makebrickgovroom
New member
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2020
- Location
- Colorado
Back and ready to cause trouble. A bit higher-order than my previous posts concerning wasted spark brackets & destroyed captured nuts.
I have a very nicely prepared 94' longblock from the amazing white855t. Awesome work done by hime, super excited to throw it in my ratty wagon.
Now, to the interesting stuff. I've obsessed for maybe the last few weeks every night thinking about the million different ways I can tackle this project. This will be my first solo engine swap, with no help, professional or otherwise (I've been lucky enough in the past to be overseen by very experienced mechanics during the process). The amount of space I have is very limited as well -- I'll be doing all this work on a driveway filled with potholes and cracks.
The nicest thing about my particular context is that I have until the end of July to have the car running (when my lease is up).
For those reasons, I'm trying to brainstorm things that would make this job much easier for a solo 20-something who's mechanical knowledge is... limited, to say the least. I'm not opposed to taking my time, and if that means drawing out what would be a weekend job for some on this board in to a months long process, so be it.
That being said, here's what I have prepared so far:
* Old b21 block is stripped down almost entirely. All accessories removed, save for shot alternator. All wires, hoses, and other bits and bobs tucked away.
And that's pretty much it. It's been sitting, waiting for progress, and I finally have the time to start tackling some stuff.
Now, for the three ways I've thought about doing this:
* Pull engine and trans out together
* Pull engine and trans separately
* Pull engine alone
The first seems to be the "easiest" in terms of time saving. However, I'm worried about how I'm going to be able to maneuver all that mass myself without seriously screwing something up, and access to the underside of the car is limited, to say the least.
The second seems more convoluted, but doing it in this piece-meal way may make it a little easier on me.
The third is what I'm most inclined to do. I'm planning on re-using the trans and clutch assembly for the time being, and it makes the most intuitive sense at this moment to leave the trans in the car, pull out the block, and bolt up the clutch and pressure plate to the new engine. However, I know this presents some new challenges, namely unbolting the bell housing and starter from the block, as well as removing the block in a way that doesn't destroy the input shaft.
So, if you were me, in my particular position, what would you do? I'm also trying to keep transport costs to a minimum -- I don't own a truck (and my subaru, I can say with some confidence will not fit both the hoist and engine), and I have decided that the easiest thing (though least affordable) is probably renting a uhaul van for the day to haul around the engines and hoist.
I'm also planning to do some minor work while I'm in there (oh boy). I need to replace the power steering rack, front wiper motor, and work on my ms setup so it doesn't run like an absolute dog (thinking of grabbing yoshifab's dsm cas kit to use a 4-post wasted spark tower from a vw, like so
https://www.amazon.com/Ignition-Coil-Pack-Volkswagen-032905106E/dp/B06WRS3KJY
Let me know your thoughts, and I know this will probably get some frowns, but if you want a b21ft block that needs about ~4k in machine work to get back in running condition, let me know
I have a very nicely prepared 94' longblock from the amazing white855t. Awesome work done by hime, super excited to throw it in my ratty wagon.
Now, to the interesting stuff. I've obsessed for maybe the last few weeks every night thinking about the million different ways I can tackle this project. This will be my first solo engine swap, with no help, professional or otherwise (I've been lucky enough in the past to be overseen by very experienced mechanics during the process). The amount of space I have is very limited as well -- I'll be doing all this work on a driveway filled with potholes and cracks.
The nicest thing about my particular context is that I have until the end of July to have the car running (when my lease is up).
For those reasons, I'm trying to brainstorm things that would make this job much easier for a solo 20-something who's mechanical knowledge is... limited, to say the least. I'm not opposed to taking my time, and if that means drawing out what would be a weekend job for some on this board in to a months long process, so be it.
That being said, here's what I have prepared so far:
* Old b21 block is stripped down almost entirely. All accessories removed, save for shot alternator. All wires, hoses, and other bits and bobs tucked away.
And that's pretty much it. It's been sitting, waiting for progress, and I finally have the time to start tackling some stuff.
Now, for the three ways I've thought about doing this:
* Pull engine and trans out together
* Pull engine and trans separately
* Pull engine alone
The first seems to be the "easiest" in terms of time saving. However, I'm worried about how I'm going to be able to maneuver all that mass myself without seriously screwing something up, and access to the underside of the car is limited, to say the least.
The second seems more convoluted, but doing it in this piece-meal way may make it a little easier on me.
The third is what I'm most inclined to do. I'm planning on re-using the trans and clutch assembly for the time being, and it makes the most intuitive sense at this moment to leave the trans in the car, pull out the block, and bolt up the clutch and pressure plate to the new engine. However, I know this presents some new challenges, namely unbolting the bell housing and starter from the block, as well as removing the block in a way that doesn't destroy the input shaft.
So, if you were me, in my particular position, what would you do? I'm also trying to keep transport costs to a minimum -- I don't own a truck (and my subaru, I can say with some confidence will not fit both the hoist and engine), and I have decided that the easiest thing (though least affordable) is probably renting a uhaul van for the day to haul around the engines and hoist.
I'm also planning to do some minor work while I'm in there (oh boy). I need to replace the power steering rack, front wiper motor, and work on my ms setup so it doesn't run like an absolute dog (thinking of grabbing yoshifab's dsm cas kit to use a 4-post wasted spark tower from a vw, like so
https://www.amazon.com/Ignition-Coil-Pack-Volkswagen-032905106E/dp/B06WRS3KJY
Let me know your thoughts, and I know this will probably get some frowns, but if you want a b21ft block that needs about ~4k in machine work to get back in running condition, let me know