Taking engine out, last questions

[phoenix6]

I took the head off before, does it have to be used to take it out or can I hook up my hoist somewhere else?

Can I reconnect ALL of hte vaccumm hoses around the intake side before i put it back in the car?

Ill add mroe questions in here as they come./

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

I always just put in a stock bolt back in the top of the block and did it that way. Is it the best? Probably not, but it gets the job done.


As for the Vac lines, finish pulling the harness from the car- take out your glove box and unhook the big clump of them- pull it out of the firewall, and when you get your head back on hook up all the wires, put your intake back on, THEN run your vac lines. It's a lot easier doing that than worrying about all that crapp (the intake and what not) with the engine in the car. The vac lines going to the body (for your heater control valve and cruise control) will obviously not be able to be connected.

Did you only pull the engine, or did you pull the engine/trans together? If you only pulled the engine I would drop the trans and assemble that mess out of the car as well. Thats just my preference... the starter can be a real PITA.

If you're pulling the engine I suspect you are replacing all your gaskets/seals as well? :icon_bigg

 

[phoenix6]

Pulling both, havent done the rest yet. I thought you had to dismantle the dash to get the harness from inside the car out, or is it JUST the ECU plug from the glovebox?

Im not really replacing much, just fixing whats wrong and be done for a few months while I build something else

This is helping so far but I have more ?s

Can I use 2 jack stands or do i NEED 4? Where do they go if 2, back or front?

How hard is putting the engine BACK in the car? What are some common things people forget to reconnect?

Can the fan and radiator stay in while I pull it or do I have to disconnect them?

So you said use the head bolts on the top, to just bolt down my chains on my block then yank it? leave the head out?

Im thinking of more.

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

Just take out the glove box and take the 4 screws out of your ECU... Unhook the wires... I think there are 4-5 of them, not 100% as it's been a few months. Yank out of the firewall from the engine bay side. All of the plugs are in the same gen area, no more than 6" from the ECU I'd say.

Why not put on a new pan gasket? Why let RK get you? Front/main seals? If you have it down that far...

When pulling the engine out of the car w/ the trans also, jack the back of the car up put the jack stands under the subframe or something sturdy, pick the engine up so that it's got a pretty good tilt on it w/ the trans pointing down. then just lift it up and move it forward as you can.

Putting the engine back in the car is a BREEZE if you do it how I told you. Hardest part is lining up the motor mounts *which you have to do no matter what*. Some common things i forget - Ground wires, the 2 under the intake, the one on the head, the one near where the engine/trans come together on the driver side, and the one at the back of the trans x-member. AFM connector *it just slips my mind sometimes*, tightening up coolant hoses all the way, Basically all of your wiring will be done out of the car so that connectors that aren't connected are easily noticeable. :icon_razz I suppose the exhaust can kinda suck, but they always do.

You could RISK not taking the fan off, I wont promise you it will clear though, but the Radiator MUST be removed. To get the fan out, you gotta take the shroud off, take the fan nuts off, take the shroud bolts out, push the shroud against the engine, pull the fan off *don't let it hit the rad though* and pull the two out through the top together. Don't risk breaking the shroud if you have a good one. Those are high-dollar/high-demand pieces!

I've pulled engines by connecting my chain to stock bolts on the top of the block, just don't reuse those bolts, and put plety of washers on there so you dont risk pulling the bolt through your chain.

I think I'm leaving, so someone else will have to take over. If you need any help and noone replies, I'll be back on in about... 8 hours or so. :icon_bigg

Hope all that answers your questions.

 

[supramike7m]

why did you take the head off? you made this way harder than it should have been bro. you should have left it on, pulled the engine with tranny. oh well but i think the guy above has pretty much got you covered. good luck

Mike

 

[supramike7m]

yes you can connect the vaccum lines before it goes back in. put the whole damn thing back together when you put it back in, it will be 100 times easier. i mean everything, tranny, turbo, ac,head, vaccum lines. this is how i pull and replace the engine, with everything on it and its soooo easy that way.

Mike

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

And you pull the harness, no? :icon_bigg

100x easier? more like 1,000,000,000,000,000,000x!

Plus when you get it sitting down in there, you don't have 3 more hours or w/e before you can hear it run. Get it in there, another hour TOPS before you hear her purr. :icon_surp

 

[phoenix6]

yes you can connect the vaccum lines before it goes back in. put the whole damn thing back together when you put it back in, it will be 100 times easier. i mean everything, tranny, turbo, ac,head, vaccum lines. this is how i pull and replace the engine, with everything on it and its soooo easy that way.

Mike

I hope you mean reconnect it all BEFORE it goes back in haha.

Ill pull the fan and tranny.

Someone suggested it was a bad valve that was making the tick/knock. SO I yanked the head, wasnt it.

Also my fan shroud is fucked, I need a new one anyways. Fan too, so I though Id get one of the, crap what was the brand name! its an electric rad mounted fan.

 

[supramike7m]

And you pull the harness, no? :icon_bigg

100x easier? more like 1,000,000,000,000,000,000x!

