Remove your engine without a hoist?

[Erik]

I searched through about 11 pages of results after posting "engine removal" and didnt find anything so i thought id ask this. ive been researching things about engine swaps lately since im planning my first one come spring and ive found 2 ways so far that seem to be best. For my personal experience, it will be on my honda but it can go with any car.

Anyway, i though only the cherry picker/engine hoist way is the way to go, but apparently its common to lift the chassis of the car and remove (or put in) the engine underneath? Has anyone used this technique? Im trying to figure out which way is most practical,safe, and easy. Whats your input on this technique?

[jdm free]

if u have a lift, u can go thru the bottom, but it also depends on the motor. ur best bet is to borrow/rent a engine hoist and just lift it out from the top. from wat ive been told, that seems to be the easiest. ive never done it but plan to next summer when i get a project hopefully

[TurboTagTeam]

Civic's are much easier to do from underneath. There's nothing in your way. The subframe and steering rack can all stay bolted in.....its beatifull.

[ThatsTheTruth]

drop engine
jack frame over engine
slide engine out
?????
profit!

[Erik]

so it is as easy as that? seems golden.

[jdm free]

damn i listen to the wrong people lol

[SpendOne]

Ive lifted the motor out from the top with a friend by hand.

[Erik]

^^lol id like to hear that story.

[dragonfly2k3]

i pulled a motor this weekend, i just unbolted everything and then cut the rad support off and slid it out the front.

[SovXietday]

Civic's are much easier to do from underneath. There's nothing in your way. The subframe and steering rack can all stay bolted in.....its beatifull.

EF is easier to go from the top, especially Bseries unless you have a tubular front subframe in which case you can generally go from the bottom (which erik doesn't have).

You should be able to rent an engine hoist for fairly cheap. :) Lifting an engine out by hand with a few people is doable, putting it back in however would certainly prove to be extremely hard.

[crexxy90]

EF is easier to go from the top, especially Bseries unless you have a tubular front subframe in which case you can generally go from the bottom (which erik doesn't have).

You should be able to rent an engine hoist for fairly cheap. :) Lifting an engine out by hand with a few people is doable, putting it back in however would certainly prove to be extremely hard.

agreed, theres almost no way to get it back in without a hoist, getting it out is the easy part

[Erik]

Here is the link on Honda-tech that made me ask this. http://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=466327 I dont know if this will work without being logged in, its in the EF/CRX specific section. They show the removal and install without a hoist. I always thought it would be easier to just lift the engine rather than the car lol

[SovXietday]

I'm going to tell you right now, you will NEVER fit a Bseries engine with an IM on it from underneath an EF with the stock front subframe. I couldn't even get my Dseries in like that, I had to go from the top. Honestly without a lift you're going to have to take off the subframe, bumper, blah blah blah and jack the car up stupid high in order to get it under there. Just do it from the top you will spend a lot less time trying to get the car up in the first place. :)

[DPancoast]

The MR2 has NO WAY of getting the engine out through to the top...

nothing but droppage. Than again, it is midengine and the subframe comes with it... but still... you can drop out the bottom, just more to disconnect.

[Erik]

i figured lifting the car vs lifting the engine would be harder. it just doesnt seem practical in my mind. renting a hoist cant be that expensive anyway

[SlideWayzS13]

Sam's club u can get a hoist for like 150-200 its a good investment

[frosti108]

yo man if u want, i could lend you my hoist for a while for a few bucks

[Erik]

yo man if u want, i could lend you my hoist for a while for a few bucks

oh really? Ill keep that in mind. this wont be going down for a while. thanks bro.

by that time, i may just buy one. as mentioned above, itll be a good investment for my arsenal of tools. cant go wrong with more tools and whatnot. Depends on how much cash i make over winter, and how much i lose from school.

[frosti108]

no doubt no doubt. my buddy is coming home from college (its packed in his garage lol) so ill actually be able to get ahold of it again. he'll be using it while hes home, but then hes leaving again i guess after thanksgiving, but ill make sure to have him leave it closer to garage door so i can rent it out for $$$$$$$$$$

:lol:

[Erik]

lol cant go wrong with making some cash. hows that accord working out for you?

