I'm no certified mechanic, but this was way easier than I expected.
There's a couple of reasons you would want to do this, rather than pull it out.
1. You don't need a hoist.
2. You don't risk banging up the inside of your engine bay.
3. You can do this by your self.
Take lots of pics of the engine bay. This will help you later on to see what hoses go where and where all the harnesses are.
Remove the bumper, splash shield, inner fender liners.
Remove the header, intake & radiator
Pull the axles (and have a pan ready).
Unhook all harnesses, coolant lines, fuel lines, power steering, shift cable (automatic), linkage (manual)



After you have double checked that nothing is still hooked to the motor, unbolt all 4 bolts on the rear motor mount (reach 3 from the bottom, the one closest to the motor can be reached from the top. After you remove the 4 bolts, wrestle with the mount so that it is pulled up away from the block. (I wrestled it for a while and couldn't get it all the way out.
Next remove the 2 small front mounts.
Here's where you have to start guessing...
Measure the height of your motor and be sure your jack can lift your car high enough to slide the motor from under the side. You might need to add some wood blocks, but not too many or the car won't go low enough to set the engine down.







I made a little cart out of some scrap 2x4's and (4) $4 casters. It worked out perfect that the cart was high enough to roll over the end of the jack.
Now put the jack with 2x4's for additional height under the radiator support & lift a little, then pull out the jack stands.





With the cart under the motor, let the car all the way down slowly.

When the motor is resting on the cart, unbolt the left and right top motor mounts.




Now jack the car up slowly, a few pumps at a time, then look around the back of the motor to be sure everything is clearing. You will have to pull that rear mount up around the throttle body.




It is a close fit but you don't need to remove the power steering pump.

Now jack the car up slowly, a few pumps at a time, then look around the back of the motor to be sure everything is clearing. You will have to pull that rear mount up around the throttle body.


As you continue to lift the car you will need to slide the motor/cart forward since the intake manifold sticks out over the back of the motor.




The rear mount, you will have to wedge it up like this and watch as the motor drops that it does not get hung up on the throttle body.














Keep lifting and when it gets high enough put the jack stands back under.



Clear some room...





You can take the motor out either side. I didnt feel like looseing the rusty bolts holding the front tranny mount, so I went out the drivers side.

 

Nice.

 

good write up

 

good write up


edit: two post at the same time with the same words. thats wierd

 

Nice, but I always feel very uncomfortable putting brick/wood or whatever on top of the jackhead. I don't like the idea that its being balanced between the car and the jack. Sometimes I use towels for a tiny extra boost.

Anyway to you.

 

ya same here. i just lifted mine strait up with a bobcat. it worked for me, but this method worked for him. good job

 

Nice writeup. But the 50$ a day rental for a cherry picker is a wonderful investment. Especially trying to get a motor back in.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dohcVTECeg2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">good write up </TD></TR></TABLE>

 

Never use a jack under your radiator support.

 

Yet another way to swap out our lego cars

 

wow definately different I geuss if you already have the jack and stands you might as well do it and save yourself some money if you dont plan on doing many swaps in the future. You must also have a really good ebrake dont you? I know mine I couldnt jack it that high unless I put some heavy bricks behind the tires.

 

Thanks for the info and the pics. I think I'll do this one weekend just for fun. To like..clean stuff, and check everything. Ok you got me, i was gonna put a midget in the engine bay and have him run and turn the axles. He runs on water and caffiene rather than 87 octane.

 

nice

 

Now would this also apply to putting a motor back into the car?

 

nice info

 

very nice!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by E.Honda &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Never use a jack under your radiator support. </TD></TR></TABLE>

is that why they make those jack points?

anyways, nice short and simple write up

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fms1day &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Now would this also apply to putting a motor back into the car?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Did you even think before you wrote that?

 

holy ghetto lol

also curious how come you took your strut/springs out?

i bought a cheap cherry picker from harbor frieght and its more than paid for itself. But then again i do quite a few swaps a month

 

wow, thats awesome. putting a motor back in using this method sounds difficult.

 

wow

with a hoist u can probably do the swap 10 times faster

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jerms &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">wow

with a hoist u can probably do the swap 10 times faster</TD></TR></TABLE>

really all depends on your method.. if you for sure don't want to damage your engine bay, this may be your best bet.. it seems like there would be no way to damage it doing this..and for those with expensive painted bays, it would be worth it....

 

ive never damaged a engine bay pulling a motor

 

did u say damge engine bays wow

how do u manage to do that ?

 

Good thinking, but theres a problem with this setup. If your swapping motors alone, it would be a bitch trying to get the motor on and off the cart. A cherry picker is a better investment.