Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi All, Any advice on how to remove an engine? Does the gearbox need to come out too or can one get the engine out alone. There's not much clearance between the front chassis cross member and the front of the sump. Is there enough 'give' in the gearbox mounts to allow the engine and gearbox to be tilted, clearing the cross member , and allowing the engine to be pulled off the gearbox?

Plenty of give. Get something ready to hold gearbox up when engine is out

some make crossmember removable, but I suspect yours already has this.

Engine comes out without the gearbox quite easily, just support the gearbox. I removed all the auxiliaries, carbs, alternator, radiator, fan, starter etc. Main fiddly bit is the exhaust if you have a tubular one that has virtually welded itself together into one piece, getting sufficient clearance to pull it off the head studs is tight. I removed the studs and now use UNC Allen cap screws to secure the manifold, it’s not something you do frequently so no real worries about wearing out the thread in the head. Probably worth replacing the heater hoses while the engine is out as it’s much easier and accessible.

The five speed prop is bolted to the back of the gearbox. It's been more than thirty years since I last took a five speed box out of a Plus 2, but I think there is an access panel on the drivers side of the car, you'll have to remove the trim to get to it. You can just undo the propshaft at the diff and pull it all forward and then undo it or do what I do and leave the gearbox in the car

It took my son and I took about 45 mins to refit the engine to our S2 Elan. The trick is getting the gearbox at the right height, whilst the engine is suspended by a single strap which allows it to be tilted and once all aligned, it just slips together.

Hi Guys,
Many thanks for the advice and insight.... its given me confidence that its not going to be too difficult. I'll let you know how I get on. All the ancillaries are off and the lines disconnected so todays the day!!! Ian

Although not a 5 speed, I took the engine out without the g/box. after removing the head & ancillaries. The engine hoist was too short to get in from the front & had to go in sideways, and even then I took the O/S wheel off to get the hoist in close enough. A willing helper was essential! Local traffic didn't help, but was an incentive to get the job done quickly. Refitting was the reverse procedure.

A 2 tonne hoist with a longer reach could probably have got it from the front.

Jeremy
PS Spyder chassis with removable cross member
PPS jack under g/box essential to jack up the whole lot into alignment when removing & replacing
PPPS and a lot of jiggling the assembly about
PPPPS and remember to get ALL the engine/G/Box bolts out

Well done Jeremy.
It just goes to show that you can always find a more difficult way of doing a job if you just look for it.
Eric in Burnley
1967 S3SE DHC

Jeremy makes a good point; most engine hoists are designed for modern short nosed front wheel drive cars and have limited reach. I borrowed an engine hoist to pull the engine and gearbox out of my +2 and its reach was not sufficient. OK for my S3 but with the +2 the angle the engine lifted at maximum reach of the beam pulled the hoist into the bumper.

ericbushby wrote:It just goes to show that you can always find a more difficult way of doing a job if you just look for it.

Not entirely sure what you mean there Eric.. Needs must - no suitable garage or off road parking, The alternative is put the lot on a flatbed & truck it to a repairer.. I suppose that's easier.

Jeremy

No offence meant Jeremy. It was a bit tongue in cheek.
I was just amazed that it could be done in that situation and admire you for attempting it.
I do have a chain block from the roof of a garage that is 20 ft wide and still find it difficult requiring access underneath at the same time. The car then needs to be lowered to the floor and rolled out from under the suspended engine with the gearbox hung on rope from a beam across the wings. Even then the car is still inside the garage.
I have had the engine out three times and thought I was doing it the hard way. I could not contemplate doing it on the street. As I said `well done`.
Eric

Agreed. Well done Jeremy, I doubt if I could have done it out in the street. Very impressive.

Hardly enough headroom in my garage for me let alone a hoist, so its always been done on a gravel drive which makes rolling the engine hoist out with the engine on it a challenge. Like Jeremy I’ve always attacked from the side due to the length of the plus 2 nose. You get the hang of it after enough times!

I'll be doing it soon. Torn between hiring a crane or hanging a hoist from the roof-beam.

I just bought a harbor freight 2t engine hoist. Renting one was about half the total cost but not easy to transport assembled and would need two rentals/trip to remove and install the engine.

New ones come flat packed so could go in the car and sell second hand for not that much less than new. So was cheaper and less hassle. I still have it thou as useful thing to have and used it for a few other random jobs, just takes up more space than I would like.