14 replies to this topic

[MiniJimNI]

Morning everyone! Needing to take out engine today and have been told it's easier to just detach front sub and remove engine in it? I have never done this before so what is the easiet way to do this and how?!'

Cheers

[lawrie124]

I did that once on a car with a servo assisted brake.

Not as easy as I thought it would be. Much prefer to remove just the engine. Much quicker too.

[Spider]

Depends on what equipment you have available. I prefer to take the engine out the top, takes about 20 minutes on a standard car. Upon refitting it, you don't have to mess around with the brakes, unless it has a booster.

 

Dropping it out the bottom, you need a way of lifting the body fairly high and without damage. You then need a way of moving the engine & subframe, which is quite heavy.

[MiniJimNI]

So better just.iftimg the engine out then? What do I need to loosen to take engine out?

[lawrie124]

Hmm...quite a list.

From memory:

Rad
Bonnet and front grille
Carb
Top engine steady bolts
Starter motor and wiring (personal preference)
Alternator (personal preference)
Temp sender wire
Down pipe exhaust clamp if standard
Heater hose to head
Coil or just wiring to coil
Oil pressure sender or wire to sender.
4 engine mount bolts
Clutch slave
Split top hubs to move driveshafts out of pot joints
Gear selector pin ( select reverse to make this easier)

If possible, weld nuts onto engine mounts before refitting if not already done, and stick a small cable tie through both gear selector pins on refitting.

Bound to be something I have forgotten. Used to doing it on a race car with minimal electrics and plumbing.

[MiniJimNI]

Some people say dropping subframe is easier to get my it engine? Just 2 of us working on this today!

[lawrie124]

Some people say dropping subframe is easier to get my it engine? Just 2 of us working on this today!

Ok, good luck! Most of the list above still applies, and you will need to disconnect the brake lines and do a complete rebleed on refitting, and as Mr Moke says, lifting the front up and over the beached subby and engine ain't easy.

[Spider]

I probaly do it similar to lawrie124, with a few small changed;-

 

(list stolen from Lawrie, with thanks )

 

Disconnect battery
Remove Bonnet
Air Filter and Carb (sometimes I even leave the cables connected)
Top engine steady bolts
Disconnect Alternator, Coil, Temp Sender and Oil Pressure Switch Wires
Down pipe exhaust clamp if standard
Heater hoses
Clutch slave
Split top hubs to move driveshafts out of pot joints

Gear Shifter Steady and Gear Selector Roll Pin ( select reverse to make this easier)

4 engine mount bolts

 

Lift out by the front centre head stud, this will tilt the engine at just the right angle

 

Dropping the Subframe out the bottom, you still need to do this (except the engine mount bolts), as well as disconnect the steering rack ends, shocks, brakes and the subframe itself. Then once the Subframe is out with the engine you still need to get the engine out and the couple of times I've done it this way, it looked easier than it actually was.

Edited by Moke Spider, 06 January 2015 - 10:45 AM.

[lawrie124]

So how did the OP get on today?

[lawrie124]

Some people say dropping subframe is easier to get my it engine? Just 2 of us working on this today!

So how did you get on?

Be useful to know if you found an ingenious way of lifting the car up and over.

[Cooperman]

I must have taken literally hundreds of engines out of Minis. I ONCE did it by lifting the body off leaving the engine on the sub-frame. That was in 1969 - never again!

[adam_93rio]

Tried it once lifting the body over the frame, it was horrible, there's no easy way to steady the whole assembly or move it about easily, and you have to work on it like that to get the engine off it.
I'll never do it that way again

I'm not sure what was meant by putting cable ties through the selector pin on refitting, it makes it sound like you're only going to put cable ties in place of the roll pins? Cable ties to hold the gear linkage up to stop it dropping down I can understand

[MiniJimNI]

Well began the process that day didn't get far as had wrong socket sizes for engine mount bolts and spent a lot of time on rusty bolts as is always the case! Came back to it in Saturday morning more rusty bolts but still have to get big socket for the 2 big bolts on she'll to subframe to remove the cones. I'll post more when I get it all disconnected! What seemed like a good start has been a headache so far and I still haven't got engine out lol!

[Mini Mad Drakeley]

depends on what tools you have available. ive removed my engine 3 times so far. I've done it twice through dropping the whole assembly and once through the top.

you can easily drop the subframe and engine in about two hours and you just need help from one person at the final stage.

from the actual engine, just remove the exhaust, carb, manifolds, wiring, clutch slave cylinder and heater pipes

unbolt the gear selector mechanism from the underside of the car or remove it completely from the engine as well.

remove the tie rods from the hubs

disconnect the brake pipes attached to the subframe

then just undo the tower bolts and the mountings on the underside

edit: remove battery cable from the solenoid and make sure its disconnected entirely from the subframe. This caused me issues the first time haha

 

the engine and subframe will be ready to drop out at this point, I find a few pieces of wood or anything I can find appropriately sized so sit at the corners of the subframe so it cant fall and just get the help of a friend to lift the front up and over and roll it back onto axle stands

 

I quite like this method myself but each to their own :)

 

Adam

Edited by Mini Mad Drakeley, 11 January 2015 - 11:58 PM.

[MiniJimNI]

Well I eventually got it out after ALOT of rusty old bolts a bit of head scratching and lifting to see what was still connected lol! Although it hasn't put me off doing it this way now that I know the process although I may try engine out the top next time just to see what works better! Now comes the fun of actually stripping down the engine and front subframe to transport to another location to store although prob be a good idea to strip it anyway since everywhere and everything else seems to have rust and worn out nuts and bolts and prob parts!!