Removing engine harness - Any tips?
 

I'm in the process of removing the engine from my FD, and got to the step where I need to pull the harness through the firewall. I've got the RA video, and so far it's been a huge help!

As recommended by the RA vid, I've loosened up the ABS mounts and removed the heat shield in order to give a bit more space to get to the engine harness grommet. I've also pulled all of the connectors from the ECU, the ground wire, and the white jumper connector.

In the RA vid, a good pull on the harness from the engine bay seemed to pull the loom out, but on mine, the damn thing just won't budge. The grommet on the engine side of the firewall seems to be really stuck, and there's absolutely no space to get in there to pull the harness through.

Anyone else had trouble pulling their harness??Any tips or tricks to get it out? I really don't want to have to pull the ABS just to get the damn thing out!!!

TIA!
Justin

use a long screw driver and pry the grommet out a bit? I believe there's a bit of a lip on it that keeps it locked in on the firewall

^bingo. Just loosen the grommet with the long screwdriver and it should pull out easily. You can also pull a bit, readjust the connectors on the inside, and then pull more to make it slide out easily.

Thanks guys, I'll give that a try!

Justin

The easiest way is to push the grommet out from inside the car--no screw drivers,no loosening the ABS pump.Mine took all of 5 minutes.The new one took about 10 min to get in.If I had a second person to assist it would be even quicker.

If you are disconnecting all the wires from the sensors and injectors be very careful because the are fragile. The 13b produces alot of heat that makes the wires and clips brittle. Best luck.

Interesting that you mention that, I actually tried that and it wouldn't budge at all from inside, think I'll try that again though before stabbing at it with a screwdriver!

Thanks!
Justin

Thanks for the tip, I'll definitely keep that in mind!

Justin

Don't forget the connector thats high up in teh dash and connects to the harness. If you forget that you'll be pulling all day with no success :)

Also, use some soapy water around teh boot, it helps.

Get a helping hand. I took the glove box out but didnt looden enything on the engine bay side.

I must have climbed in and out of the car 20 times though. An extra person would make it take aboiut 5 min

Well, thanks for all of the tips everyone! Finally got the damn thing out tonight. After a bit more struggling, I realized that I just didn't have a nice angle to push on the grommet (trying to reach under the dash sitting outside of the car is tough!!). And pushing the grommet out seemed like it would be the easiest path.

Anyway, finally, I got my 24" extension, pushed one end against the grommet (from the inside of the car) and had a really nice angle to push on it with, it just popped right out!

Thanks again for everyones help, not sure my method would be all that useful to anyone else, but figured that I'd post what worked for me, just incase!

Justin