I've done it more often alone than with help. Both on my stuff and on race cars (as a job). I've never used a leveler...I bet they're handy.
The trick to pulling an engine is tensile testing that last wire or hose that ALWAYS gets left attached. It's a rare occasion that I pull an engine without forgetting to disconnect at least one wire or hose.
Clem
WilburM3, Mazdax605, dean1484: Thanks for your offers to help. I will let you know if I need it.
To everyone else: Thank you for your tips. I'll follow amg_rx7's advice and have a frame shop check out the chassis first before I declare it a write-off. Maybe I can trade my running GXL for a good Sport/GTU roller and a little cash on top...
Done it plenty of times alone but it does usually go faster with a buddy. I find it easier to pull/install the engine/tranny as a unit because I don't have to screw around with all that lining up the engine and input shaft in a confined area crap. A load leveler is a big help, though. HF has them for ~$40.
I've done it a bunch of times with the Mini (best time so far is 45 minutes). When I yanked the 4.3 out of my truck, though, I had The Boy come to the shop to help with the lifting. I did, however, spend solo time disconnecting everything, so all that was left were the motor mount bolts and the transmission crossmember.
In reply to RexSeven:
Dean 1484 had a sweet gold Sport model many years ago,maybe he still does. If not maybe he knows where it is still. I am up for a get together of the old MARX-7 club,or the last remaining two of us that is. Heck I may be the only one that still has a 7. Well David has/had two,and a half FD's at his place last I was up there,but that was many years ago.
Chris
I can't remember the last time I had any help swapping a motor.
i almost always work alone. done 20+ myself. levelers blow and only get in the way, i never use mine. i should sell it.
Nearly every engine swap or even R&R have been done by myself. Fortunately, most of them were on Hondas, which are quite easy to swap in and out. I also don't have a load leveler, just a bigass crow bar.
I've done most of my swaps by myself and I'm going to do another one tomorrow.
The only time it sucked was when I gave myself a challenge!
Challenge: The playing field: 1984 RX-7, Megasquirt injected 13B, FC front suspension. The goal: Engine removal, disassembly, re-assembly, and reinstallation, starting late Saturday morning and ending Sunday evening before dark.
The difficulty: No garage, just an open driveway. No help whatsoever, 'cause I was able to get use of the driveway by virtue of my friend being out of town that weekend. And - the kicker - no cherrypicker.
Of course, I picked the hottest weekend of August in which to do this.
What I did to get the engine out was first drop the subframe (FC subframe - knock the tie-rods off, unbolt the ball joints from the control arms, disconnect steering shaft, support engine, 4 bolts and it's out) and then lower the engine and transmission through the resultant hole. I used a fender-mount engine support like is used for FWD transmission jobs. It... worked. I had the engine almost completely reassembled by nightfall Saturday.
The hard part, besides trying to work in the utter lack of shade on Sunday high-noon, was shoving the engine/transmssion assembly back under the car. It dragged easy. It didn't push easy. Took over an hour to do that.
Tomorrow I'm doing it fancy-like with a hoist. And air tools. And a lift.
I've watched my little brother do it a few times, two ford couriers, a '66 Ford f 100, mazda protege,and a first gen rx7.
I only watched him do it because the cars he usually picks to work on are usually greasy,filthy nasty cars,and i don't like getting as filthy,nasty dirty and greasy as he does...
his technique is to stip the engines down to the long block mounts the cherry picker,un does the motor mounts and lifts them out of there.
on the rx7 I have no clue how he did it he didn't have a hoist or anything like that just his tool box. he was taking stuff off when i got there he asked me to go buy him a pack of cigarettes and by the time i got back the engine was sitting on the floor 
ClemSparks wrote: I've done it more often alone than with help. Both on my stuff and on race cars (as a job). I've never used a leveler...I bet they're handy. The trick to pulling an engine is tensile testing that last wire or hose that ALWAYS gets left attached. It's a rare occasion that I pull an engine without forgetting to disconnect at least one wire or hose. Clem
And it's usually the ground strap from the block to the frame, back by the bellhousing. You know, back where it'll get covered with grease and made invisible. Invisible until the copper pulls apart and is made all shiny and thin. Remarkable really, how thin the strands become when they're pulled on...
