Miata engine r&r

I am pulling and replacing the engine and transmission from my 94 Miata. It does not have power steering or air conditioning. I am planning to pull them as a unit. I will be taking the hood off and pulling out the radiator. It appears to be a rather simple job. Do any of you have some labor saving advice?

Thanks, Braden

Undo the ground strap before you try to pull the engine out

Also, leave the PPF attached to the diff. It'll just push out of the way.

Keith wrote: Undo the ground strap before you try to pull the engine out

i learned that one on my only miata engine removal, LOL.

Thanks for the advice. I will check that ground strap twice. I am planning to clean up the engine bay while the engine is out. Is there anyplace I should check extra close for rust or cracks, etc.?

Not so much in the engine bay, but it's a good time to do some seam-welding if you want to stiffen things up a bit. The biggest problem area is usually corrosion on the ground point under the brake booster, and you can get to that with the engine in place.

The swap went smooth. I disconnected the ground but forgot to remove the shifter. The replacement engine (70,000 miles on it) runs strong and the transmission shifts smoothly. I am looking forward to tearing down the transmission and seeing why it is stuck in 4th gear.

drain the trans oil before the driveshaft pops out the rear of the trans and leaks it all out.

remove the shifter too.

you may need to remove the front bumper if the engine hoist (harbor freight) doesn't have a long enough arm.

remove the coil pack

a leveler is very useful