5th gen SH, it's time for a new clutch. While I was at it, I was gonna replace the timing belt and do the manual tensioner conversion... all of this on my own, in my garage. Question is, does it make sense to pull the engine out completely, or do everything in place?

 

You certainly don't need to take the engine out It would make the work easier, but then you have all the wok of getting the engine in and out so it probably wouldn't be worth it to you.

 

pulling engine would make it alot easier imo. but i have seen it done with out doing that. goodluck

 

Drop the whole subframe, have fun, I dont think you can pull the engine / tranny combo, if you are going to drop the tranny then pull the engine, then just do the timing belt in place, and do it right, all seals, water pump, idler pulleys the worx.

 

That's the thing, reading Helms, it seems that the engine can be pulled out with the transmission attached. If so, it would definitely make replacing the clutch easier - but what do I know, I haven't done it before.

 

The input shaft from the tranny that goes into the pilot bearing, through the clutch disc and the pressure plate seems like a long ways to move the engine and tranny apart, so the same as pulling the tranny, you have to split it back away from the engine and esentially have it hanging down and away from the motor and tranny mount, CV axles pulled, still lots of work just to leave the tranny in the car. How would drop the tranny and pull the motor sound, I still would do the belt job in the car but you wont learn as much that way I guess.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Duane_in_Japan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I dont think you can pull the engine / tranny combo.</TD></TR></TABLE>
You can R&R the engine and trans together. I've done it more times than I care to remember. A load lever makes life a ton easier so you can tilt the engine/trans to get it around the chassis and AC lines (if the car has AC). Just install the engine without the crank pulley or alternator bracket. If you don't have AC, the engine/trans practically drops in place.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Duane_in_Japan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The input shaft from the tranny that goes into the pilot bearing, through the clutch disc and the pressure plate...</TD></TR></TABLE>
Note that a 5Gen Prelude does not use a pilot bearing.

 

R&R'ing a transmission on the Prelude is one job I really don't like doing because the clearance is rather tight, and the trans just never wants to easily go onto the engine, except maybe 1 in 10 times!

To pull the engine, you have to do a little more work than just pulling the trans. In addition to the work needed to pull the trans, you'll need to:

Drain coolant
Remove upper and lower rad hoses
Remove heater hoses
Remove fuel supply and return lines
Remove throttle cable
Unbolt AC compressor from engine
Remove alternator
Remove alternator mounting bracket
Remove PS pump (you don't remove the pump completely from the car, just the engine)
Unplug necessary wiring harness connectors

I would also drain the oil before pulling the engine due to the angle that the engine will have to be tilted to R&R the engine and trans together.

You'll need a cradle to hold the engine while you R&R the trans and do the timing belt work. I would NOT sit the engine on its oil pan to do this. I have a cradle made out of wood that I use for this purpose. I can do the timing belt in the cradle as well, but I usually put the engine on a stand to do this.

It'll make doing the timing belt and clutch job much easier, but it'll take a bit more time. Plus you'll need an engine hoist with a load leveler.

 

i just drop it out the bottom. fast and easy
loosen the subframes and it drops right down.

 

You've done this without a lift? Seems getting the chassis that high without a lift would be a wee bit dangerous.

 

lol..
i jack up the car to the highest point of the jack stands. then i take my tire and lay it flat, and place the jack onto of that and jack up some more..
you only need to get the drivers side up so you can drag the combo out on that side.
1 hour to drop with two people.....2:15 minutes by my self on the street without power tools
after i did it the first time i won't do it the other way anymore

 

Like I said, it's dangerous getting the car that high without a lift.

 

very scary, yes
even with three jack stands the chassis still rocks but only for 5 minutes.
the engine is usually already on the floor before we take the chassis up that high.
still very dangerous

 

It only takes a split second for the chassis to fall and take off a limb.

After thinking about it a bit, I'm not sure it's all that much faster. It surely would be faster if you don't have an engine hoist and/or load leveler, for sure.

There's always more than one way to skin a cat (or lose a limb). I never thought about taking out from underneath without a lift.

 

Yup, I've heard of people dropping the engine, but it sounds more risky than lifting it out. I'm going on the assumption that I'll be able to rent an engine hoist somewhere, but we'll see.

 

I've read more than once that it's quite a bit easier to just pull the engine-trans because of ATTS.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RusBear &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yup, I've heard of people dropping the engine, but it sounds more risky than lifting it out. I'm going on the assumption that I'll be able to rent an engine hoist somewhere, but we'll see.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Just make sure you get a load leveler too so you can tilt the engine with ease.