How to remove the engine

[Concrete-crusher]

Hi I know this might sound like an obvious question but what is the easiest method of removing the engine

By this I mean is it easier to remove both engine and gearbox together of leave gearbox in place, also is it better to remove the head first then the block or will everything lift out without too much trouble

I am considering a water pump change which I have done before. The first time 15 years ago I left the engine in situ and removed the head, front cover and sump cover with the engine in the car. It was not a nice job so I,do like to think about a better way of doing it again.

Steve

[adigra]

When I did it I needed both the engine and the gearbox out, but I still disconnected them in the car first as manoeuvring in a home garage seemed much easier that way. Putting them back in together is meant to be easier than separately, but I wouldn't know as I haven't done that myself.

I took the carbs off, but everything else came out in one piece. It was fairly straight forward, if slow and tense...

[stugilmour]

I have always done it as a unit. I think Ed once described doing it separately as like 'a dog f**king a football, lots of action with no result'. Based on his colourful advice I never tried it.

The Plus 2 is a bit different as there is no heater control valve, so left side clearance is OK. I understand for the Elan the valve has to be removed, but only from reading here, no direct experience. Something to look at anyway. For my LHD Plus 2 I can leave the carbs in place, but understand it is pretty usual to remove them on the Elan.

I lifted the car on to ~6 1/2" high blocks (made up from dimensional lumber) placed under the tires. This allowed me to still reach over with the engine crane and just enough room to get under the car to loosen the transmission mount and clearance for the transmission tail piece to lever downward as the assembly is lifted over the front cowl. I had to do the job outside the garage though because of ceiling clearance with the crane.

HTH

[billwill]

Have you first consulted your Lotus workshop manual, it tells you how to do it.

Some members including myself, prefer to leave the gearbox on the engine, which needs a higher lift, other members swear by disconnecting the bell housing before lifting the engine out.

You just takes your choice.

With gearbox on it gets messy and you need a large tray on the floor because the gearbox oil runs out of the hole where the propshaft fits. You can minimise this by draining the oilbox first.

[twincamman]

Next time I do the water pump I intend to remove the head .remove the oil pan and rad and replace the front piece in situ with a new cartridge type pump .I hope never to have to remove the engine from my elan again....even with an engine hoist ...

[69S4]

Over the years I've done it both ways - actually three ways - engine and gearbox together, whole engine alone and strip the engine down and remove it in bits. Engine and gearbox together only really worked when I had access to a commercial garage, decent hydraulic lifting equipment and some help. In my domestic garage taking as many lumps off as possible before lifting out the block is the only practical way because of lack of space and low ceiling height. My local hire shop has a range of lifting equipment available but only the smaller sizes will fit in the space I have so I feel more comfortable with less weight dangling from the end of it.

Taking the engine out on your own is one thing - putting it back is another!

[Steve G]

I've lifted the engine twice now by separating it from the gearbox. It can be a bit of a wiggle getting the splines to line up when reconnecting but it means you don't get the bell housing jam and gearbox oil everywhere. The various books recommend lifting engine with gearbox but I haven't tried it so can't comment on which method is easier. The bolts around the bell housing are some of the easier ones to get to. I didn't remove the head first the second time I lifted the engine, it didn't make it any harder.

By far the biggest pig of the whole job are getting the bastard 4-2-1 exhaust manifolds off and on again, it's like a sadistic logic puzzle with no clean resolution. Lots of swearing and a tea break and you'll get through it.

Take pictures of everything beforehand, particularly the engine mounts.

[billwill]

Next time I do the water pump I intend to remove the head .remove the oil pan and rad and replace the front piece in situ with a new cartridge type pump .I hope never to have to remove the engine from my elan again....even with an engine hoist ...

FYI: For the Burton module pump and possibly the others, the bits you have to change include the rear side of the timing chain case, so there's a bit of extra effort there getting the lay-shaft chain-wheel off and the rear of the case.

[billwill]

In my case I cannot get the 4-2-1 exhaust manifolds into their general area with the cylinder head on, so on getting engine out or back in, I would need to twizzle & lift with them getting in the way which is something I've not tried since these were fitted for me.

On all my older occasions of lifting out and replacing the engine, I still had the cast iron manifold and down pipe, which were relatively easy to remove.

[AChen]

I have removed the engine from the car twice from my Elan S4. For me it was easier to separate it at the transmission so that the transmission oil does not leak out of the tail piece as others have noted. It was not necessary to remove the head. Here are some detailed steps.

1. Drain radiator fluid. Disconnect hoses at thermostat and timing case and heater hoses at thermostat and timing case.
2. Remove thermocouple.
3. Detach heater control wire.
4. Remove air box and carbs.
5. Remove alternator/generator.
6. Remove starter.
7. Remove bolts attaching tranny mount to the cross bar. Put in long bolts through the holes to keep tranny from moving forward.
8. Detach wires to reverse switch; remove reverse switch.
9. Remove shift lever.
10. Remove 6 bolts attaching tranny to engine.
11. Jack up engine carefully at the oil pan to take the weight off the engine mounts.
12. Remove engine mounts.
13. Remove exhaust header or manifold bolts.
14. Slide engine (and tranny together) as far right as possible; you should now be able to separate the headers from the head.
15. Slide engine back to center.
16. Connect engine hoist to cylinder head using chains or rope supporting head at the thermostat and intake manifolds.
17. Jack up tranny bell housing two inches and raise engine two inches using hoist.
18. Slide engine forward off tranny. Carefully use a pry bar if necessary. Engine should slide off with a little coaxing.
19. Slide engine forward and lift with hoist.

Good luck

Tony

[AChen]

Oh. You also need to remove the radiator and fan.

BTW, you can do replace the water pump by just removing the radiator, head, and the timing case without removing the engine.

Tony

[twincamman]

Well since my last post I have the motor out 6 times . 2 for duff over heated ring gears(if some is good more ain't better when heat is involved ) stick to a machine shop to assemble the gear on the fly wheel .and 4. Times this assembly for stupid thinking and poor logic AND I have settled on transmission in as the quickest way. But you had better have a hoist to do the the trick I read here about threaded rod and nuts to pull the engine To the bell housing And it is magic The trick MAkes things so much simpler and plugging the drive shaft to the rear spline easier . It's still like adog F$&&ing a foot ball though......stupid car mutter grumble kvetch ....been U S since May ......Ed