^^Sorry for going offtopic :lol:

[Vypurr]

Most manufacturers drop the frame over the engine because it's simply easier! At work it was rare that we took a motor out the top, but we always put in the same motor we took out, so no weird issues with new specs.

[Erik]

well im going with a D-series so its almost a direct bolt-in engine. it uses the same mounts and everything, so i dont see why it wouldnt work with specs. I just dont see how its easier to lift the car a few feet in the air rather than the engine which is a fraction of the size. the link i posted said to jack it up and use 2x4's to hold the car up. i guess what would work right?

[Honduh]

dude if you need an engine put in a EF I'll help you out. Just supply a way to get my cherry picker to your place and then back to mine and buy me some food and we'll call it a day.

[Erik]

i got buddies with trucks. im sure they could give me a hand. i doubt itll fit in my measly protege lol :-p. this will be a very busy swap. auto - manual, dpfi-mpfi, d16z6 swap. phew

[SovXietday]

Dude, trust me on this one, I've done a bunch of swaps into EFs.

In the thread you posted, they have the front subframe completely unbolted from the car along with the front bumper removed. You take out the front subframe you'll also need to pull out the rad and whatnot. Granted, it's not THAT big of a deal, but it's still more work than you really need to go through and those bolts can be a bitch after sitting in there for 20 years.

It will be much more straight forward for your particular car to pull the engine out from the top, and put the new engine in from the top. That way you don't need to jack the car up a lot, and it will drop right in trust me. Plenty of room to manuever it without a problem at all in those engine bays.

Jack the car up, disconnect shift linkage and exhaust, drop car and finish pulling it out from the top. Reverse for putting it in all done no problem. :)

[Erik]

Dude, trust me on this one, I've done a bunch of swaps into EFs.

In the thread you posted, they have the front subframe completely unbolted from the car along with the front bumper removed. You take out the front subframe you'll also need to pull out the rad and whatnot. Granted, it's not THAT big of a deal, but it's still more work than you really need to go through and those bolts can be a bitch after sitting in there for 20 years.

It will be much more straight forward for your particular car to pull the engine out from the top, and put the new engine in from the top. That way you don't need to jack the car up a lot, and it will drop right in trust me. Plenty of room to manuever it without a problem at all in those engine bays.

Jack the car up, disconnect shift linkage and exhaust, drop car and finish pulling it out from the top. Reverse for putting it in all done no problem. :)

yea, like ive said, it never seemed practical to jack the entire front of the car up. I wanted to see how many people have done it. it does seem like way to much of a pain in the ass. cherry pickerz ftw

[Honduh]

srsly dude, if you need any help let me know. im always down to help wrench on a honda.

[frosti108]

lol cant go wrong with making some cash. hows that accord working out for you?

^^Sorry for going offtopic :lol:

honestly, havent even worked on it yet. casi still doesnt have her license anyway lol

i ordered up all her parts (headgasket, timing set, waterpump, intake mani gaskets, and **** like oil filters spark plugs...)

still have to scan it and see what the check engine light says, and then just figure out if were gonna clear out her garage and do it in there, or drive it to my buddys workplace (toyota dealership) and do it there after hours. doing it at the dealership would make it a lot easier and quicker, but whatever

im just hoping the head is still straight. i didnt realize how exact these honda motors are, until i saw the headgasket for it. ****ing paper thin metal. im used to KA headgaskets which are like a MM thick composite material, and seem very forgiving. im afraid ill have to get the honda head decked or something

[Omar_MSP]

i've done a few engine removals, and let me tell you, the engine hoist is the way to go.removing the fan and the heat exchanger will create soo much room and flexibility that the meaning pull the old out and put the new in wlll be literal as its said.

[SpendOne]

^^lol id like to hear that story.

Didnt have a hoist available. Unbolted the trans and lifted the longblock out. My back didnt like it too much though.