Hi all,

I want to change my transmission and do it via removing the engine & transmission together.

I will be using an engine crane with a leveling device/dohickey. I know many remove the engine & transmission by dropping a bit first and twisting it around with the transmission facing the firewall, then increasing the angle on the engine and finally sliding it out the top.

Because, I will be doing this on my own, the above method could be a bit difficult as I'd need to be able swing the 200+kg engine & transmission 90 deg and slide it out without smashing it into any of the bits in the tight engine bay.
I figure this might be a bit diffcult to do on my own without damaging anything, so I thought I might just lower the engine & tranny to the ground, lift the car high and slide the combo out.

So my questions are:
a) Any tips for how to remove the engine & transmission on your own with a crane?
b) If I was to drop the engine & tranny out from under the car, where should I attach the crane to the car to lift it?
I have lifted a car from the front rad support and the vertical bar underneath but that just bent the hell out of the wreck.

Appreciate any help and input!

Cheers,
MagnaP.I

its easy to lower the engine and trans to floor out the bottom then lift the car via the engine mount bolts put just the bolts back in on the drivers and passenger sides mounts and then chain across the bolts,but I hope your using more than an engine crane to lift the front of the car up.

ive seen a guy use the strut tops to lift the car that might be ok, or use the engine/gbox mounts left and right ones should be strong enough

Person who bought my evolution motor from my Wagon wanted to lift my car via the radiator support to drop the motor from the bottom. I wasn't having any of that. I couldn't see a way of getting the car lifted without damaging something

Is there a 'good' reason for removing the engine as well?
Im not having a go, just trying to work out your reasoning, eg, perhaps there is several gaskets that need replacing at the same time, engine reconditioning work ect.
However, it should be noted that most reconditioning work can be done with the engine in place.

The transmission is fairly easy to remove as a single unit from the bottom of the car, I have recently done it with nothing more than hand tools, axle stands and a trolley jack.
I was thinking i would remove the whole engine and box in one go, however i changed my mind once i considered that i would have to dump the coolant, remove the radiator, drop the engine oil if engine disassembly is required (easier to do it while its still bolted in) disconnect the A/C compressor and hang it out of the way, disconnect the exhaust, remove the bonnet and then try to maneuver the whole assembly up and past the gearbox upper mount.
In comparison i only needed to remove the underbody plastics, disconnect the driveshafts, drop the gearbox oil, remove the lower engine crossmember, separate the gear linkages, disconnect and pull back the wiring loom, *remove the starter motor* (only applicable to separating the box, not removing both as one unit) then unbolt the box and lower it out.
I did remove the passenger side lower control arm, steering hub and driveshaft as one complete unit because it was easier and gave a lot of room to work with.
The driver's side driveshaft was left in place attached in the hub, i just unbolted the strut bolts, engine block mount bolts and pulled it back out of the box to clear it as it came out.
the gearbox was out in around 4-5 hours total, with me working slowly (with a few beers and lunch in there too)
It is worth noting that 3 of the 4 engine mounts bolt onto the gearbox, so the engine needs to be supported from the top.
Typically you would use a spreader bar on either side of the strut towers to take the weight of the engine, but i used my engine crane to lower the back of the engine down and a concrete block to support it from underneath once i was done. (it worked so i could put the crane away and mess about getting the flywheel machined ect.)

There is 2 engine crane mounts, one at the front of the engine, near the rearmost cylinder, the other is at the rear of the engine, near the front of the engine almost next to the brake master cylinder.
That would be where you attach your crane to take the weight of the motor, either to support it, or remove it completely.

As for lifting the body, so long as you lift from a structural point, it wont be an issue, so lift from either the engine mount points or strut tops (if you have a plate that will bolt to all the bolts and spread the load)

Thanks for the prompt input and help guys!!


its easy to lower the engine and trans to floor out the bottom then lift the car via the engine mount bolts put just the bolts back in on the drivers and passenger sides mounts and then chain across the bolts,but I hope your using more than an engine crane to lift the front of the car up.

Great idea cracka!! Didn't think of using the engine mounts!
I've got a 1tonne engine crane, why would that not be enough to lift the front end of the car? I suppose I can support the front end with a jack? The problem is that the jack only goes so high - I could maybe give it more height with some bricks/wood underneath it?


ive seen a guy use the strut tops to lift the car that might be ok, or use the engine/gbox mounts left and right ones should be strong enough

Yep, seen that from member "Redliner". (Such a helpful and insightful youtuber). Impressive. I'd have to buy some seatbelts from the wreckers for that.


Person who bought my evolution motor from my Wagon wanted to lift my car via the radiator support to drop the motor from the bottom. I wasn't having any of that. I couldn't see a way of getting the car lifted without damaging something

I did that at the wreckers and the entire rad support was mangled - even the vertical one. Not that I cared; it was a wreck.

I'm thinking of removing the front reo bar and putting a chain/bar across the mounting spots in the chassis rail for the reo.


Is there a 'good' reason for removing the engine as well?
Im not having a go, just trying to work out your reasoning, eg, perhaps there is several gaskets that need replacing at the same time, engine reconditioning work ect.
However, it should be noted that most reconditioning work can be done with the engine in place.

As for lifting the body, so long as you lift from a structural point, it wont be an issue, so lift from either the engine mount points or strut tops (if you have a plate that will bolt to all the bolts and spread the load)

Thanks for your indepth and comprehensive advice and run down of the mounting setup but I've actually done quite a bit of work in the engine bay including replacing every single mount, removing the original auto gearbox and replacing it twice with a manual gearbox. This time I'm refitting an auto and due to it's 100+ kg weight I need to consider a different approach to get it in because the space in the bay is tight and I'm on my own. Could do jack with the 40kg manual box, but no so sure with the 2.5x weighted auto transmission. Removing the engine & transmission seems to be least frustrating way to fit the auto box up. I've spent many long and painful hours mucking around with a manual gearbox suspended in the air and trying to get it to line up perfectly to the engine to be able to fit it on. Would prefer to do it on the ground or on a stand.

I'm not keeping the car for the long term so I won't bother with spending the money for gaskets, pulleys, belts etc because it doesn't add much to the car's value, but thanks for the suggestion.

Last time I swapped my auto box on my Wagon we invested in a atv lift to lift the box up instead of using a unstable jack

well, the weight of the auto box is definately something to consider....

There is no reason why you cant lift the front of the car with a crane if you have one, IMO its safer to do that then to use a trolley jack with spacers on it.
Your crane is rated at 1 tonne? If you lift the weight of the car, minus the engine and box, pivoting on the rear wheels, it'll probably come close to 1 tonne at the crane hook, but id be pretty surprised if it exceeded that.
If it struggled, you could always counterbalance it and add weight in the boot, rearwards of the axle.
If you are going to use jack spacers, dont use bricks!!! (especially clay bricks)
I would also be very careful using wood.
Both have a tendency to split under weight, at least the wood will give more warning signs than brick before it lets go.

Wood and bricks are a big no-no.

Do any of your local hire places have transmission jacks? Worth checking.

http://toolman.com.au/images/transjack.jpg

Trying to drop a motor under a car is difficult without a hoist at best, trying to do this with the k frame still in is near impossible.

I have removed many motors and re fitted them on my own, with the bonnet off is not a big issue.

Also an auto does not weigh any where near 100kg, the pic above is what you need

Oldf4g, that was a very good explanation on how to drop the transmission. I have to change the transmission on a TJ in Canberra. If you are keen for a few extra $$ would love some guidance/assistance!!

If your on southside im sure something can be arranged ;)