Dropping in the motor

[thetech0922]

I am getting ready to "drop in" the motor tranny and all...Should i leave anything un-bolted to the motor? Such as the intake manifold or the exhaust and turbo? Or do i just have ALL together and drop it in slowly? I know i am going to have to go in at an Extreme angle to get it past the abs control unit.....any tips? thanks guys

 

[Tyeler18]

I personally would take off the turbo/ exhaust mani.

 

[coty]

you can leave the intake on i would take the exaust off

 

[97blackwidow]

yeah just take off the exhust manifold and turbo.You can leave everthing else on.you shouldnt have any problem with anything else dropping in the motor.

 

[Indian]

If you have the radiator out there is no need to take the manifold or turbo off. It's more of a pain to put it back on when the engine is in the car.

 

[1992GSX]

When I did mine I had everything on except the turbo and exhaust manifold. Should go in just fine. From hoist up to running took about 4 hours. That was my first motor and I think it really saved time dropping it in 90% assembled.

 

[94_TSi]

If you have the radiator out there is no need to take the manifold or turbo off. It's more of a pain to put it back on when the engine is in the car.

+1 put everything you can on outside of the car. I have put numerous motors in with trans on intake manifold on and the turbo on. Just pull the radiator if it isnt already out.

 

[Boostjunki84]

I agree with the above. I always drop them in minus the radiator, with everything bolted up.

 

[zatomz]

Correct me if I'm wrong but if you going to drop the motor in with the transmission attached you need to be able to lower the transmission side down at an angle first with the cam gears angled upwards.

 

[19Eclipse90]

Correct me if I'm wrong but if you going to drop the motor in with the transmission attached you need to be able to lower the transmission side down at an angle first with the cam gears angled upwards.

That is correct.

While I'm also for attaching as much stuff as you can before you drop it in and removing the radiator, there are some things that will benefit you if you leave them off; namely, the crankshaft pulley but I would also recommend the water pump pulley and A/C tensioner bracket. If you aren't using A/C, that's one less thing you need to reinstall with the engine in the car. But really, those three items will take no more than 30 minutes total to install.

When dropping in an engine, the problem you run into most often is not so much front to back space, but more left to right space. In other words, with the radiator removed, you should not run into any issues with the intake manifold and exhaust manifold/turbocharger installed.

One trick I found helpful on my FWD (with Prothane motor mounts, mind you) was removing the cross member (5 bolts). I am not certain how beneficial this would be on an AWD vehicle, but it seems logical that it would help a great deal. Anyhow, removing the member allowed for easier maneuvering of the engine into the correct position and extremely simply mounting to the remaining three mounts. Once bolted up to those three, I was able to attach the front (of the vehicle) mount to the cross member before bolting the member back into place. A jack was then used on the cross member to raise it and the engine into the proper position, bolt it up, and done.

"Work smart, not hard". Sometimes its easier to remove this piece or that to accomplish something than to try to work around them.