Engine And Tranny Removal
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,430
From: Stacked outside you're trailer door
[quote name='Il RX8 lI' date='Sep 16 2005, 07:10 PM']I suppose it would be good of me to contribute a write up of the full process for those who need help...
[/quote]
I've pulled one before, but it was a bit of an ugly process. A full write-up would rock.
[snapback]759671[/snapback]
[/quote]
I've pulled one before, but it was a bit of an ugly process. A full write-up would rock.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 842
From: AL
I can just kind of give a step by step as I remember it here at 2:00am. If anyone needs clarification on something, just ask.
Step 1 for us was to remove every body panel on and around the engine bay, that is the hood, front end, fenders, even the headlight covers. Removing the fenders and front end are more body work and that's not my area of expertise, I was just able to wing it.
Step 2 was removing the airbox, intercooler, etc. Straightforward. Remove battery and all of the box assembly for it.
Step 3 was jacking up the car at least 2-3 feet on all corners, front and back. If you don't have the rear end in the air as well, getting the power plant frame off (and driveshaft) will be the biggest bitches you've ever met.
Step 4 got the engine lift and chains attached and lifted it enough just to take the slack out of the chains.
Step 5 we unbolted the motor mounts, easy.
Step 6 we began disconnecting every line we saw that went from part of the frame into the engine, this included oil, fuel, and coolant lines. The factory service manual says to remove the power steering unit and air conditioner, but we didn't since we had the interior stripped and all of the air conditioner lines were already removed. If you don't want to strip your interior, you'll more than likely have to remove the air conditioner. (Be prepared for a lot of spilled fluids either way.)
Step 7 it was time to begin removing the power plant frame and driveshaft. The PPF is connected by 8 nuts (4 close to the end of the bell housing, 4 close to the LSD) and one bolt that's in the LSD housing. At this point I'd recommend having either a normal jack or transmission jack pushed all the way up against the LSD as a safety precaution when removing the driveshaft. (Sorry to leave this out, but your downpipe and midpipe should already be removed at this point, we were able to work around our muffler.) There should also be two supports running from the left side of the tunnel to the right. Both (if clean) are silver and have some marking indicating which side should be towards the right side of the car. (The marking is RD--> or RH-->, or something along those lines.) The one closer to the front of the car is held on by 4 bolts and the one toward the rear by 5 (one goes through a heat shield of sorts on the right hand side.) The one in the rear can be tricky to remove after being unbolted, so feel free to leave it attached and get it out while you're removing the PPF. After the PPF has had all 5 bolts removed and the supports out of the way or unbolted, very carefullly tug (starting with the end closest to the front first) downwards to get it loose. It took a good amount of pulling to get ours to come loose, and be very cautious since you don't want to have a piece of heavy metal come down with any force on your chest. DO NOT HAVE YOUR HEAD UNDERNEATH THE PPF WHILE YOU REMOVE IT! After the front side has been taken off, move to the rear and tug it downwards as well. If you still have the support running through it, take it off only about halfway to give you enough room to remove it completely. After this, finish pulling off the PPF and set it aside.
Step 8 remove entire shifter, have paper towels ready. Block off the hole left with a ziplock bag and a pretty tough rubber band or some other method that won't allow random junk to enter your transmission fluid.
Step 9 if you don't already have the LSD supported, do so now. The driveshaft is held on by 4 bolts and is...interesting to remove with such limited space. We had to use an impact wrench on 2, and then the same impact wrench with a very large extension on the other 2. Once unbolted, rest the end that you just removed on the ground and find a catch bucket of some kind. Place this at the end of the transmission, where you'll be removing the driveshaft. Once this is in place, lift the end up that you removed and pull straight away from the transmission. It should easily come out. Transmission fluid may or may not begin pouring out of the housing, but when you begin to lift the engine, it will definitely start coming out.
Step 10 remove all wiring. The factory service manual does a good job of showing where all attachments are. The only tricky one is for the ECU since the wires go through the firewall. Again, we had our interior stripped, so finding where the wires go was very easy and didn't take much effort. The bottom two connectors, a blue one that's in the same area, and the ground wire for the ECU have to be removed in order to pull the wires through the firewall. (The ground wire is under a nut that the ECU mounts to, it will be the one on top, closest to the door.) After this is done, fine in your engine bay (underneath the ABS unit) the rubber "grommet" that has the wrapped wires running through it. Pull the rubber through (gently.) I found that at this point, pushing the wires through the firewall was easier than trying to pull them from the engine bay side. Make sure there are no connections you missed, sorry that I can't remember enough to go into detail about each individual one. Any loose hoses or wiring that's attached to the engine needs to be draped over the engine somehow so that they won't snag when you go to lift it.
Step 11 will more than likely require a friend's help since someone needs to push down on the transmission while the other lifts so that you can maneuver it through the tunnel and out of the bay. As you lift the engine, watch for any connections you may have missed and take it slowly. Your engine should pitch slightly as you lift, which will make the end of the transmission towards the back of the car face down, this will cause fluid to leak. You may want to let the fluid stop draining before you continue. When you're ready, make sure the engine is lifted enough so that you can begin pulling it towards the front of the car. Make sure you haven't lifted it too much or the transmission will snag on its way out. Begin pulling the engine (via pulling the lift) away from the bay, towards the front of the car. Take it slow and watch to make sure the engine will clear the frame. At this point the bellhousing should be making its way into the bay as well, have a friend push down on it so that it can clear its way into and out of the engine bay. Continue this process until the engine and transmission are able to be completely lifted from the car.
And that's all I can really remember right now, if there's some points that need clarity, let me know and I'll do my best to help.
Step 1 for us was to remove every body panel on and around the engine bay, that is the hood, front end, fenders, even the headlight covers. Removing the fenders and front end are more body work and that's not my area of expertise, I was just able to wing it.
