Engine removal hints andl tips?

[JB21]

Ive now collected my replacement bare engine and it's time to remove my old unit. I was going to do it using the below method without an engine lift. Motorcycle jack and axle stands only.

Any hits and tips welcome.
 

[jvanzyl]

Don't bother with trying to take out the abs sensors... just unplug them from inside by the rear lights.
It's a very nice video.

In terms of prep, make sure you have clear safety glasses (trust me a night spent with a spec of rust/much in the eye is awful), lots of zip lock clear bags and a permanent marker. Use these to put all the nuts and bolts in and label them where they come from.

Then a roll of masking tape where as you disconnect each wire, label each side of the connection with the same number.
That way when you come back to plugging everything back in it's very clear what goes where.

Oh and if you put the front of the car up on a ramp rather than axle stands you can lift the rear up and down without it changing position forward and backward.

You can save a lot of time and effort by taking the subframe out with the with hubs and arms in one.. it's heavy and you should use a creeper to cart it around, but it'll mean you save having to go for re-alignment etc..

I'd honestly look to secure the engine with some tow straps to keep it stable when going up and down...

[JB21]

Don't bother with trying to take out the abs sensors... just unplug them from inside by the rear lights.
It's a very nice video.

In terms of prep, make sure you have clear safety glasses (trust me a night spent with a spec of rust/much in the eye is awful), lots of zip lock clear bags and a permanent marker. Use these to put all the nuts and bolts in and label them where they come from.

Then a roll of masking tape where as you disconnect each wire, label each side of the connection with the same number.
That way when you come back to plugging everything back in it's very clear what goes where.

Oh and if you put the front of the car up on a ramp rather than axle stands you can lift the rear up and down without it changing position forward and backward.

You can save a lot of time and effort by taking the subframe out with the with hubs and arms in one.. it's heavy and you should use a creeper to cart it around, but it'll mean you save having to go for re-alignment etc..

I'd honestly look to secure the engine with some tow straps to keep it stable when going up and down...

That's great mate, thank you. When you say secure the engine with tow straps, what would I secure it to as I'm not using a lift?

I was also going to leave the front wheel on and just chock them and not use axle stands on the front?

[jvanzyl]

Well whilst you're lowering it I'd put a wooden beam across the engine bay and maybe use a load leveller.. basically it's just that if the engine is not sitting safely and topples you can be in a real spot of bother.

The benefit of the ramps is that it gives you extra height which means that you get extra clearance when pulling the engine out of the engine bay and don't have to raise the car up as much - if you're working inside you'll be surprised how low the ceiling becomes!

[JB21]

Well whilst you're lowering it I'd put a wooden beam across the engine bay and maybe use a load leveller.. basically it's just that if the engine is not sitting safely and topples you can be in a real spot of bother.

The benefit of the ramps is that it gives you extra height which means that you get extra clearance when pulling the engine out of the engine bay and don't have to raise the car up as much - if you're working inside you'll be surprised how low the ceiling becomes!

Can the engine come out the top? As I can just hire an engine lift?

[jvanzyl]

Well whilst you're lowering it I'd put a wooden beam across the engine bay and maybe use a load leveller.. basically it's just that if the engine is not sitting safely and topples you can be in a real spot of bother.

The benefit of the ramps is that it gives you extra height which means that you get extra clearance when pulling the engine out of the engine bay and don't have to raise the car up as much - if you're working inside you'll be surprised how low the ceiling becomes!

Nope! It's a case of lower down to floor level and then raise the back of the car up and slide the engine out.
You're welcome to borrow my engine crane etc - I'm near Watford though..

Can the engine come out the top? As I can just hire an engine lift?

[Call the midlife!]

For reassembly a good, strong ratchet strap comes in handy as the chassis legs tend to bow out by a couple of mm either side when the subframe is off.
It's just enough to misalign the subframe screws on the rebuild but the ratchet strap on the leg ends pulls them back nicely.

[m1tch]

I havn't taken my engine out as of yet, but have heard that its worth marking where the subframe sits on the car before unbolting it - will help with alignment when bolting it back in.

[Carolyn]

Do not remove the harness.  Just unplug from inside the car (take bin out) and pull through. Drop the engine with it on.

Drain the gearbox before you drop it all.  Otherwise, you'll have gearbox oil all over the place when you pull the driveshafts. If it's recent gearbox oil, save it to go back in.

[Stag]

Do not remove the harness.  Just unplug from inside the car (take bin out) and pull through. Drop the engine with it on.

Drain the gearbox before you drop it all.  Otherwise, you'll have gearbox oil all over the place when you pull the driveshafts. If it's recent gearbox oil, save it to go back in.

I second this, My garage flour has a nice stain on it from GBO ):

[JB21]

@jvanzyl when pushing the car up on ramps at the front do you need someone in the car to keep their foot on the brake when you jack up the rear of the car to stop it from rolling back? Or will it just stay put on the rungs of the ramps?

[Ardent]

If removing sub frame. Will require a geo regardless of how careful you mark things up.

[Carolyn]

@jvanzyl when pushing the car up on ramps at the front do you need someone in the car to keep their foot on the brake when you jack up the rear of the car to stop it from rolling back? Or will it just stay put on the rungs of the ramps?

'On the rungs'?  does that mean on the slope of the ramp?

Please don't do that.  The car must be up on the flat part of the ramp for safety.

Even then, chock the wheels.

[shnazzle]

If removing sub frame. Will require a geo regardless of how careful you mark things up.

Drop the whole lot Shocks and all. ABS, Handbrake and brake lines off.

Drop the whole sodding suspension.

