Pulling My Engine Out Next Weekend.

[Abo Bob]

I haven't got my hoist installed yet .

[wrxhoon]

Thanks for the added info guys.  I've been collecting containers and boxes to put stuff in.

Thanks for the vote of confidance Jerry.  I already have your number and I might give you a call if I get stuck but hopefully I'll be ok.

I'm going to pull the front bar off and remount my intercooler while the engine is away so perhaps I should remove the air con condenser while I'm there??

And do we have consensus on removing the rear gearbox mount/cross member?  Ie; can I leave it connected to keep it all solid since the transmission is staying in?  Is there enough room for the engine with the drive shaft sticking out to clear the bay? Obviously I'll support the front of the trannie.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I couldnt remember if you had my number Adam , i have yours ...

Dont remove the air cond condenser , you have to let the gas go , it will cost you money to re-gas and its not legal to just let it go you have to catch it .

Undo the rear g/box crossmember ( undo the 4 bolts ) so the box can tilt rearwards , then you get to the top bolts very easy with a long extension , on gtrs i undo the main crossmeber bolts about 10-15 mm so i can tilt the box more . I never had an engine out of a 34 gtt so i dont know if its as hard as gtr but if you cant get to the top box bolts do that as well .

Suport the box with a jack or something else and once you split the box from the engine you can rebolt the box crossmember if you want to move the car around .

I remove engine box together as one unit but in your case dont do it you need heaps of height to do that .

I would remove the gearstick surounding mould and the gearknob itself so you dont damage it .

Dont bother removing inlet or exhaust manifolds , just make sure you unplug everything and undo all the heater hoses from the firewall . When you undo the loom just leave it on the windscreen out of the way . If you need a bit more room take the fan off the water pump if you like , that will make it easier to take the radiator + cowling out too. Make sure you block the trannie oil lines when you undo them from the radiator ( unless you have an oil cooler) so they dont make a mess . When you lift the engine out , lift a little at the time and double check if it will clear everything ( and keep checking as you lift ) and you didnt forget anything , like wires plugs...

[Beer Baron]

yeah the last point is an important one when my mate and i do this we try and get a third person to spot for snags/contact. so one person cranking the enging hoist, one spotting right and rear (firewall), the other spotting left and front (rad support). as if the engine swings a bit and knocks something you may shed some tears...

[r33_racer]

If you are taking box and engine out as one, make sure someone watches the back of the crossmember so you dont flatten or destroy power steering lines and related items, cause ive seen that happen many a time.

If your taking it out at night, make sure you got lights underneath and ontop of car so you can see everything from every angle, cause when your tired and half pissed the shadows conceal stuff that eventually gets ripped or busted off along the way out

If its all new to you, dont rush it. Simple as that.

[Abo Bob]

Well the engine is out.

Big thanks to Ed and Duncan for their help on the day. I appreciate it guys.

It wasn't really that hard at all in the end. We didn't know how the torque convertor was attached and I was trying to undo the bolts to it in the wrong direction but now that it's out it's easy to understand.

The air con condensor was fine behind cardboard but we were only taking the engine out. Trans is still sort of in. Supported by 2 jacks.

Bitch bolts were the two connecting the top of the bell housing to the engine and the one on top of the starter motor.

Clearance to the roof was no issue at all. I guess it pays to keep the chain as short as possible.

The rear cross member did have to be unbolted to get some angle to extricate the engine from the box.

[GTRgeoff]

Sorry mate I forgot to mention that those ones suck, so I pull the head off first since it's usually coming off anyway. Makes that part a relative breeze. Glad to hear there were no big dramas.

[wrxhoon]

Glad to hear that you got it out ok mate , i knew you could do it .

I forgot you had an auto , you dont even think about auto lines ....

Did you lower the main crossmember ? If you did it would be very easy to get to the top 2 box bolts , the only hard one would be the top starter bolt , easier with a C shape spanner and bit of mussle ( you need it with a short spanner ) .

Now you have to take off all the hang on bits off and deside who to take to to rebuilt it i guess .

Just a note , dont have the chain very short when you put it back in unles you use a bar . if the chain is very short you are pulling on the mounting bolts very hard , only have it as short as you have to for clearance .

[Duncan]

....Did you lower the main crossmember ? If you did it would be very easy to get to the top 2 box bolts....

*cough*

A trick for the way back in when it is much trickier