I'm going to fix all my oil leaks over labor day weekend. Doing the front seal, rear seal, stationary gear o-ring, pan gasket, even the o-ring under the oil fill tube. I'll be doing it at a friend's house who has an overhead hoist and even a pit in his garage. I've watched the 3rd gen engine R&R DVD from Atkins. My question is...

Are there any surprises involved in engine removal/installation that I should be aware of? Also, what other things would be a good idea to do while the engine is out? Thanks in advance.

-Kennet

 

Man, I can't believe this has dropped to the bottom of the list already... I guess that means I've got all my bases covered then, right?

 

how many miles are on your engine?
I suggest getting it rebuilt while you have it out
oh and you can replace all of those seals without removing the engine out of the car. Although in the end it might be easier
how the hell do you have all of those leaks!

 

trannys and motor mounts are a bitch to put back in, well it is for me at least =\

 

change your omp lines (ones that lub ur apex seals)

 

its easy...just go slow and dont get fustrated or over whelmed

 

getting the clutch to release can be a lil tricky. there are two ways to remove the engine without the tranny. option 1, you release the clutch with screwdrivers, a drop light and alot of patience. option 2, you remove the lower cover on the right side of the tranny and actually unbolt the PP from the flywheel. good luck wth that! if you dont pull the tranny with it, make sure you support it. dont let it hang on the clutch line. good luck

 

Bought the car this past summer. If I believe the previous owner, the engine is a Mazda reman w/ about 30k miles and the turbos have about 50k on them, otherwise it's the original with 114k, but it runs too strong for that, I think (I do have the original turbos, so I know they were replaced). I'm 90% sure the pan gasket and rear seal are leaking because I had the Mazda dealership check it with oil dye when I took it in for the brake booster hose recall and that was their diagnosis. I'm doing the front seal and rear stationary gear o-ring as a precautionary measure. Basically I never want to see another drop of oil on my garage floor for a long long time.

I'm also replacing pilot bushing & seal as well as the turbo coolant hoses. Would you guys recommend reusing the stock hose clamps or switching to the worm-screw type?

Thanks for the omp line suggestion.. I hadn't thought of that one. What's the consensus, replace with stock or the SS braided lines from Gotham?

 

I took my transmission 4 months ago and it was a bitch to put it back. I change the rear main seal and the stationary gear O-ring. Make sure you don't move anything when you take your Rear stationary gear out.

 

for option 2, you mean taking off the 6 bolts from underneath and pumping the clutch a few times??? does it just release after doing that? this is what i saw in the rotaryaviation.com videos but could not really understand if thats all you needed to do.

from my understanding (the first option), you need to use a screw driver to hold the ring (cant remember what its called but it goes back and forth) to the clutch plate/engine/flywheel and then pull the release bearing away from the engine.

 

you really should pay attention to where all the vacuum hoses connect. either take pics or print out the diagram it is easy to find on the web. this is all if you are going to pull the motor , that is what i recommend. oh you also might as well check out your turbos and see if they is any major coking. just do it all at once get it over with

 

If you have a '93 the gasket for the LIM may be made of paper and leaking. Replacing that gasket with a newer metal one is much easier with the engine out.

 

Just rebuild the ******. Rebuilding is the easy part, R/R is the bitch.

 

No surprises. Unless you forget to all your fluids. 'Cuz then, you might find a surprise. A mouthful of coolant isn't good.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. I'll let you know how the deal goes. I've got a week to get myself all nervous about it all! One last questions for now...

As I understand it, the engine needs to be stood on end in order to change the front seal, right? Otherwise bad things happen when you take the tension off of the front bolt in the e-shaft and something drops out of place?

DGnizer - yes, I've got the tech bulletin that warns against turning the engine over while the rear stationary gear is out... that would make for a very bad day!

 

What does he mean by R/R?

 

its not bad the only 2 things that are diffrent from any other engine removal is releasing the clutch thowout bearing. to do this all u need is a large screwdriver or a small prybar and push the retainer toward the engine on both sides of the bearing and should pop out, if it is ur first time it may take a couple tries. the other trick I can give u is when the engine is ready to pull is lift the engine support the tranny and unbolt the motor mounts from the engine as well as the frame, this will allow u to pull the engine foward a little easyer Good luck and don't forget to mark all ur vac lines.

 

Remove and Replace.

ASEMaster, you are correct, a needle bearing back behind the front cover can drop behind a spacer and then get pinched when you retorque the e-shaft bolt. In this case, gravity is your friend

Def go with the s/s MOP lines. the stockers are way too brittle, and if they leak under the sleeve, you will never know it. The s/s ones are basically leakproof if installed correctly.

Also, if you never want to see another oil leak, i highly recommend an oil pan reinforcement brace. Over the last six years I have fought oil pan leaks, and after installing the brace my garage is floor is *bone* dry .

hope this helps---