How long would it take the average bear to remove a 1988 T1 engine?

[88CSX-T]

I want to remove the engine/trans from my 1988 csx-t, but I rent an apartment and only have a back parking lot to work in, and a toolbox. I am totally mechanically inclined but do not have dream tools like a power engine hoist or car lift. So my question is, is it hard to remove the engine/trans from a t1 shadow, and how long would it take? Can I remove the engine/trans together or do they need to come out seperately? :ballchain:

[OmniLuvr]

i personally like to pull them together...

[BIGBRUDDA]

Me-n-R/T have "dropped an engine" at the junkyard in about 2 hrs. Using hand tools,a 4x4 and whinch strap. And an old tire.

[cordes]

Pull them together and plan on 4 hours. That should be sufficient.

[Lotashelbys]

Pull them together and plan on 4 hours. That should be sufficient.
Sounds about right without power tools and doing it on the ground. For sure pull them both together out the top and an engine leveler is a good thing to get to do this. Having a friend help you when its time to pull would be best if you havent done many like this as you could catch it on a few things or scratch paint in the bay.

[tryingbe]

I am totally mechanically inclined but do not have dream tools like a power engine hoist or car lift.

Power engine hoist? Or do you mean hydraulic engine hoist?

[BIGBRUDDA]

Dats what I mean .Suspend it under the 4x4 with the whinch strap.Undo the pipes,wires,hoses,cables. It falls out the bottom when ya pull the mount bolts.Then all ya need is a rope and 2 neighbors to pull it out from underneath. As long as the front bumper is 28in off the ground.

[black86glhs]

Dats what I mean .Suspend it under the 4x4 with the whinch strap.Undo the pipes,wires,hoses,cables. It falls out the bottom when ya pull the mount bolts.Then all ya need is a rope and 2 neighbors to pull it out from underneath. As long as the front bumper is 28in off the ground.I did this with the Omni once to see what it is like. I usually pull out the top, but without a hoist, it can easily be dropped out the bottom.

[thedon809]

I find that when pulling out the bottom its easier to pull the head first. I have pulled 2 engines with no engine crane by pulling the head and then dragging the motor/trans from the bottom.

[MILKCARTON]

I keep telling you to bring it down, or I will tow it down on my trailer to colorado springs and fix it for you

[RoadWarrior222]

I been watching this one for 6 hours, not much progress, damn he's slow...

http://fun-christmas-ornaments.com/jpg/rm12.jpg

[88CSX-T]

Milkcarton,
You wouldn't happen to have an extra engine/ trans you could put in? You can have my engine/trans for free or I'll just strip it and throw it out. The engine I found turned out to be a 2.5 turbo and didn't come with the 2.5 computer, which I don't have. I saw on here that a 2.5 turbo engine with a 2.2 turbo engine computer wrecks the engine, but what do I know, I'm an architect not a mechanic...:confused2:

[RoadWarrior222]

Well it's not instant death, it's more like, don't expect to beat on it or turn up the wick, it'll putter round fine until you put an original 2.5 computer in, or dig out the EPROM with the 2.2 code, solder in a socket, and plug one in with 2.5 code. It's the top end fuelling that's a tad short. Some people will run them on a stock DD type car (no mods) with a precaution of backing off the timing a couple of degrees to prevent top end knock.

[88CSX-T]

Oh is that all? Geez, might as well wait until a regular 2.2 t1 comes along instead...

[tryingbe]

Buying a 89 2.5L SMEC is very easy.

[Vigo]

IF you have a way to get the front end high enough off the ground, i feel it is easier to take the whole thing out the bottom. IF you have only normal jack altitude potential, you could still go out the bottom by pulling the head off first to reduce the height of the motor/trans, as mentioned. IF you want to take it out the top i would only pull the motor (do you have a reason to pull the trans?). To do that on a manual you will need to pull the crank pulley and maybe water pump pulley to be able to get the engine far enough over to get the input shaft out of the clutch. I have done it ALL THE WAYS and my preference with all the tools is together out the bottom. But you work with what you have.