Step 2 was removing the airbox, intercooler, etc. Straightforward. Remove battery and all of the box assembly for it.
Step 3 was jacking up the car at least 2-3 feet on all corners, front and back. If you don't have the rear end in the air as well, getting the power plant frame off (and driveshaft) will be the biggest bitches you've ever met.
Step 4 got the engine lift and chains attached and lifted it enough just to take the slack out of the chains.
Step 5 we unbolted the motor mounts, easy.
Step 6 we began disconnecting every line we saw that went from part of the frame into the engine, this included oil, fuel, and coolant lines. The factory service manual says to remove the power steering unit and air conditioner, but we didn't since we had the interior stripped and all of the air conditioner lines were already removed. If you don't want to strip your interior, you'll more than likely have to remove the air conditioner. (Be prepared for a lot of spilled fluids either way.)
Step 7 it was time to begin removing the power plant frame and driveshaft. The PPF is connected by 8 nuts (4 close to the end of the bell housing, 4 close to the LSD) and one bolt that's in the LSD housing. At this point I'd recommend having either a normal jack or transmission jack pushed all the way up against the LSD as a safety precaution when removing the driveshaft. (Sorry to leave this out, but your downpipe and midpipe should already be removed at this point, we were able to work around our muffler.) There should also be two supports running from the left side of the tunnel to the right. Both (if clean) are silver and have some marking indicating which side should be towards the right side of the car. (The marking is RD--> or RH-->, or something along those lines.) The one closer to the front of the car is held on by 4 bolts and the one toward the rear by 5 (one goes through a heat shield of sorts on the right hand side.) The one in the rear can be tricky to remove after being unbolted, so feel free to leave it attached and get it out while you're removing the PPF. After the PPF has had all 5 bolts removed and the supports out of the way or unbolted, very carefullly tug (starting with the end closest to the front first) downwards to get it loose. It took a good amount of pulling to get ours to come loose, and be very cautious since you don't want to have a piece of heavy metal come down with any force on your chest. DO NOT HAVE YOUR HEAD UNDERNEATH THE PPF WHILE YOU REMOVE IT! After the front side has been taken off, move to the rear and tug it downwards as well. If you still have the support running through it, take it off only about halfway to give you enough room to remove it completely. After this, finish pulling off the PPF and set it aside.
Step 8 remove entire shifter, have paper towels ready. Block off the hole left with a ziplock bag and a pretty tough rubber band or some other method that won't allow random junk to enter your transmission fluid.
Step 9 if you don't already have the LSD supported, do so now. The driveshaft is held on by 4 bolts and is...interesting to remove with such limited space. We had to use an impact wrench on 2, and then the same impact wrench with a very large extension on the other 2. Once unbolted, rest the end that you just removed on the ground and find a catch bucket of some kind. Place this at the end of the transmission, where you'll be removing the driveshaft. Once this is in place, lift the end up that you removed and pull straight away from the transmission. It should easily come out. Transmission fluid may or may not begin pouring out of the housing, but when you begin to lift the engine, it will definitely start coming out.
Step 10 remove all wiring. The factory service manual does a good job of showing where all attachments are. The only tricky one is for the ECU since the wires go through the firewall. Again, we had our interior stripped, so finding where the wires go was very easy and didn't take much effort. The bottom two connectors, a blue one that's in the same area, and the ground wire for the ECU have to be removed in order to pull the wires through the firewall. (The ground wire is under a nut that the ECU mounts to, it will be the one on top, closest to the door.) After this is done, fine in your engine bay (underneath the ABS unit) the rubber "grommet" that has the wrapped wires running through it. Pull the rubber through (gently.) I found that at this point, pushing the wires through the firewall was easier than trying to pull them from the engine bay side. Make sure there are no connections you missed, sorry that I can't remember enough to go into detail about each individual one. Any loose hoses or wiring that's attached to the engine needs to be draped over the engine somehow so that they won't snag when you go to lift it.
Step 11 will more than likely require a friend's help since someone needs to push down on the transmission while the other lifts so that you can maneuver it through the tunnel and out of the bay. As you lift the engine, watch for any connections you may have missed and take it slowly. Your engine should pitch slightly as you lift, which will make the end of the transmission towards the back of the car face down, this will cause fluid to leak. You may want to let the fluid stop draining before you continue. When you're ready, make sure the engine is lifted enough so that you can begin pulling it towards the front of the car. Make sure you haven't lifted it too much or the transmission will snag on its way out. Begin pulling the engine (via pulling the lift) away from the bay, towards the front of the car. Take it slow and watch to make sure the engine will clear the frame. At this point the bellhousing should be making its way into the bay as well, have a friend push down on it so that it can clear its way into and out of the engine bay. Continue this process until the engine and transmission are able to be completely lifted from the car.
And that's all I can really remember right now, if there's some points that need clarity, let me know and I'll do my best to help.
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 9,725
From: La Plata, Maryland
[quote name='Il RX8 lI' date='Sep 16 2005, 07:10 PM']I suppose it would be good of me to contribute a write up of the full process for those who need help...
[/quote]
Are you serious? It's not as though pulling an engine is a new idea. I would assume that anyone who would tackle removing thier engine will most likely not be getting a written how to from an internet post.. OMFG!!
Your such a goober.
*sarcastically speaking* Your step by step is so well organized and easy to read.. The best ever. For real.
[snapback]759671[/snapback]
[/quote]
Are you serious? It's not as though pulling an engine is a new idea. I would assume that anyone who would tackle removing thier engine will most likely not be getting a written how to from an internet post.. OMFG!!
Your such a goober.
*sarcastically speaking* Your step by step is so well organized and easy to read.. The best ever. For real.
