Best way to remove engine/gearbox

[dandan]

Hi all,

As most of you know i am using most of my spare time to take my crash damaged FD to pieces for the benefit of all those who want the parts.

I'm by no means an accomplished mechanic, but i am in the useful position of not having to worry too much if I break stuff while dismantling it, which makes things easier!

What I would like to know, is what is the best method for removing the engine and gearbox? I'm currently trying to get the clutch out but it seems you can't get to all the bolts on the housing without removing the engine from the shell....

I'm now thinking of dropping the lot out of the bottom and physically lifting the shell over and off the top.
Can someone tell me basically what the best method is for this? all of it has to come out eventually. Where do i disconnect the gearbox from the driveshaft to drop it out? and will the engine drop down or does it have to be lifted up and out?

Please help guys!

Plus anyone with a spare spanner arm this weekend is welcome to pay me a visit. (bottomless tea/coffee to all takers) :) :) :) :)

[Carl]

Usual practice is to remove the gearbox from under the car to change the clutch,but since your car is damaged I would do the engine.
Since you are taking the engine out anyway,just do that first.
The engine has to come up and out.Try not to break to many ancillaries as they have some value too.
Of course you could allways take it to a specialist and they might do the work for a reasonable amount.
Regards
Carl

[dandan]

Don't get me wrong, i'm not using a sledgehammer as my primary removal tool! almost everything is coming out intact so far, but it does give me the confidence to use a bit of extra 'persuasion' at times. (only one sheared bolt so far!)

Ok so if i disconnect everything i can find from the engine, how many mounts are there to undo?
i dont have a lift, a mechanic friend said i may be able to jack it up and then use poles across the wings to hold it then kind of manhandle it out, is this poss?
also nothing leaked in the accident so the aircon system is still pressurised, how can i safely disconnect this? This 'simple' wankel engine is still far to complex for me...

I would love to get a pro to take it out but this is a money saving venture and technically i have all the time I need, plus no way of getting it to a garage, so i will have to do it myself :(
oh thanks very much for the advice Carl, you're a star. :)

[oldone]

You need some serious help there bud,wanna tell me there are no ROTOR heads in your valley to help you out.?????? :eek:

[dandan]

luckily enough daverey has instructed me to call him tonight so hopefully he will be popping over this weekend. He only lives down the road.

most of it doesn't seem too hard but it is just finding time! and keeping track of all the bits....

[oldone]

Cool banana's bro...yer sorted then..travelling tomm to see a RX7..sunday is rugby.....but if need be.... :D

[Martiny]

You can lift the engine out without a hoist, but I would remove as MUCH stuff as possible, especially the Turbos and exhaust!

Also, the clutch needs undoing first, being a pull type clutch. Have you downloaded the MAzda Factory service manual?

[dandan]

yeah i have the manual on cd, suppose i should look at it really!

i want to undo the clutch as that is what i need as it is sold already but i can only access two bolts from underneath and can't get to any others! should i go gearbox - clutch - engine in that order to be safe? still leaves me wondering how to access clutch bolts even when gearbox is off.
very confused!!

hopefully daverey will put me in place.

[nikp]

There are five bolts that secure the gearbox to the enginge - 2 of which also hold the starter motor on - it's the 2 top bolts that are a real pain in the butt. I used a combination of ring spanner (and scraping my hand!) from the top, inside the engine bay, and long extension and uni-joint on a socket wrench from underneath the car.

[dandan]

yeah i have the two starter motor ones off and a third underneath, so it's the awkward ones i'm left with. it is possible though? i'll give it a try then I suppose.
It only came off a few months ago so the bolts shouldn't be too tight but they still havent been easy so far!

[nikp]

It's got to be possible! And yes, it is - I did it when i changed my clutch. Removed the gearbox but left engine in place. There was much swearing and blinding though - and I just couldn't figure out how to do it!

I think i eventually managed it with a ring spanner - if you take the Upper inlet manifold off you might find that gives you more space for you hand! I squeezed mine in between!

[Martiny]

Hang on , dont you have to unbolt the clutch to even get the gearbox off, chaps?

[nikp]

I thought that went without saying - that's why i didn't say! :p But that's easy enough. That's hardly the issue - the issue was the bolts at the top of the bell housing. The two tricky ones to undo.

You can either unlock it from the release bearing, or if you don't know what you're doing (I didn't at the time) rotate the engine and undo each bolt on the clutch one at a time - doing this through the access hatch at the bottom

[Martiny]

Ok, thats how I did it, one bolt at a time on the clutch.

Now to get the top bell housing bolt loose, Geff showed me a little trick. You need to hook 2 spanners together somehow to give you the leverage, and the spanner comes out on top of the motor somehow, then you can get those bolts loose.

I also think if you hooked up a few extension and a knuckle joint, you might get to them from underneath car, going up nect to the gearbox with your long extensions.

[nikp]

Ah - i like the spanner idea. Think i might try that next time - the trouble is with extensions is that by the time you fitted them together, along with a Uni joint, there's too much flexibility in the whole aparatus which means you've got no turning effort on the bolts.