I found that Earl's stainless braided hose in -10 is, in fact, not as strong as the (fragile) fitting bungs in a GSL-SE oil cooler. That's not an experiment I want to perform more than once, and I really feel uncomfortable having done it at all.
I still peek at that oil cooler every few hundred miles to see if it's started leaking yet.
The one I had the absolute worst time with was done solo. An Aerostar 3.0/5 spd. The front suspension had to be undone, the van had to be raised, blocked, and pulled high enough to get the suspension/engine combo out from under the van (on bare wheels...the scaffolding I was hanging the van from wasn't high enough to get the combo out with tires on. 
). I spent lots of time labelling and disconnecting the various and sundry connections between the engine and chassis. It was about a week rounding up the pieces/parts, borrowed the scaffolding from work, got the chainfall from my FIL, brought the replacement engine home, etc. I had to take a week of vacation to get the job accomplished. And I had to get it done because at that time, the City of Colstrip was getting persnickety about projects started and left unfinished for months. Anyway, I really didn't want to walk to work thru the winter because the flippin' Aerostar was still on the hook. REALLY didn't want that! Blech!
OTOH, I got LOTS of good experience that I'd not've had any other way. And I got to buy a couple new tools! Hey, it's all good, right? 
And I learned that next time, it might juuust be wise to farm out an engine R&R where the body has to raised so the engine can come out the bottom.
I've swapped the engines out of a few mustangs and r&r'd two Imprezas, all solo.
The Imprezas were BY FAR the easiest engine pulls I have ever done.
In reply to The_Jed:
The forester was easy too, except the torque converter bolts. Those were a pain. Other that that you could do the whole thing from the top of the car!!!
Hmm let's see.. We did one two weeks ago in five hours on a Maserati 222SE 1990
Original V6 2,8 litre 18 valve biturbo engine to the left, 1998 Quattroporte V8 3,2 litre 32 valve biturbo engine on the right.
Done:
We also installet the complete rear axle assembly the other evening from the quattroporte:
We always do our engine changes on the lift so we take them out together with the gearbox. Just place a pallet underneath, unfasten the bolts and lift the car. Voila! :)
njansenv wrote: I need to try one of these "load leveler" things.
2ton leveler @ Advance is $39.99.
Brian
skeze wrote: his technique is to stip the engines down to the long block mounts the cherry picker,un does the motor mounts and lifts them out of there.
I do the exact opposite. If it is an EFI car I'll unplug the harness from the ECU, and push it through the firewall and pull the engine as complete as I can. I don't want to spend any more time than I have to bent over the fender of a car.
Also, I have a load leveler, but it's usually in the way more than it helps. If I'm pulling an engine/trans combo, I'll jack the back of the car up to give me a straighter approach instead.
turbojunker wrote:skeze wrote: ...I'll jack the back of the car up to give me a straighter approach instead.Smart. I will do this next time
SVKCustoms wrote: Hmm let's see.. We did one two weeks ago in five hours on a Maserati 222SE 1990
do you work on canoes too? cause "we" in a shop with a lift doesnt equal doing an engine swap by yourself
patgizz wrote:SVKCustoms wrote: Hmm let's see.. We did one two weeks ago in five hours on a Maserati 222SE 1990do you work on canoes too? cause "we" in a shop with a lift doesnt equal doing an engine swap by yourself
Why ya arguing with the guy? You are better off spending the time looking at how easy it would be to swap in an LS1 in that engine bay and a Ford 8.8 out back like the rest of us. 
(except the 911... which you just lift the car off it).
Thats basically my strategy with every single FWD car i own. After having done it so many different ways, i dislike going out the top if i can avoid it.
Don't do this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCAfJXugsBk
Never done an engine swap myself, but I do have a rotary so it probobly is in my future. I'm taking notes on this thread!
SVKCustoms wrote: Original V6 2,8 litre 18 valve biturbo engine to the left, 1998 Quattroporte V8 3,2 litre 32 valve biturbo engine on the right.
So where's the video soundtrack of this thing running?
You'll need to log in to post.
