Engine & gearbox removal - any top tips?

[Knight Rider S4]

Pics is a good tip..coloured insulating tape on the wiring so you remember were everything does when putting back.......when taking off the exhaust from the turbo do the tricky nut first(and tighten the others slightly) as there will be less tension on it !!....When taking out the engine take off all fragile pieces that might get knocked when pulling out

Make a schedule of what you are going to do i.e

Fluids
driveshafts
prop
exhaust
wiring
turbo

so on ......and when you put back together you do the reverse.helps with remember stuff

[Knight Rider S4]

Morning. Anybody got any top tiops for the removal (and refitting) of my 3B engine and gearbox? engine's going into another car with gearbox still there. gearbox is going elsewhere. I haven't done this before so any advice very much welcome. I will of course be labelling everything in sight. Most likely going OTT but better than not doing enough and finding myself at a loss doing the refit.
cheers
Nj

So when are you starting it ?

[s2driveruk]

actually, i have noticed when jacking the rear of the car, it helps to do both sides at the SAME time, i have had the car attempt to fall towards me when jacking the other side to put an axle stand under - scared the s**t out of me. Much easier to get two trolley jacks, lift up and put down on both stands at the same time.

[LHD_Kid]

actually, i have noticed when jacking the rear of the car, it helps to do both sides at the SAME time, i have had the car attempt to fall towards me when jacking the other side to put an axle stand under - scared the s**t out of me. Much easier to get two trolley jacks, lift up and put down on both stands at the same time.

Good advice... is it bad practice to lift the rear of the car by one single trolley jack under the rear diff? Then support both sides at the same time.... front maybe the same way, somewhere on the subframe or something?

[S2central.net]

Zombie thread alert

I've been for a quick recce on my S2 as towards engine, gearbox and front s/frame removal... As you'll see from earlier in this thread I was all gung-ho about suggesting doing that in one go, but I'm not so sure now...

As preparation I see the following steps before getting into any heavy lifting -

Disconnect Battery
Undertray off
Drain coolant & oil
Bumper off & intercooler & x-member as well
Remove auxrad where applicable
Loosen crank bolt while the opportunity arises
PAS pump off
Disconnect water matrix hoses and the hose at the thermostat housing
Remove air duct between engien and radiator
Remove oil cooler pipes
Disconnect zorst from turbo hotside & wastegate
Remove airbox, MAF and hose
Remove pressure pipe to throttle body
Disconnect all plugs in the way
Remove the starter ?

Assuming I have an engine support and something under the subframe as well, would the next steps be the quickest way forward ?

Remove the downpipe from where it meets y-pipe & cats - for clearance mostly
Remove the engine mounts to the chassis
Separate FARB and wishbones from the front s/frame
Remove front hub bolts for driveshafts (this MUST be done on the ground beforehand)
Remove propshaft from the gearbox
Remove the four front s/frame bolts and lower everything down and forwards


Does this get me enough clearance to proceed that way as I am concerned there may not be enough clearance on the turbo side of things by lowering it... Maybe I need to remove the turbo (or worst the entire head with both manifolds and turbo attached - that would create much more space).

Any thoughts / experiences from those doing engine swaps ?

[S2central.net]

Oh I forgot to add separating the gear linkage and hydraulic line to the gearbox.

The gearbox only attaches to the subframe so if it can all come down in one go it might be a nice way to go - also in reverse for rebuild ?

[bluequattro]

When i ve done complete engine box removals i ve used a JCB loadall , undone all wires/pipes, left subframes on half turn of bolts, lowered it onto a large jack or pallet, then undone all the bolts and lifted car off, ciggie in mouth n petrol leaking!
if you ve got room and its only engine n box out, why not split them, lift engine, push car backwards, then do same with the box, more manageable and not too much underneath time
TBH I dont like getting under the cars with the jcb, so it makes me work quicker, especially if it s a windy day and car is swaying!
I ve never used ramps after seeing picture of a local guy trapped under a car ( he died), same goes with concrete blocks(yes, seen that n bricks)
we alos have large peices of wood(think n=bits of railway sleeper thickness) that we can stack under, wider and more stable than axle stands

[Knight Rider S4]

Post 10 ...I had alot of time to myself that day when I wrote that ... Maybe help if you decide to go down the engine out on its own route

http://www.s2forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37078

[4WheelDrifter]

I would take the radiator out of the way, head off, engine out, then subframe and gearbox out. It's much easier to handle IME.
Again don't forget that pesky engine earth strap. Forgot that a couple of times. Just what you want when you have ~120kg of engine in your hands.

[bluequattro]

engine cranes and JCBs are the tops for lifting (got carried away and ripped the roof off a v6 coupe once with it tho

[S2central.net]

Good tip on the earth strap - it is actually mentioned in the factory manual - but would be easy to overlook.

[gavs20v]

and tea............

[Error404]

IME if you want the whole lot out definately easiest to remove the engine and gearbox as one unit, together with the downpipe

[gavs20v]

agreed, i did this on sunday afternoon with the s2 avant we're breaking. Disconnect everything then supposrt the weight of the engine and box. Drp the subframe out the way then pull the engine box forward and splt it from there
Gav

[S2central.net]

Thats more encouraging, but I was unsure if the turbo and downpipe would clear the engine mount on the chassis - I've not had a decent look to see how best to tackle that area from underneath. Need to do a proper recce and make arrangement to hire/buy a crane or support for added insurance.

Pity you didn't take some pics Gav, but I forgive you