best way to take the engine out????????

which have people found easier????? takin the engine and gearbox through the top or droppin it on the deck???????

gotta tek mine out soon so would like to know the easist way?

also any tips would be nice!!!!!!

Best way to get the engine out is through the top using a engine crane and two bits of strong rope or chain. make sure the balance is right so the engine side goes up first otherwise the gearbox will catch on the master cylinder, make sure the rad is out to as this will give you more room to tilt the engine so you can get the intake manifold past the bulkhead.

Cheers
Craig

I've just started on taking mine out too. After having a good look at everything, but before reading this thread, that's exactly what I was going to do! (Take the radiator out for space, tilt it engine up tranny down as it comes out, leave the inlet manifold on and push forwards past the bulkhead, as it comes out the top).

Is there anything to be wary of, or is it just a case of disconnecting everything and lifting it? I was planning to lift it using a hole on the transmission, together with a chain or rope around the alternator bracket. Or are there better places to lift it from?

I dropped both out the bottom along with the driveshafts when I replaced the engine on my last MK1, then used the engine crane to lift the car over the engine and box 8O  It was a beast of a crane though and i'm not sure the SWL of smaller ones is up to doing that.

I did think about tilting it and lifting it out but it seemed like a lot of work so opted for the other way in the end. I also thought it wasn't as far for the engine to fall if you did happen to have a mishap!

Where do you safely attach the crane to lift the body over the (quite tall) engine? And, once the body is lifted, do you have to physically drag the engine/gearbox from under the car? Also, if you've left the driveshafts on, does this men you took the wheels and some of the suspension out as one unit too? Or did you just disconnect the driveshafts from the hubs at the outer end?

I have no worries that my crane will lift the car. Its a 2 ton model, and its very long reach as well as high lifting!

the easiest way ive found is to lower the engine  8O

yes disonnect the driveshafts from the hubs mate  :wink:

yo have to raise the car up a fair old bit though :cry:

I've got plenty left to disconnect (mostly underneath the car) so I'll bear this in mind. I just had it in my mind, that the thing to do was to lift the engine, not the car. I can't see where to lift the car from, without damaging the bodywork.

It was a while back now but I think I used the tow eye to attatch the engine crane to. It won't lean to either side if you leave the rear wheels properly attatched I kind of swung the front of the car round to one side so it cleared the engine without having to move the engine much. The engine crane can get pulled towards the car as you hoist it up, but you can still get enough height to clear the engine if you do it this way.

I disconnected the driveshafts at the hub end too.
Only problem I encountered was getting to the engine mount nearest the bulkhead really low down. I wondered why the engine wasn't moving when I started letting it down and then realised there was another engine mount to undo :?  I'm struggling with that one again this time as it's pretty rusted.

I would probably take it from the top.

I have used an engine crane to lift the front end of a sierra once the engine was dropped.

Most cranes will be fine liftign a car shell at one end without the engine.

TT

Yay! It comes out the top. It was a bit of a struggle though, in fact it was leaning on the master cylinder reservoir a bit too much. Because my engine crane is so huge, I had real problems with the underneath clearance for its legs, until I took the front wheels off. But this was eventually an advantage, becuase I could lift it so high up, that even on a 45? tilt, it could lift the engine/transmission as one, over the grille (and the car was on axle stands too).

I might try the 'underneath' technique, getting the whole lot back in.



I would have taken more pics as it came out, except the camera had a flat battery!

That looks like quite a clean gti. How come you takin the engine out is it knocking or you doing a rebuild.

It looks clean but in reality some of the paintwork needs seeing to, it just never shows up in pics. And it needs a bit of welding, too (that's next job).

All I need to do is change the clutch. If I'd known how tight a fit it was, lifting the engine/transmission up, I'd have left it in place and simply dropped the left hand side down, then had a go at sliding off the transmission. In fact, I might put the engine back in (once split), then do this, as it was a bit too awkward (space/clearance) with both together.

dropin the lot is sooooooooooooooooooo easy hardly any clearance issues  :wink:

To be honest doing the clutch on these is abit of a pain, as you have to take three, out of four of the engine bay mounts out anyway. You were probably better off taking the lump out. You may want to change the engine mount next to the cambelt as I found mine was split.

Yep, I was thinking it should have come out the bottom, part way through! But, I'll put the engine back in the top, the transmission back in, from underneath, then join the two up. I haven't done it yet, but I've known some cars to have severe issues with separating the engine and transmission…which makes it very dodgy to do underneath the car.

The Haynes manual is a bit useless because its info on changing a clutch, merely says to remove the transmission.

In retrospect, I could have kept a lot of stuff connected, taken the 3 mounts out, and tilted the whole lot downwards. But at least I know how to take the engine out, now. And the only parts to replace are a couple of copper washers where I disconnected the fuel lines. I kept the coolant!

sneak said

To be honest doing the clutch on these is abit of a pain, as you have to take three, out of four of the engine bay mounts out anyway. You were probably better off taking the lump out. You may want to change the engine mount next to the cambelt as I found mine was split.

The front engine mount looks very wobbly - is this normal? All other mounts seem fine. I'll have a good poke around the engine bay, though, for example I know its worth changing the steering rack gaiters (if worn) now!

After having done it from the top, I reckon its a lot easier to take it out from the bottom for the following reasons:

- you could probably leave the downpipe on and its easier to break the exhaust line here rather than up at the manifold
- easier to leave driveshafts on disconnecting at the hubs
- no tilting of the engine and messing around with the left gearbox mount
- probably leave rad in
- probably leave bonnet on using a crane to lower engine to the ground
- less risk of damaging other parts or your paint
- its the way VW put them in on the production line (along with the complete struts/hubs/brakes) so it must be the easiest

I tried to take it from the bottom but could not safely get it high enough. If you can rope in a couple of friends I think 3 men could easily lift the car from the front bumper over the engine and back.

Anyone lifted the car over - is it a 2 or 3 men job?

A tip is to use old seatbelts for lifting as a good alternative to rope/chain.

Cheers
Rajan

If you mean the front one by the starter motor this sould not woble as it is a solid mount. If Iwas you I would change all the mounts as most likely they wil all be shot. May seem like alot of work but it will be worth it.

sneak said

If you mean the front one by the starter motor this sould not woble as it is a solid mount. If Iwas you I would change all the mounts as most likely they wil all be shot. May seem like alot of work but it will be worth it.

Mine's in 2 pieces, is this right?

Historically, the car was a 1600 but is now an 1800, I think the mounts have been changed at some point in its life and all seem ok.

Looking back, I think its better to take it out the bottom than the top! But I'd have to have a think about how it can all be done with 2 axle stands, 1 trolley jack and 1 engine crane. My concern is, you'd use the crane to lower the engine, then rest it on the ground, then use the crane to lift the car (bumper off, to use the towing loop?) but you'd inadvertently swing the car around and knock the engine over! Also, once its up, the engine would be between the legs of the crane. Xmas 2006 list: 4 poster lift!

The front enine mount is in 2 parts the bush, and cup like suport if the engine mount are not split there be o.k. As for taking engine out I would always pull it out the top matter of a oppinion I guess. Anyway hope it goes well, let us know how you get on.