Help In Regards To Pulling Out An Engine And Leaving Gearbox

[FSTR32]

This might seem like an obvious question for some but I have never done it before so just getting a heads up before I f*k something. About to pull my engine out and sell my shell with gear box still in the car as that is fine and engine is screwed. My question is once I have unbolted the gear box from the engine and pulled the engine out will the gear box mounts under the car (R32 gtst) be enough to support the box or will a jack need to placed under there to support also. Im hoping the mounts will be sufficient as I need to move the car with the box still in it.

Thanks in advance

Luke

[GTSBoy]

You need to have something under the bellhousing to hold the box up after it is no longer being held up by the engine.

Once the engine is out, you will need a block of wood of the right length to jam between the engine crossmember and the top inside of the bellhousing so you can wheel the car around without having the box drag on the ground. Obviously enough you cannot leave whatever blocks you originally put under the box in place while the engine was coming out and still move the car!

[mungy]

Ok i do this every day now and could do it in my sleep, no wood or blocks or special wheels needed. dont unbolt the box from the motor, it will make your life hell with the starter motor and top gearbox bolts, its 1,000,000 times easier to pull it out with box attached and drop back in with box attached and wiring done.

start with the engine wiring loom, if your leaving the loom on the engine dont bloody touch it, just unblot it from the ECU and with a helping hand will pop thru the firewall easy enough. or you can unplug all the connections and hang the loom off to the side.

remove the gearstick from the box if manual, or disconnect the levers underneath if auto.

open the fuse box cover in the engine bay and with a 12mm spanner unhook the starter/alternater loom from the fuse box so u wont have to unhook any wires from the box or engine, take out the 10mm bolt lower down from the fuse box holding the engine earth in place on the chassis and unplug the rest off the loom at the plugs near the fuse box.

next is the turbo piping and thermo fan, then radiator, power steering pump and A/C compressor, leave the p/s pump and compressor on the engine just undo the pipes and wiring connected to the pump and compressor.

Heater hoses in the back and other bits attached to the motor at the top like vac lines and throttle cable.

DONT FORGET THERE IS A CONNECTION GOING TO THE STEERING RACK, it will snap easy so becarefull when unpluging it.

next get under the car, remove the exhaust first, then the tailshaft. after that undo the 2 14mm bolts holding the engine mounts in place from the bottom, if you remove the single 14mm nut at the top you might snap the engine mounts in half when pulling the motor up.

now grab a jack and jack it up underneath the gearbox, undo the gearbox crossmember and shes just about ready to come out.

do a final check to see if any more wires are still attached to the engine that are supposed to stay in the engine bay then grab a chain to hook onto the engine ( one near the back and one near the front ), if you dont have a chain a seatbelt will work fine so long as you tie it on correctly ( one thru the rear of the exhaust manifold and one thru the front of the intake )

jack it up slowly and jiggle the motor around slightly to get the engine mounts to pop up, once the mounts have popped up, check you have unplugged the steering rack plug on the drivers side, then one more check for things attached to the motor. jack the motor up some more untill the gearbox touches the trans tunnel then you can remove the jack underneath the box, then its a simple process of little up, little forward, little up and again little forward untill the bottom belt tensioner clears the rad support, once its cleared just keep jacking up and up.

when you start pulling it forward more you will need the help of a friend to make sure the box isnt swinging around like crazy.

done, takes me a total of 1 hour and 15 mins this way, trying to undo the starter motor and top gearbox bolts might take you an hour by itself.

[blind_elk]

If the engine is screwed, why not make it the buyer's problem. Leave the engine in there.

"SIMPLES"

[FSTR32]

Pulled it out with box. Blank canvas is much more appealing than something that already has a problem. Thanks for all advice.

[ZRBE]

Ok i do this every day now and could do it in my sleep, no wood or blocks or special wheels needed. dont unbolt the box from the motor, it will make your life hell with the starter motor and top gearbox bolts, its 1,000,000 times easier to pull it out with box attached and drop back in with box attached and wiring done.

start with the engine wiring loom, if your leaving the loom on the engine dont bloody touch it, just unblot it from the ECU and with a helping hand will pop thru the firewall easy enough. or you can unplug all the connections and hang the loom off to the side.

remove the gearstick from the box if manual, or disconnect the levers underneath if auto.

open the fuse box cover in the engine bay and with a 12mm spanner unhook the starter/alternater loom from the fuse box so u wont have to unhook any wires from the box or engine, take out the 10mm bolt lower down from the fuse box holding the engine earth in place on the chassis and unplug the rest off the loom at the plugs near the fuse box.

next is the turbo piping and thermo fan, then radiator, power steering pump and A/C compressor, leave the p/s pump and compressor on the engine just undo the pipes and wiring connected to the pump and compressor.

Heater hoses in the back and other bits attached to the motor at the top like vac lines and throttle cable.

DONT FORGET THERE IS A CONNECTION GOING TO THE STEERING RACK, it will snap easy so becarefull when unpluging it.

next get under the car, remove the exhaust first, then the tailshaft. after that undo the 2 14mm bolts holding the engine mounts in place from the bottom, if you remove the single 14mm nut at the top you might snap the engine mounts in half when pulling the motor up.

now grab a jack and jack it up underneath the gearbox, undo the gearbox crossmember and shes just about ready to come out.

do a final check to see if any more wires are still attached to the engine that are supposed to stay in the engine bay then grab a chain to hook onto the engine ( one near the back and one near the front ), if you dont have a chain a seatbelt will work fine so long as you tie it on correctly ( one thru the rear of the exhaust manifold and one thru the front of the intake )

jack it up slowly and jiggle the motor around slightly to get the engine mounts to pop up, once the mounts have popped up, check you have unplugged the steering rack plug on the drivers side, then one more check for things attached to the motor. jack the motor up some more untill the gearbox touches the trans tunnel then you can remove the jack underneath the box, then its a simple process of little up, little forward, little up and again little forward untill the bottom belt tensioner clears the rad support, once its cleared just keep jacking up and up.

when you start pulling it forward more you will need the help of a friend to make sure the box isnt swinging around like crazy.

done, takes me a total of 1 hour and 15 mins this way, trying to undo the starter motor and top gearbox bolts might take you an hour by itself.

I'm printing this sh*t.

[FSTR32]

Yeah good tutorial mungy

[kosmo90]

I'm printing this sh*t.

+1

[kosmo90]

Hey Mungy, do you use car ramps to raise it? Would have thought that stands wouldnt be that stable or do you just sit it on the wheels and jack it up when your working under there.

[mungy]

I have welded steel rims mate, I sit one under each corner of the car. They are welded with one sitting flat and the other sitting upright inside it.