[jvanzyl]

@jvanzyl when pushing the car up on ramps at the front do you need someone in the car to keep their foot on the brake when you jack up the rear of the car to stop it from rolling back? Or will it just stay put on the rungs of the ramps?

OK so first of all to push the car up a ramp going over all the rungs is going to be a right pain if not impossible as everytime the wheel gets over a "rung" it wants to sit and I doubt you're going to be able to manhandle it up there. I was able to drive mine up the ramp last time I did it because the engine I was taking out was still working.

In your case I would suggest jacking up one side at a time as high as possible and then inserting the ramp under the front wheels, depending on if your car has been lowered or not you should be able to use the front central jacking point. And then depending on your jack's max height you might need to boost it by starting it off on a couple of planks to ensure you can get maximum height.

With the front wheels under the ramps, you then place further jacks under the rear parts of the sills - use the rear central jacking point for this. What you should end up with is your car relatively level but a foot off the ground :-) Then when you lift the rear it simply rotates on the front wheels and you can slide the engine out without too much fuss.

In addition, it means you have have far better access to undoing bits and then re-attaching them pre and post engine removal.

If removing sub frame. Will require a geo regardless of how careful you mark things up.

You'd need to redo your camber settings... either way you're likely to end up back at the alignment shop because you'd want it to be spot on!

[Carolyn]

If removing sub frame. Will require a geo regardless of how careful you mark things up.

Drop the whole lot Shocks and all. ABS, Handbrake and brake lines off.

Drop the whole sodding suspension.

No don't do that.

Unbolt the trailing arms from the hubs. Unbolt the calipers and hang them from the car with big tie-wraps. no need to disconnect handbrakes or brake lines. Put the discs to one side.

As JVZ said, disconnect the ABS wires from the car.  Leave the sensors alone. Take the two big bolts out from the bottom of the struts. Now you have a lot less weight to move around. 

Drop the engine with the subframe, suspension and driveshafts as a lump. 

Once you've dragged it out from underneath, you can unbolt the engine from the gear box and lift it away from the rest of it.

Done a load of engine swaps.  Used this method early on, but then found I had enough clearance with my lift to leave the subframe in. You won't have that luxury!

[jvanzyl]

Here you go:
https://www.mr2roc.org/forum/index.php?topic=59837.425
Go to august the 26th and you will see a pic of what you want to do with the subframe and driveshafts.
I used a creeper to wheel it round as it's a bit cumbersome.

But I would honestly see how far you could lift the rear of the car up before removing the subframe as I could have actually slid the engine out without taking it off. If you have to take it off it's no biggie, and you get a much easier working environment. 

[shnazzle]

Ignore my comment BTW.
I thought the naughty smiley made it obvious it was a joke but the guess not

[JB21]

@jvanzyl when pushing the car up on ramps at the front do you need someone in the car to keep their foot on the brake when you jack up the rear of the car to stop it from rolling back? Or will it just stay put on the rungs of the ramps?

OK so first of all to push the car up a ramp going over all the rungs is going to be a right pain if not impossible as everytime the wheel gets over a "rung" it wants to sit and I doubt you're going to be able to manhandle it up there. I was able to drive mine up the ramp last time I did it because the engine I was taking out was still working.

In your case I would suggest jacking up one side at a time as high as possible and then inserting the ramp under the front wheels, depending on if your car has been lowered or not you should be able to use the front central jacking point. And then depending on your jack's max height you might need to boost it by starting it off on a couple of planks to ensure you can get maximum height.

With the front wheels under the ramps, you then place further jacks under the rear parts of the sills - use the rear central jacking point for this. What you should end up with is your car relatively level but a foot off the ground :-) Then when you lift the rear it simply rotates on the front wheels and you can slide the engine out without too much fuss.

In addition, it means you have have far better access to undoing bits and then re-attaching them pre and post engine removal.

Cheers pal. I've got myself a new motorcycle jack which should lift the car nicely. I bought it for the engine to sit on and slide out easier.

[Ardent]

Ignore my comment BTW.
I thought the naughty smiley made it obvious it was a joke but the guess not

Sounded reasonable to me. Which says everything about my mech/tech prowess.

[shnazzle]

Ignore my comment BTW.
I thought the naughty smiley made it obvious it was a joke but the guess not

Sounded reasonable to me. Which says everything about my mech/tech prowess.

It's perfectly viable, just a lot of faff.

Especially having to undo brake lines and then bleed it all when refitting. I couldn't so this anyway as I have braided lines, so I couldn't clamp the lines. Brake fluid everywhere. 

That's about the only difference really.

[Call the midlife!]

Ignore my comment BTW.
I thought the naughty smiley made it obvious it was a joke but the guess not

Sounded reasonable to me. Which says everything about my mech/tech prowess.

It's perfectly viable, just a lot of faff.

Especially having to undo brake lines and then bleed it all when refitting. I couldn't so this anyway as I have braided lines, so I couldn't clamp the lines. Brake fluid everywhere.

That's about the only difference really.

Depress the brake pedal and wedge it down, very little leakage from the brake lines, I kept the little rubber "boots" that came on the braided lines and slippped them over the ends to keep any dirt out etc.

[Ardent]

Top tip.
(Hopefully as I really don't know)

[shnazzle]

Top tip.
(Hopefully as I really don't know)

Funnily enough, that tip was handed down to us by a mechanic at Stew's North East Ramp Day (NERD)

Forgot about that

[Call the midlife!]

Top tip.
(Hopefully as I really don't know)

Funnily enough, that tip was handed down to us by a mechanic at Stew's North East Ramp Day (NERD)

Forgot about that

Handed down to me by a promising, young mechanic 😂