I guess one thing i havent done is: If you DONT have a hoist you could pull the head and the pulleys, set the front of the car on the ground (no tires, maybe no brake rotors, but watch that front bumper cover) and leave the engine on the ground while you jack the car back up. Sounds like a big hassle though. I would spend that extra effort borrowing a hoist or take Terry up on his offer before i even tried that. :p

[BIGBRUDDA]

The secrets in the landing. Drop it on an old tire to avoid damage. Tip one side up to pull tire out and exchange for a piece of plywood.(with a rope thru a hole in the wood). Center on the plywood. Now get teenage nephews or a coupla scouts to pull while you rotate the engine/trans rearward.Takes about 28 in of bumper clearance to get one out. Unless of coarse you've stripped the head.And drained all fluids first.

I made a "Hillbilly gantry" outa coupla pieces of 2x10 and apiece of 2in Gal pipe. That fit in along the fender mount rails .Strapped it down to the hood hinge and core support to keep it steady. Pulled the motor/trans in and up with a 1 ton comealong, and the afore mentioned plywood. It worked well,especially in a low overhead residential garage.

But if it was me.................I'd meet MILKCARTON in the parkin lot with the keys and a barrel-o-beer.

[MILKCARTON]

Milkcarton,
You wouldn't happen to have an extra engine/ trans you could put in? You can have my engine/trans for free or I'll just strip it and throw it out. The engine I found turned out to be a 2.5 turbo and didn't come with the 2.5 computer, which I don't have. I saw on here that a 2.5 turbo engine with a 2.2 turbo engine computer wrecks the engine, but what do I know, I'm an architect not a mechanic...:confused2:


I dont understand why you would want to change the engine and tranny, I would like to check it out and see what it really NEEDS

[Vigo]

Now you got me curious.. why is this engine coming out again?

[MILKCARTON]

I dont know, because he dont know the condition or something, said it was locked up or something a long time ago, could be something simple

[88CSX-T]

Ya, because I bought it with a seized engine. By looking at the connections and methods of whomever worked on the engine (this is not the original engine), I can tell that they didn't know what they were doing. The engine is bolted to the trans with home depot screws. The stereo system had about 2 miles of cut/twisted home electric cord. The steering column was sawed with a hacksaw. The interior was painted with spray paint. So as a result, I'm just saving myself the headache of monkeying with a trashed engine/trans, and just looking for a nice, stock setup that I can plug in, instead of trying to undo someone elses nightmare.:banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:

[RoadWarrior222]

Urk, sounds like the kind of car you want a double garage for, build a firewall down the middle and not take any part "out of quarantine" to the build side until it's been cleaned, checked and miced.

TBH when I had cheap DDs that I started turning things up like that, I sent them to the wreckers when the safety/registration ran out. Not nice to find on something worthy of preservation though.

[spaceman]

If you do it right it be done rather quick with a furniture dolley with plywood on top and a set of 6ton stands .take everything apart down below ,wheels off drop car on to the dolley.take apart the stuff up top .remove pass side mount .raise whole car up off of the dolley with the engine on it , and slide it on out .every single one of my 3.0s in my shadows have come out and went in this way no problem . Learned this from a few aquatences that need to remove some engines rather quick from hondas .we pulled my civic motor and trans and put the new one in a 2 hour window .mind you it was running also .i was shocked how fast he did it .if you cant get it up that high then pull the head as others have stated to make it easier .as much as most tders pull there engines all you have to do is ask whats the best way

[RoadWarrior222]

BTW most of these cars seem to balance somewhere between the front edge and middle of the drivers seat. To make sure, you can sandbag, or watercan the trunk and then jack it up on the framerail in the vicinity of the front footwells, this gives you leverage advantage and lifts the front higher. If you wanna be really shady, you can stick really stable jack stands at the balance point with a cooler full of water in the trunk and a prop in front, then bail out the cooler until you can tilt it nose down as gently as possible, and prop the back, because when the engine is out it will wanna drop back.