6 replies to this topic

[simon w]

iv started by having a look in the haynes manual. and this way is a lot of disconnecting.

i think i may have even see sumwhere that people was saying u can just hoist out the engine and they
can be simply slide of the diff as u lift the engine..... can anione shed a light on this ?

cheers

[tiger99]

If you do that, the joints will split and you need to be careful not to lose the balls, plus they will need to be cleaned, re-greased and have new gaiter clips fitted on reassembly. And, it may be difficult to get both shafts to disengage, depending on how much room there is to swing your particular engine about. However, it is one acceptable way of getting the job done.

Better is to drain the oil, release top ball joints, and use tool 18G1240 to release the pot joints from the diff. You are unlikely to have tool 18G1240, but an acceptable substitute can be improvised. It is basically a flat plate with a slot to fit between pot and diff, and a lump on teh back which sits against the lowest diff side cover bolt. You whack the lower edge inwards, so it pivots and forces the pot out. Do not under any circumstances use a wedge or similar tool, as has been advocated here, if it bears against the fragile diff side cover, especiallu in the vicinity of the oil seal. But you can put a 1/2" socket on the bottom bolt as a spacer, put the end of a tyre lever behind the pot, and a good thump on the end of the tyre lever may do the job. It worked for me once.

Best method, again split the top ball joints but no need to drain oil. Use tool 18G1243 to extract the drive shaft from the pot koint. But you are unlikely to have that tool.

These are the basic options, you either split the pot joint (highly unofficiall but most of us have done it at some time), extract the pot from the diff, or extract the drive shaft from the pot. The choice is yours,depending on what tools and facilities you have.

[tiger99]

Thinking about this, it may not be easy to get a 18G1243. I have not actually seen one for ages. Maybe someone suitably equipped might consider making a batch? You can buy something vaguely similar to 18G1240 which is good enough to work.

Many of the special tools, even where not essential, are real time savers. Having them available for hire at reasonable cost would be useful.

[Nu2mini]

i think i may have even see sumwhere that people was saying u can just hoist out the engine and they
can be simply slide of the diff as u lift the engine..... can anione shed a light on this ?

cheers

Yes this works, though some may have perfected the technique better than others. I did it for the first time last month and I have the following tips.

1) Front of car must be raised up on axle stands with wheels off the ground.
2) I had to pop the top ball joint off the hubs to give me enough clearance on drive shaft, though some say they have managed to do the job without this.
3) Remove drivers side first.
4) Special tool 18G1240 is useful but not absolutely necessary. If you Pop the top ball joints you can often leaver the pot off with a crow bar or similar. Just make sure you are leavering against the lowest bolt under the pot on the diff housing.
5) Once you get the joint popped. Take the weight of the engine on the crane and raise about 50mm. Pull the crane towards the passenger side. Then get yourself round the side of the car and sit facing the front hub. Grab a good hold of the drive shaft as close to the pot as you can and bend your kness so you can get your feet on the flywheel housing. Pull the drive shaft whilst pushing the engine away with your feet. It should come free.
6) then repeat on passenger side
This may sound alarming but given the engine was only just off its mounts it felt safe enough. Also the perceived wisdon is once the pot is popped you can wiggle the shaft free by moving the engine from above. Well I'll pay good money to learn how that works because wiggle and pull and push as I might the shaft would just not drop. The only way I could seperate from the diff was the push and pull method. This was even true once I'd got one side free.

I then put the top arm back on the hubs on both sides and pinched up the ball joints. Got the car sat back down on its wheels before attempting the final lift.

Edited by Nu2mini, 13 January 2012 - 03:06 PM.

[simon w]

cheers ill give it a go. sounds easy enough

[valve bounce]

normaly i just start to lift the engine out then when it gets about 2-3in up i use a pry bar and pop the ds pot joint out, then lift alittle more and push the engine to the ds and pop the ps pot joint out. make sure you drain the oil out first, i didnt the first time i did the job it took me weeks to get the oil off my dads drive.

hope this helps rob

[Nu2mini]

Update on this for anyone considering this job. There is obviously a knack which comes with experience. Like lots of things you learn a lot by doing it. When you come to re-fitting the engine I suggest you are not too agressive with the drive shafts, particularly the pot joint ends as there is a danger of splitting the gaiter. I have just done this when fitting the engine back this weekend. I think this happened because I tried to fit one shaft at a time. The trick is to get both shafts back into the diff and then just slowly lower the engine down. Both shafts should locate if you've got the engine about 2 inches off the sub frame. Good luck . Next job on the list is to now remove drive shaft to change gaiter.