Engine removal

usually you unbolt everything and then get the engine lifting on the crane, only to find one wire you forgot, which promptly rips off....

check and check again that all is disconnected!

get a leveller for the crane aswell, makes it a bit easier in general

Spaniel25 said:

Gonna be a steep learning curve this one.
Just need for the weather to improve a bit then I'll make a start.
Thanks for the photos, more helpful than you might think.

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When unbolting the IRD make sure you remove the bracket that goes around the drive shaft. We had a guy on here a while ago complaining it was impossible to do the way we were telling him. Turned out he hadn't read the instructions in my clutch change 'how to' and hadn't taken the bracket off.

Sorry to nag but,do I have to disconnect lrd and gearbox to lift engine out or will it separate from gearbox alone and then lift out.

Spaniel25 said:

Sorry to nag but,do I have to disconnect lrd and gearbox to lift engine out or will it separate from gearbox alone and then lift out.

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You can't take the gearbox off without first removing the IRD.
If you watch the video I posted in the clutch change thread you'll see the professional unbolted the IRD and tied it up. He tied it up and didn't remove it completely to avoid having to drain the coolant but in you're case you will need to disconnect the coolant pipes anyway so you might as well just remove it completely.
If he took the IRD off then so should you, in theory it's possible to remove the gearbox without removing the IRD but in practice is almost impossible and pointless since you need to remove it later anyway.
I strongly suggest you watch the video a couple of times before doing the job as some of the bolt locations are hard to find.

Just thinking about it I'm not sure the engine would even lift out with the IRD still attached but it will drop down.
You might want to reconsider dropping the engine instead of lifting it out as you can drop everything in one lump which will make life sooo much easier. I was able to slide everything out on a piece of wood with the car on standard jack stands. It didn't need to be all that high in the end as the lump was no longer on the trolley jack. Disconnecting the gearbox rods is simple and quick and it's only held on with a few bolts.

Alibro said:

Just thinking about it I'm not sure the engine would even lift out with the IRD still attached but it will drop down.
You might want to reconsider dropping the engine instead of lifting it out as you can drop everything in one lump which will make life sooo much easier. I was able to slide everything out on a piece of wood with the car on standard jack stands. It didn't need to be all that high in the end as the lump was no longer on the trolley jack. Disconnecting the gearbox rods is simple and quick and it's only held on with a few bolts.

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Well started disconnecting everything and I might end up dropping it out as you suggested instead of lifting the engine.
Luckily managed to borrow a hoist so should make life a little easier either way.
Taken a while as the weather is totally against me .
But do you ever get the feeling you've bitten off more than you can chew.

Spaniel25 said:

Well started disconnecting everything and I might end up dropping it out as you suggested instead of lifting the engine

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For me it would depend on what I needed to remove.
If it's just the engine, then I'd take it out the top, although this involves quite a lot of wrestling with hidden IRD bolts.

Taking it out the bottom, means stripping it down on the floor with access all round, which is very much easier to do. You just have to put the work in up front, as there's more that needs disconnecting and draining.

Spaniel25 said:

Luckily managed to borrow a hoist so should make life a little easier either way.

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Yes it will.

Spaniel25 said:

Taken a while as the weather is totally against me

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And me. I've got loads of stuff I need to do, but the weather isn't helping.

Spaniel25 said:

But do you ever get the feeling you've bitten off more than you can chew.

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I look a this as a challenge.

Nodge68 said:

For me it would depend on what I needed to remove.
If it's just the engine, then I'd take it out the top, although this involves quite a lot of wrestling with hidden IRD bolts.

Taking it out the bottom, means stripping it down on the floor with access all round, which is very much easier to do. You just have to put the work in up front, as there's more that needs disconnecting and draining.
Yes it will.

And me. I've got loads of stuff I need to do, but the weather isn't helping.

I look a this as a challenge.

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Definitely a challenge but gone to far and spent to much to turn back now.
It will all be worth it in the end..

Spaniel25 said:

Definitely a challenge but gone to far and spent to much to turn back now.
It will all be worth it in the end..

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I say the same thing about my FL2. Although the next thing I need fix/replace is the EDC, as I'm sure that is at fault. Unfortunately I'm not so good at the electronic stuff, as that was in its infancy when I left the trade.

Nodge68 said:

I say the same thing about my FL2. Although the next thing I need fix/replace is the EDC, as I'm sure that is at fault. Unfortunately I'm not so good at the electronic stuff, as that was in its infancy when I left the trade.

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Yeah going at this with the knowledge from yourselves on here and anything I can gather from the internet as my dog has more mechanical know how than I do . Should be interesting.........