Engine / Gearbox Removal

[ATinOf]

So on to the engine loom;

To aid access the book says to remove the trim at the foot of the windscreen, although I tried this was going nowhere; even with dousing it with warm water and fairy liquid; but I did find that just by removing the wipers and the 2 central screws for this trim at the air conditioning/heater matrix you can just about get the access you need


Now unclip the two ECU's from the top of the n/s electrical enclosure and pull back out the way


And remove this n/s electrical enclosure lid, there are some difficult to get screws with that trim in the way and be careful you don't lose them down the depths of the bulkhead. Mine had one of the back ones totally missing, another item for the shopping list.


Carefully extract the seal (in one piece!) at the internal bulkhead


Unclip the fuseholder from its mount


Unclip the relay holder from its mount


Now reach in and unclip the 3 colour coded connectors under where that foam seal came from




Now undo the retained nut on the 12V lead


And this loom can be removed from the enclosure


Remove the adjacent earth connections by the windscreen washer bottle


And the n/s loom can be pulled out the way

[ATinOf]

Now over to the o/s electrical enclosure and remove the lid, the same constraints apply here, can you spot the magnetic pick up, yes I dropped one, but was lucky enough to find it amongst the forest of dead leaves down there


Lift the supression capacitor out of its seat and unclip


Now remove the inner cover, I think this was just clipped in place, to give you access to the main 12V supply rails (now you did disconnect the battery didnt you?)

[ATinOf]

There is a lone connector that lifts out, unclip this and disconnect


Now unscrew the retained nut on the outer end 12V line and remove the topmost cable only


Now undo the nut (dont lose this one) and remove the main 12V (upside down lug) line


Now unclip the relay mount


And slide off the fuseholder as a complete unit off its side


Now unplug the last relay that was next to that fuseholder


So that you can unclip the relay base from the relay holder, after you have removed the relay base you can plug the relay back in for safe keeping


Now that's both side looms ready for removal, note I wrapped the ECU's in old pillow cases to protect the inlet manifold

[ATinOf]

Now its time to get under the car

Remove the flange bolts so the drive shafts can be removed from the hubs - you can see the old gals been sat on the drive in the wet for several weeks by the rust on those discs! Note the two wheel nuts in the image, I used these with my crowbar to crack those flange nuts,I also needed a 3 foot extension to my 600mm breaker bar!!


Undo the 3 nuts either side of the anti roll bar restraint cross member; undo these nuts evenly


And remove the restraint


Undo the small nut on the vehicle level sensor at the front n/s track control link and remove the coupling rod


While you are at that position disconnect its electrical connector

[ATinOf]

Undo the end bolts holding the anti roll bar to the drop links and remove the anti roll bar


To protect the swivel joints of the upper links tie up the wheel bearing housing so it doesnt drop too far; straps are better but I got away with using decent ties


Now undo the bolt for the suspension strut at the track control link


Now remove the bolts at the sub-frame front and rear for those two control arms; note the direction the bolt is removed from for assembly; and tie the arms up so they dont stress the swivel joints.




Repeat for the other side

You may well be wondering why the jack is under the car; I always like a second line of defense when i'm under a heavy car - the car is on axle stands; the jack is there in case I have a problem with a stand. That's just how I roll.

[ATinOf]

Now we can pull the hubs forward enough to remove the drive shafts


So we have both hubs free of the shafts


You do have a choice here; you could remove the drive shafts at this point, I decided to leave them there; access to the shields and retaining bolts didnt look particularly inviting to me. They can comeoff later when the engine is out, lots of access then.

[ATinOf]

Now its time to split the exhausts just before the baffles (I wont call them silencers on principle ). Just loosen the pairs of bolts and slide them back to expose the joint. Top tip - have a support in place so they dont stress the flexible couplers up stream too much.


Now we need to squeeze in to remove the shield over the prop-shaft coupling at the gearbox end, as usual the fixings are really easy to get to


Now mark the prop shaft so it can go back in the same orientation and undo the 6 fixings. For ease you can jack up the back end one side and spin the wheel to rotate the prop-shaft for access to the top bolts (or you can just struggle, just about). Take note this coupling point is filled with high temp grease and a seal,it may get a little messy.

[ATinOf]

Now we need to support the engine and gearbox before tackling the sub-frame and mounts. I was surprised I didnt have to remove the bonnet, but no - plenty of access for the engine crane; note its a 4 point lift


And a trolley jack under the gearbox mount, so it can wheel forward whilst supported, in sync with the engine crane


With the gearbox weight supported you can remove the 8 bolts securing the gearbox mounting bracket to the chassis

[ATinOf]

Now before touching the sub-frame fixings ensure the position of the sub-frame is clearly marked in relation to the chassis; the sub-frame is positioned laterally (left to right) to set the camber of the front wheels, and its position affects the toe-in (tracking). You will need to check the geometry on assembly.

When its marked sufficient to ensure it goes back where it is the bolts can be removed

[ATinOf]

Now its time to check we've removed what we need to...

Hmmm spot the hose I forgot to disconnect where the coolant filler was removed


And its not easy to see but there is another hose to disconnect here n/s along the chassis stub


And here we have a cable tie to cut close to the charger connection posts


Check and double check you have them all disconnected, you dont want to rip something out of the car!

[ATinOf]

Dont get too eager to pull it out yet though, the gear selector is not yet disconnected,I have saved the most awkward access item till last. You cant reach this without dropping the gearbox some 3-4 inches, so now is a good time to do it. First you have the cover to remove (That top fixing is a swine)


Then mark the position of the front bolt and remove it, and pop the ball fixing of the cable off the selector stub


When you are happy with your marking of its lateral position remove the back bolt

[ATinOf]

Now lower the engine carefully about a foot, just enough to clear the chassis stubs so you can withdraw the engine and gearbox straight forward, although in true shopping trolley style these engine cranes rarely travel straight in any direction


Now we should have tied the exhausts to the gearbox mounting bracket before we started moving, there was a clunk when they fell off their support
I improvised by moving their support onto the gearbox trolley jack, but you really ought to tie them up to that gearbox mounting bracket


Be wary of trapping things as you move forward, I thought this breather hose would give enough to come by itself, not appreciating how brittle it had gotten


I also found the o/s rad support bracket clashed with the engine lower mounting, I had to unbolt that rad support bracket


Apart from those niggles it came out snugly

[ATinOf]

et Voila - the beast is out



I hope this has been useful for some, the learning as you go is invaluable I find. At least now you all know if this is a job you can tackle or not, and what to expect when you start. Dont be afraid to have a go, I was a little nervous too, but there is nothing better than getting intimate with the inner workings for improving your understanding.

I think the gearbox warrants a new thread, to follow soon. Enjoy.

[bam_bam]

Removing the V10T on a driveway = massive testicles.

[don0301]

And if you can do all that....you are a Royal Navy Engineer!