Is it possible to lift the engine a tad in order to change the oil pan and drop the subframe without the engine hook points? ( N3A1-10-566 & N3A1-10-560B). The previous owner removed them (for what ever reason) and the only places that have them aren't from Europe, and will take a while to deliver. Is it worth risking it? Or should I just order some and wait. The engine needs to be lifted a bit, and was thinking of using the intake manifold

 

A chain and a 6mm bolt in either of of each of the original lift points mount holes will work.

 

I see. I could try and do that. Im going to get the strongest bolts possible though

 

You can put a jack on the bottom of the tranny and lift it up.

 

an alternate method is to put a wood and a jack under the bellhousing. you dont have to go from the top

 

Bell housing? Or can I just lift it up from the middle part? I don't want to risk cracking anything.

 

Where do you think the pick points are bolted to from the factory? :P

 

The intake manifold and the engine? Thats where the hooks mount

 

Supporting by the UIM using nylon slings or decent rope will be fine. 5 fasteners at the LIM and a 6th outboard at the TB are not going to fail with that weight, I've dropped a subframe that way using an A frame in the side channels. The stock lift points are M8, a spreader bar with a couple of longer fasteners and an engine hoist will work as mentioned - prefer the A frame method, as you don't have to worry about the hoist legs in the work area - or the usual leaky Chinese hydraulics nowadays.

Making sure you don't mangle IAC, IAT, WG/PC (or other bits if you have either an early or late manifold) and wiring goes without saying.

 

Yes, and what I'm saying is that you can mount to the same spots. Getting 'the strongest bolts possible' isn't really required - 2 M6s of even 'cheese' grade 6 will be fine.

 

if that's your concern then the bell housing is a better pick. Less leverage

 

What he said.

 

Okay then. I'll get a peace of 2x4 and a proper jack and slowly lift the the engine by the bell housing. I need to apply a bit of tension and then remove the engine mount bolts that are in the subframe. Then, lift it a bit more and remove the bolts holding the subframe ( 4 on each side, 8 in total) and the ones holding the steering rack. After that it should all come down. Can someone correct me if I'm wrong?

 

And of course, removing intercooler piping. Im hoping it would damage by downpipe / manifold when I lift the car up

 

you will place the jack on the bellhousing just until it has the slightest amount of tension on it. then you just drop the subframe. if you dont want to remove it entirely then you can unbolt the rack and the perimeter hardware of the subframe and let it hang. the intent with supporting the trans is the "lock" the position of the motor with the subframe removed or lowered. you dont have to remove anything off the engine at all ,it wont be moving. only the subframe is whats being moved. i would advise doing the motor mount hardware first and then removing the subframe entirely. its grossly inconvenient and annoying to work around for a job like this.

you do not need to LIFT the engine at all. it will remain exactly where it is AS IF it were bolted to the subframe. it is very simply being supported by the jack to retain its location without the subframe in place.

 

Wonderfull explination. Thanks a lot. Just to recap and not mess this up, unbolt the steering rack, the engine mounts, and the bolts near the control arms. The arms themselfs remain connected to the subframe, correct?

 

Correct. The arms will remain in the subframe unless you want to get an alignment after. The front lower balljoint can be annoying to get loose sometimes. You will also remove the sway bar. You can work around it but don't, just remove it.

if you dont want to deal with the lower balljoint you can drop the subframe with the whole knuckle attached but it will add a significant amount of weight and make it wobbly. Doing this on the ground, it wouldn't be an ideal scenario.

Don't forget about the ps high pressure line as well. There is a single 12mm bolt that holds it to the subframe. Its just aft of the ac compressor. A little annoying to get to.

 

Related thread:
http://www.rx7club.com/showthread.ph...easier+oil+pan

 

Eh.

 

Update. Took out the hole subframe, and I'm glad I did. Was a lot more work, but a lost less struggle. Clear access to the oil pan and bolts is critical, and I wouldn't recommend people would do it other wise. I ended up placing a block of wood going across the transmission and lifting it using my jack just enough so it gets some tension. DO NOT LIFT IT TO MUCH. YOU WILL RAISE THE CAR AND BREAK STUFF. You just need a small pump and to feel the jack starting to work, then stop. I unbolted the shocks, anti-roll bar, and unbolted the control arm from the knuckle. Subframe came down and I put it through a lot of cleaning. Took out the old excede racing or whatever it was, and installed my new fancy *** billet pan that came with a oring (didn't use it, used a healthy does of high temp rtv made for oil pans) and put it back and enjoyed the gifts the previous owner gave me, 2 stripped threads, and one with a bolt inside. Manage to fix one thread.. but that's about it. I hope it'll hold. Installed everything back, and am waiting 48 hours for the thing to fully settle. The most hastle was taking out the control arm from the knuckle. I recommend doing this with 2 people. One would be bench pressing the subframe, and one would rush to adjust it into the bolts and the motor mounts inside their holes. Please everyone pray that my pan doesn't leak. Also my oil pressure regulator was almost falling into my oil pan. It wasn't even hand tight and was dancing on the thread. But yeah, that's about it.

 

Here are some photos

 

Never thought about using those studs on the front housing. I will be stealing this one.

 

I would be hesitant to use this, check out the recent thread below named something like "front iron water pump ear crack" which I've seen be caused by just this. You would be better off using the bolt below it with a washer making sure the strap stays against the plate and the bolt threaded in as far as possible. There is more material surrounding the lower bolt hole giving it more strength.

 

You can always support the engine from the top. Mazda sells a service tool for this that is pretty much the same as in the pic here:



.

 

When I did my oil pan sealing, I made a wooden equivalent of the above support from a left-over 2x4. Cost $0 and worked perfectly.