Tips and Tricks on engine removal
 

Hi Guys,

I've been trying to pull my engine out for a rebuild and can't seems to get it out. I don't want to pull the tranny again so that's out of the question. I have already disconnected the pull type clutch.

Any tips and tricks and much appreciated!

Disconnect the throw out bearing then unbolt the motor mounts. Pull the motor forwards a few inches so that it's disconnected from the tranny. Then lift it out.

Yea as long as it for sure disconnected, the only other thing is usually the motor mount bolts that go through the frame. I found having the banzai ones made it super easy to deal with since the bolt comes out the top.

From the FAQ sticky....
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...nstall-152636/

If you're not removing the transmission then you don't need to disconnect the throw out bearing. What exactly is holding you up? With the transmission attached you need to disconnect the following to simply lift the assembly out of the car:
Driveshaft
Charge harness
Power plant frame
Heater coolant lines
Radiator and hoses
Fuel lines
Pull engine harness through firewall and lay on engine
Midpipe. You CAN leave the downpipe on the motor, you'll just have to move the motor a little more to clear the frame.
Motor mounts
Clutch slave
Shifter
Engine grounds
And the other obvious stuff

Then of course just lift the thing out. The only hang ups that you would have is it contacting the body. The assembly needs to be at kind of an extreme angle to clear the body. It helps if you have the car jacked up really high.

Yes you do unless you unbolt the PP from the flywheel through an inspection hole. Which is way more work.

I think the original poster means he does not want to remove the transmission from the car, not the transmision from the engine.

I find beer helps this job

and swearing

This is where you discover the tensile strength of the one harness connector you forgot to undo, right??

LOLOL :lol:


If your projects are anything like mine, PB Blaster and a large breaker bar are your wing men. Ohio's seasons make every nut and bolt a problem where I come from

Also, make sure you remove all the bolts that connect the engine to the tranny. There is one behind the oil filter area that kinda hidden. That one caught me once.

Yup! Nothing like raging for an hour only to sheepishly realize you forgot a little something sitting there... :lol:

I think a lot of first-timers think they need to open the A/C and power-steering systems. You don't.

Big thing is try to remove just what holds the motor in the car and do all the breakdown with the engine on the stand. The less you do in the car the easier.

For power steering, I always use a turkey baster type tool to get the fluid out of the reservoir then disconnect the 1 banjo bolt and 1 hose to the reservoir and pull it with the engine. Lots easier than trying to leave it in the car. Leave the AC in the car for sure.

Watch the AC hardline, they love getting hung up on the waste gate. Real easy way to damage the lines.

Remove the heat shield around the ABS pump, about 3-4 12mm bolts and the assembly is loose, pull up a little and the shield comes off. That makes it way easier to get the ECU harness through the firewall.

You do NOT need to pull the hood off the car, I always leave it on. Plenty of room with it on.

I can pull a motor, get it on the stand, and break it down to individual rotors and housings in about 2.5 hours. But, if you haven't done it that much, PLEASE take your time, take pictures and LABEL WITH TAPE. You'd be surprised how much it can help. And have plenty of Ziploc bags and a Sharpie to label bolts and small parts.

Dale

Does anyone drop them out the bottom, assuming you have a lift? I've done them out the top and its a struggle, especially going in. Looking at it, it seems it'd be way easier to drop everything out the bottom, even though it'd likely take longer.

Kinda apples to oranges, I've done RX-8 engines both ways, and I'll NEVER pull one out the top again. Way too much frustration and dicking around trying to line it all back up going in. But, the rx8 engine is lower and farther back in the chassis too.

We're in the middle of pulling an engine out of a buddies rx8 and i've never been so frustrated. Need to damn near take the engine down to nothing before lifting it out... Maybe dropping the subframe was the way to go

On RX8club Rotary Resurrection has a nice how-to on pulling an RX-8 engine from the top.

Back on topic, dropping it out the bottom is just not realistic unless you're the 1% with a lift. Also, there's more stuff you have to disconnect and unbolt to do it. I haven't personally tried it, but I don't think it's that much easier all things considered.

I use a Harbor Freight engine hoist, done many FD's with it with no problems. It has enough reach to grab the engine without hitting the front bumper.

Typically coming out is a piece of cake, it's going back in that's tricky. If you leave the trans in the car you have to line it up with the trans then line up the motor mounts.

Dale

In the rx8 is you have to move the engine forward each by each until disconnects from the trany,. Put it back in is different, has to go in an angle to meet the trany. I had the car on jack stands. I guess the 7 it should be easier.

Yep. Helps to have a second set of hands and eyes either way, but IMO especially going back in. Never tried it, but you could probably do it by yourself. But you can also probably cancel you gym membership for the month.
I use a lift with the hoist. I also R & R without the tranny. I jack up the bellhousing until it's almost against the firewall so it meets it up easier with the engine.

Besides beer and swearing, a hoist leveler also helps

and I found putting it back a whole lot bigger PITA

I found putting the engine back in without the motor mounts very easy (10mins). I've also tried with motor mounts and it took a couple of hours of fiddling to get it right. The mounts like to catch on the sub frame, which makes disconnecting & reconnecting the tranny very tricky.

I pulled my motor this afternoon after an apex seal went while pulling on to the highway. It took a little under two hours from pushing the car in to the garage to having the engine on the floor in front of the car.

I disconnected everything, took out top three bell housing bolts, undid the throw out bearing, unscrewed the motor mounts from the subframe, lifted the engine, supported the tranny, unbolted the motor mounts from the engine, unbolted the lower two bell housing bolts, pulled the engine forwards and off of the bellhousing, and then lifted the engine out of the car.

Yep, it can be easier to have the motor mounts in the car and lower the engine onto the mounts. It would be a lot easier with aftermarket mounts. In general you would want the motor mount arms torqued onto the engine at the time you seal the oil pan.

Also, I would ALWAYS want to pull and install a motor with at least one extra person. That's a LOT of weight hanging in the air, it's just unsafe to do it yourself. I usually have one person with the engine, checking and guiding it, and the other person on the hoist, lowering and raising and pushing it forward or backward.

Dale