a margin to work with, and is a complete pain to line everything up (plus, it requires the use of a load-leveler). Which is why (as I think you mentioned earlier) that it's also easier to leave motor mounts off until the engine is bolted to the tranny. These are just a few more reasons that many people advocate pulling the tranny with the engine: it just makes the reinstallation process so much easier.

-Rob

 

Im not sure how i managed it bit i managed to get the engine mated with the transmission with the engin mounts on the engine and secured in the holes on the subframe, Not sure how i did it but all i know it was a pain in the **** and it was compleate luck. I was going to try and bolt the whole clutch out of the engine but the problem i had was i couldnt get the clutch plate away from the tranny?, i must have been doing somthing wrong.

 

Yep, in order to seperate the pull-type clutch pressure plate from the throwout bearing, the little metal ring needs to be popped loose. Check out the video in This Thread and it'll show you exactly how to do that. Sorry that I can't help you with your current situation

-Rob

 

finally got the clutch out of the tranny, i have got the engine in and its all bolted on, but i have a small problem, the clutch pedle is limp?, i removed the clutch relese cylender thinking i needed to to get the clutch out the tranny, that was before i watch the vid that was posted when i was deciding which way would be best to put the clutch back on the flywheel.i noticed the fluids were an ikle low, could that be the problem?

thanks

 

The slave cylinder needs to be bolted in place behind the clutch fork before you will feel normal tension. with the slave free hanging you have no load to press on besides the cylinder itself. You have not introduced any air into the system so you shouldn' t have any issues with slop but it wouldn't hurt to fill and bleed the clutch.