okay im in the process of lowering the engine (na VG30DE with added TT)+transmission into the body, rear end is jacked up about two feet. the transmission is just in contact with the driveshaft....thingy.. whatever that gear shaft thing is called, and its got clearance all around. except the sump. the sump is getting stuck on the power steering column. and i kid you not, the sump needs to move towards the back of the car about an inch so that it can be lowered any further (that part of the sump, the lowest part is getting stuck and right on the edge) i basically spent most of yesterday with my mate, and several hours thismorning trying to rectify this issue, and the damn thing is stiff as. cant budge it. here are some pics anyway any tips would be great.
i had mine go in quite easily the same way but the front was on stands so I probably had more of angle to play with. You can also always undo the 4 bolts that hold the rack and move it down slightly (no need to remove it completely ie, oil lines etc)
Disconnect the steering uni joint and drop the crossmember. Just undo the nuts that hold it to the chassis and let it drop. The lower arms will stop it dropping more than 50mm or so. You may have to drop the swaybar too, can't remember.
guess ill have to... i thought they went in easier than this? had no trouble getting it out.... ohwell. ill get onto that then, cheers
Don't listen to the bogan! Putting the gearbox back on is 10000x worse than putting the cross member back on. Easy lift and 4 bolts, vs heavy lift and 10 bolts, half of which you can't see and need 2 uni joints and 3 long extensions to get to.
i cant get the fkn cross member bolts off. :/ ive used heat.. wd40... and im not a weak fellow. this is fkd. ive spent my entire weekend doing this bs. it took less time to do all the mods to the engine. bigger wrench? im using high tensile socket, extender, and wrench. but i dont have enough leverage.
I normally use a impact socket, 6" extender, breaker bar and a pipe. Haven't had one I couldn't get off and I'm pretty limp wristed
Try a combination of engine hoist and a secondary jack at the gearbox, virtually in the centre. Use a bit of timber (used 20mm mdf with mine) to eliminate the jack from locking the box into place, thus allowing it to slide along the timber. With a combination of the 2, you can get the sump to clear the crossmember. Dropping the x-member is a much better idea, but if you cant do it..... worth a try, and worked for me.
Drop the steering shaft out of the way, if you have the dumps on it will be fouling on that. I do it like chrispy said, goes straight in everytime, no messing around.
Mate it looks like you are missing the top idler ( timming belt pulley ) in one of your pictures. Don't know if you relised it. If it's still off you better put back on and remove the lover belt covers and re-set the belt / cams /crank in the correct place before staring it up or might do serious damage. Cheers Dave
Missing a couple of idler pulleys from the looks of it. As mentioned, keep the motor out to fit them, especially considering you're going to have to pull your harmonic balancer to get lower timing cover off. Delete your EGR while youre at it also. Will make future plenum pulls soooooo much easier. ... and unless you already have, replace youre heater hoses too.
yeah mate dw i know, was going to do the cam belt after cause i haven't got a crank puller yet. didnt get her in guys. the sump has slipped over, there is absolutely nothing holding in its position except for the hoist. the engine just has no desire to be in that bay. im going to pull it out and start again. ill see how i go. :/ weekend wasted.
hold off putting the motor in till you get your timing belt done, especially if you are putting a full 100k service kit in. The Harmonic Balancer might come off okay with a pulley puller, but the crank sprocket is a PITA with the limited room, and leaning over a radiator support. Without the x-member dropped, its a case of "correct angle with chains, correct elevation with gearbox supporting jack". You can fudge around for hours with no success, and then, it just slides in. Alkeymahole, patience and patience is the key. The exact procedure, I cannot describe, as i was well and truly plastered by then , but once you start jacking up the gearbox until its almost hitting the top of the tunnel, you will start to see clearance between the sump and x-member. Combination of jack adjustment and engine hoist will see further clearance, until its a matter of pushing the engine forward and into position. The part that I couldnt get around is that to get the motor into the car, you need to have the chains set as so that they're lifting the motor up with the gearbox able to be angled downwards easily, to get it started into the bay, but once the x-member clearance becomes an issue, you want to re-adjust your chains so that its lifting the motor and gearbox assembly as a more balanced, horizontal combination. Will not go into what I did to achieve this transition, as its a little bit questionable , but I was flying solo with my attempts.
dude, Finish the timing belt and then drop the engine without gearbox. Has done twice less than 1 hour twice. Of course Chris was helping. But less hassle. Don't rush or force. you may break something else which will cost you money. Lessons learnt.
yeah man, i had an idea.. tranny stays in there, nearly mounted, sitting just a little foreward, lower the engine in, bolt her up, then bolt the flywheel, then push it back. having it sit just a little more to the front will give me the space i need and it will be close to where it needs to be also. and im just going to leave the cross member down until im finished. should have a few hours to get stuck into that tomorrow... cheers for the help guys.
