Please share your tricks to make engine swap easier

Im getting burned out lol
Did about 10 of them in last 2 years

 

What tips are you looking for? What swaps are you talking about?

 

car lift, jack stands, sockets/impact engine out in 20 mins

 

Wobble head impact sockets are crucial. Makes life so much easier

 

Mostly for b series but in general

The only one i came up with is drilling a hole for a socket in front of the 3rd bolt for driver side mount so i dont have to remove crank pulley to swap the mount bracket from one engine to another

If its in the car i put a 17 or 19mm short socket on a wrench and heat it up then press it until it melts through the t belt bottom cover to get acess to that bolt.

And i use the plastic IM gasket so i can remove the manifold and drop the engine on a tray easier

I also put antiseize on shift linkage pin every time i install it.
But now i machined a bolt with locking nut to hold it in place

 

Coolant is my biggest problem i end up spilling it eveeywhere

 

well with a full tucked bay dont need a wobble head lol. but yes as a whole ratchet wrenches and swivel sockets prob some my best tool among 20+k in tools i have

 

idk wh some of you choose to remove **** before hand. remove wire harness, coolant hoses, remove mounts, drop linkage w/swap done deal, remove all acc after engine is out and have WAY more room to R&R stuff

 

I do all that along with manifold.

is there a coolnt drain plug that has a bleeder attachment so it doesn't run allover the block when I take it off?

 

radiator has one (normally). that will "sometimes" drain just enough not to make a huge mess with pulling upper off.

 

I think I had my engine out within 2 hours this last time I did it.
First thing i did was get the car up in the air, pop the passanger lower ball joint, and slip the axle out of the transmission, then I pulled out the harness, distributor, drained the radiator and removed it, shift linkage, unbolted the header and got it out of the way, then hooked a strap around the intake and on the transmission, yanked it out real easy after that.

It seems that the more small **** you yank out loke the harness and radiator the easier it comes out.

This is for a da integra btw

 

If using a hoist to remove the swap I always make sure to allow the trans to hang lower than the engine. It allows the trans case to slip past the frame rail without gouging anything.

Coolant is always a mess. I try to drain as much as possible before attempting to move the block around. Easier way to minimize the mess ( still going to make one ) is to loop the hoses back onto the open coolant ports to close them up.

I agree that it's easier to mess with accessories when the engine is out. However, if a car has ac and power steering the cost of fluid and freon adds up every time. So I usually unbolt the compressor and ps pump and brackets before removing the engine. I usually zip tie the compressor to the core support, and I'll just swing the ps pump over the driver shock tower. The ps stuff can get it the way if you do this step first, and there is a good chance some fluid will leak out of the reservoir.