9 replies to this topic

[clovus]

I pulled my engine out to paint the engine bay but now I can't get one of the mounts to align again. It is the one below the radiator and all I've done is scratch the paint and am getting really frustrated. It is as if the engine is too wide to fit (I didn't put that much paint on .

Can anyone help with a tip/trick to get this in? I've tried taking the bolts holding the bracket to the gearbox off, which means I can get the mount on the sub frame but can't get those bolts to align back again with the mount on the gearbox It's either one or the other. Grr, it is doing my head in for the last 3 hours!

[AndyMiniMad.]

I had the same problem and yes it was very frustrating. No magic cure im affraid, I loosened the engine mounts on the other side and jacked up the engine a bit. then just wiggled everything about till I could get a screwdriver through the hole. then just levered the mount into possition. Thought I was going to damage the threads on the mount with the amount of force required to line everything up. But I got away with it.

[david036]

always found a crow bar and screwdriver helped on the final tweeks!!!!

[david@skeggyminis]

put some grease on the engine mount drill the subframe a tiny bit bigger and weld the nuts on the engine mount lower engine in and it will slide bout a lot beter

[clovus]

Wifey was drawn to the sound of me cursing the mini and meekly suggested I just drill new holes in the sub frame. Will drilling out the subframe screw with the alignment of the engine? Is that even an issue?

Edited by clovus, 07 August 2010 - 09:36 AM.

[david@skeggyminis]

Wifey was drawn to the sound of me cursing the mini and meekly suggested I just drill new holes in the sub frame. Will drilling out the subframe screw with the alignment of the engine? Is that even an issue?

dont drill in another place just open the holes a little bit to help locate the bolts also loosen the rad bracket a bit and jack the other side up a little

[rich1889]

don’t tap it whack it! get the hammer out

[myredmini]

I have had this problem a few weeks ago. All I done was a trolly jack and a piece of wood and put it at the back of the engine and very gradually moved it up a few mm at a time and try and screw them in and keep doing that and eventually they will go in just make sure engine looks straight and bracket is sitting flush on the engine and then keep moving it ever so slightly to get the holes aligned. I managed to get one in and then the second one was easy

Dan

[mini13]

put a jack under the engine and support it,

Undo and remove the top long bolt that goes through the bit the engine mounts on (and slacken the bottom one, you can then let the jack down carefully and the assembly will pivot on the bottom bolt allowing you to get the bolts through the mount and sub frame.

once the bolts are in loose, jack the engine back up untill the long bolt will slip back in, then tighten every thing up.

[clovus]

It's back in! Hopefully never to come out again (or at least until I forget what a PITA it was). I ended up doing a bit of everything, grease the mount, jack it up, loosened the other engine mounts, do one bolt and then rocked the engine until I got one to line up then did the other.

Thank you everyone for the ideas/suggestions. I'm a very happy camper at the moment.