Plus when you get it sitting down in there, you don't have 3 more hours or w/e before you can hear it run. Get it in there, another hour TOPS before you hear her purr. :icon_surp

huh? you unplug the harness from under the glove compartment. then it slides out. :icon_conf yea your probably right 1,000,000,000,000,000,000x easier. yup no fucking around with stupid shit. its quick and easy

the last time i did it i started in the morning, pulled it out, and put it back in and had it running by the time the sun was goin down.

good luck

 

[phoenix6]

any more?:evil2:

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

I can't think of anything else to help... just let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[-Maniac-]

Putting the engine back in the car is not difficult, but its a two person job.... I suppose you could do it by yourself, but its your car, not mine. I just dropped mine back in two weeks ago, and my 100 lb wife helped :icon_razz . She did all the engine hoist work, while I guided the engine in.

As far as the radiator and fan go, they must come out. You can try to leave on the fan, but my engine barely cleared without it.

Some things people forget...

1. Don't get into a rush when you bolt up the rear of the transmission. The engine will tilt back because of the weight, but remember that you still need to bolt in the shifter, and you can't install it with the transmission fully mounted.

2. Since you have the head off already, just pull the block like Supraman said. But when you put the engine back in, go ahead and have the entire engine and tranny fully assembled. The engine is MUCH easier to assemble outside the car, especially the head and manifolds. Plus, mating the transmission to the engine while under the car is a som-b***h. Go ahead and put them together the easy way.... outside the car. You won't regret it.

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

1. Don't get into a rush when you bolt up the rear of the transmission. The engine will tilt back because of the weight, but remember that you still need to bolt in the shifter, and you can't install it with the transmission fully mounted.

Sure you can, if you take out the very top 4 bolts that hold the shifter in itself. :icon_bigg This is how you put your gear oil into the trans, through that little hole. If you take off the entire shifter plate thing it may be a problem, but just take the center console apart, peel back all the rubber BS around the shifter, take out the 4 little 10 mm bolts around the shifter and it just pulls right out.

Oh, and when you pull your driveshaft out, have a pan ready... sometimes people (me) rush this part and it makes a HUGE mess on the floor, and if you forgot to unhook something, or need to push on the trans or something, you'll have that crapp all over you.

Oh, and this is how I remove/reinstall my engine/trans.... just need someone to work the jack.

Just notice that I'm pushing down and forward on the trans to keep it from F'ing up the tranny tunnel/firewall paint. Plus it gives you a good photo-op. :icon_surp

 

[phoenix6]

No pics but the engine is OUT!!!

me and my gf and one of my friends got it finally. I disconnected ALOT of shit. How do you guys disconnect your motor mounts though? i took out the 4 bolts on each side.

I found my problem, the 3rd piston/rod bearing, well the rod was just moveable while it was still attached! I took it off, there was NO BEARING, its a piece of loose metal right? I thought...it wasnt there, at all.. WTF?

fixing next weekend and assembling then hopefully shell pur soon.

Ill post pics later.

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

How do you guys disconnect your motor mounts though?

The big 19mm nut on the bottom of the mount. :icon_bigg Just one on each side and you're done, rather than fighting to get all 8 of the other bolts lined up when you go to put it back in. I guess either way would be easy w/ the head off though.

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

I found my problem, the 3rd piston/rod bearing, well the rod was just moveable while it was still attached! I took it off, there was NO BEARING, its a piece of loose metal right? I thought...it wasnt there, at all.. WTF?

The bearing spun, it got a knock and they kept driving it. Get a new crank or a JDM engine. That crank and that rod are toast... Was there a bunch of shavings on the oil pump pick-up tube? Bunch of crapp in the oil pan?

hopefully shell pur soon.

That took me about 5 mins to figure out what it meant... damn I'm quick.

 

[phoenix6]

The bearing spun, it got a knock and they kept driving it. Get a new crank or a JDM engine. That crank and that rod are toast... Was there a bunch of shavings on the oil pump pick-up tube? Bunch of crapp in the oil pan?

Ok ao it spun but where did it go?? shaved alll to little pieces?

No metal shavings, the crank is fine, I looked it over, no damage. The rod appears fine as well, Ill take pics, theres just NO bearing. Im replacing the rod and bearings, rest seems to be alright.

Ill take off the mounts and put em onthe engine b4 I put it back in.

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

^ Uhhh... lets get some history on that engine... people don't just forget to put a bearing in and then sell a car... If that engine has been run for any amount of time with a knock, that crank is not fine. You can put a new bearing in there, but it's not going to last very long and you'll be doing this all again very soon.

 

[phoenix6]

How do I tell then if it is fine?

If its not, can I replace it with one from a GTE? I really dont wanna get a $400 new crank if I can fix this one.

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

You could get that one cut and get oversized bearings... but it may be cheaper to go to AdvanceAuto and get a crank kit for like $250, but I'm not sure on the exact price for either...

$298.88 for the crank kit from Advance, Maybe a machine shop could do it cheaper. Just something to think about.

*edit*
To check the crank don't you rub a penny on it or something? I'm not sure as I haven't rebuilt any RK engines myself out of fear of something getting screwed up. Someone will chime in, I'm sure.