Tips for protecting engine during slow rebuild?

[priya]

Spoke to hubby about it and he says its conceivable that the transmission could fail badly enough to prevent the engine from turning over but he says the trans would have to be very badly screwed up.

[SpreadEagle]

Spoke to hubby about it and he says its conceivable that the transmission could fail badly enough to prevent the engine from turning over but he says the trans would have to be very badly screwed up.

I had an old Plymouth Road Runner that I screwed up on and mated the transmission to the motor wrong and it wouldn't turn over...
But along the same lines.. Bound up and nothing moving in it..

[blk-majik]

FWIW, starter seems dead. Direct power and it didn't do anything but smoke a bit. I put the car in neutral just for the heck of it... same result. Time to let the pentrating oil do it's magic! fingers crossed.

[priya]

May as well unbolt the trans and see if that's the problem or not.

[carnuck]

You would need a catch pan for the atf and the starter bolts to the trans. Wonder if it had a blown headgasket when parked?

[blk-majik]

No obvious indication of a blown head gasket, but it was low on coolant when we got it (and about all other fluids for that matter).

It rained the past few days and my buddy's yard where the other car is parked is super muddy, so I'll have the eagle for another week. I never disconnected a trans before. Any links to the general process? Or just some simple tips if it's not that difficult? Things I'm worried about: hidden bolts that are a pain to get to, how it's mounted (as in, will it fall), how to actually disengage it from the engine.

To be honest, if I'm going this far, I'm half tempted just to pull the motor and keep it in my garage while the rest of teh car gets stored. the mounts look easy enough to get to and the only stuff left to unhook would be some wiring, ac, and coolant hoses.

[lapoltba]

Let's put it this way...  I've never done major work on a RWD vehicle before and I managed to remove the trans, swap the clutch and reassemble everything myself with no issues.  If you have a transmission jack it makes things MUCH easier.  Put the car up on jack stands on a level (preferably concrete) surface and it makes things alot easier.  There are no mysteries with these cars.

Remove drive shafts, support trans, remove skid plate and cross member, lower trans a bit and support engine in front of the bell housing, remove shifter from inside the car,  unbolt trans. and remove.  That's basically it.  It may be slightly different with an auto (I have the T4), but it's not *that* difficult.  You can leave the bell housing on the engine for removal, there are 4 bolts holding the trans to the bell.

[maddog]

i have removed several automatics from eagles and unfortunately the bell and trans body are one piece not two. one thing to do is remove the transfer case (they are awkward and heavy so be careful) before you go after the trans. as for "hidden" bolts there are three at the top of the trans that can be a bit of a pain, but if you are flexible enough or have a really big extension you can get them easily enough.

[blk-majik]

can the motor and trans be removed together with an engine crain? If so, any idea what the weight? The trans is a TF3. I think both are going to have to come out of the car, anyway, and I wouldn't mind keeping them on hand while the acr gets stored so I can still work on them (and keep them out of the elements). Seems like just disconnecting the dirveshaft and motor mounts/hoses/wires would be easier, if its doable. And its an excuse to pick up an engine crane:)

[mudkicker715]

Yes it can be done. i do it that way. you are also gong to have the front axle to deal with. either pull it off or hang it to the fenders. halfshafts also have to be dealt with

[priya]

I thought you had the motor and trans out of the car already.

[blk-majik]

nope, been doing things the hard way. im a gluton for punishment... or at least i feel that way days like today. i think i managed to set some kind of record for over-complicating a rear brake pad change on my wife's 335i. Turned a 40 min job into a 6 hour job that resulted in rebuilding the entire rear suspension all because of a smallish dent in a trailing arm and since i couldn't find a socket extension. gotta love days like this


if i can pick up or borrow a crain this weekend, i'll try to yank everything. need someone to help haul it though... my truck was stolen a couple months back and hasn't been fixed yet after being recovered..

[carnuck]

You have to remove the tcase to pull motor/trans. Try to get the motor spinning any way you can. PB'Laster in the cyls will help unstick it. If you can remove the converter bolts, then pulling the motor alone is easier and the ATF may not dump all over. I run a wire through the starter opening behind the flex-plate to the inspection cover and anchor it through one of the holes (to keep the converter from falling out) Then run a chain across under the bell of the trans from the frame (I think I used the strut rods but it's been awhile) to keep the trans up level.
   Pull the bell bolts (don't forget there is one smack in the middle) I used a roto-wrench that has the offset to get to the bell bolts easier and it ratchets. Other than that, I've had to tip down the trans (after undoing the exhaust pipe) and use a LOOONG extension with a 9/16" impact socket from beside the trans.