mikekantor

iTrader: (5)

Well, I started removing my engine today. I'm doing oil pan seals, front/rear main seals, and rear studs. I'll also install a UDP and Aaron's spacers.

There are a lot of firsts for me here, I have never removed the axles, transmission, or engine on any car yet. But I've been reading and preparing for months now. Its going decent so far, I was able to put in about 6 hours of work today. Drained all fluids, and have almost everything either removed or unplugged.

Axle nuts came off fairly quickly. My mortal strength was not enough even with a cheater bar, but putting a jack under the end of the wrench did the job. Now the axles are out of the knuckles, but still in the transmission. Is it supposed to be this difficult to pull them out? I thought the driver-side axle was supposed to come out easy, allowing the passenger-side axle to be knocked out.

More work tomorrow, and before/progress/after pics as well.

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

one of them (the long one... pass side iirc) has a bracket holding the axle to the .. something. wow that was vague. as for the other one, i know you have to be careful not to pull the joint apart, because if the ***** get loose then have fun putting it back in the race and stuff.

mikekantor

iTrader: (5)

I know about the bracket, I have most of it apart but couldnt get a good hold on one of the bolts.

And with the other one, I have no idea... I guess I've already given it a few decent tugs. Should I hear/feel the ball around there if its loose? I remember seeing a thread about it, I'll try to find it.

Alex_V

There are 3 12mm bolts holding in the pass side. Theres a flange on the axle that bolts to a bracket on the block, to help support it. Make sure you clean the rust off and find where those two pieces meet. I tried to pry in the obvious gap but that wasn't it. It was covered in rust.

And its the D side that pulls out hard, theres a c clip holding it in. Give it a few good tugs and it should pop right out. Edit- Then pull harder. You want to "break" it free.

For the PS pump I usually take it off and tie it to the car. That way you don't have to drain the system and deal with that mess. Same with the AC unless you discharged it.

You should be able to take the engine/tranny out at once, but Ive only done that once on a maxima and its frame was bent in. A non wrecked one should be pretty easy to do that on, though you might have to take off the harmonic balancer to make it easier.

Other then that its just shifter, heater hoses, wiring, and random little pieces holding the engine/tranny to the car. Other then the 4 mounts of course.

~Alex

mikekantor

iTrader: (5)

No rust, just dirt and oil buildup. The tools I have are just short of what I need to get the last 12mm bolt, tomorrow I'll buy a short 6-pt 12mm 3/8" socket and that should do it.

OK, I'll try harder then.

Yeah I was just going to leave them on the car and connected to all their hoses.

I have to get to the seal anyway, so the tranny is coming off regardless. I decided to lower the tranny and then lift out the engine.

Alex_V

Yea that works, but I would put them in together. Its a lot easier to put them together on the ground then in a engine bay.

~Alex

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

can our engines be dropped down onto a dolley and have the car raised off it or are they only able to be pulled out the top? stupid question i know. When i was going to do a 5spd swap i was trying to see how best to do it but I never got enough money to do the swap so it's still auto right now. But different people said different things.

btw mike, great job bringing your car back from the land of the lost. is the smell gone yet?

Alex_V

Either way works. I dropped my aunts E30 engine+tranny and lifted the car over them with the engine hoist.

~Alex

mikekantor

iTrader: (5)

The smell was finally gone when I took some time to clean cloth on the door panels. Until I finish this though, its a temporary visitor to the land of the lost. Its almost 11:30 already, slept in far longer than I planned. I'll probably get about 7 hours into it today, maybe that will be enough to get the engine out and start the actual repairs.

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

yeesh.. shoulda hired help. I had my engine out in 3 hours.

mikekantor

iTrader: (5)

But then I wont really be learning in the process, at least not as much. I think I value that more than the result of the work.

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

note that I said "hire help", not pay someone to do it all for you.
would you rather have the advice from someone who's done it before, or make all of the same mistakes yourself?

mikekantor

iTrader: (5)

Stopped working about 2 hours ago, engine and tranny are still in the car, although barely connected to it or to each other.

I gave up on the D-side axle and decided that it can just come out with the tranny and go back in with the tranny, there is little to accomplish by removing it.

mikekantor

iTrader: (5)

I was able to spend a few hours with the car after work today. Tranny is out, hooray!

Bad news though... the engine mounts are so destroyed they might as well not even be there. The front-most tranny mount is in really bad shape too, not broken, but it has a crack and the rubber part is loose from the metal. I didnt check the rear tranny mount, but I suspect its in bad shape as well. This is getting more expensive then I expected...

The engine is still in the car, but just hanging on chains though. Tomorrow I'll lift it out and place it on a stand to start cleaning and repair. I know I'm going slow, but whatever...

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

The big issue is that it's done right. take your time and learn how to do it right rather than to rush it and wind up doing it again.

I replied to your PM..

jguo2002

great work!

mikekantor

iTrader: (5)

Its out!

I had to yell at the rear mount bolt for a few hours, but I won.



There were some casualties though:




Also found more handywork from the flood:

mikekantor

iTrader: (5)

Dirty, dirty ground


+ connector broke somehow, that was random


Unwelcome news



Not sure how this happened, but there is damage on the outside, and a few of the threads dont look quite right, this will need careful attention

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

run a 10mm tap through that bellhousing bolt hole and you'll be fine.
the rest of it is normal stuff for a 13 year old car. all needs to be fixed, but none are a big deal.

mikekantor

iTrader: (5)

Things are moving along, I got a lot done yesterday. There was an issue with the plenum, the middle short bolt got stuck and rounded on the inside. I tried to drill/extract it out, but it wouldnt move. Ended up cutting off its head with a dremel, that took a while. I've taken off the plenum many times and never had this issue, just strange.

Also I did a lot of cleaning everywhere, it was a very dirty engine from older oil leaks. Tonight I plan to finally replace the main seals, pan seals, and studs... then after a bit more cleaning I'll put the car back together!

I do request one favor though. I cant find where I put the long bolt for the alternator tensioner pulley. In case I need to replace it, could someone measure theirs and let me know how long it is? I'm guessing in the range of 70-90mm or so.

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

heh I need a new one myself.. stripped mine a while back and have just been using a prybar to tension the belt while I tighten the locknut on the adjuster.

I don't know the thread size or pitch, but look for one in the 3" range. (75mm). good luck finding it without going to a dealer.

mikekantor

iTrader: (5)

I've got the little block that it fits into, so I'll take it with me until I find a bolt that fits. I'll get 2

Its just strange because every other nut/bolt that I have removed in the process was set aside in a specific place and is accounted for, but this one vanished.

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

do you have dogs?

mine like to carry things like that off.
made the mistake of going inside for a beer a few weeks ago while rotating tires.

came back out 15 sec later and I was missing FOUR lugnuts!
least I found them before the lawnmower did.

mikekantor

iTrader: (5)

No dogs here. I found a 50mm at the store, but nothing longer. I might be enough.

How about this crap, Courtesy sent me two different oil pan gaskets! I just discovered this as I was about to put the oil pan back on. There are supposed to be 2 identical large gaskets, but I have a large one and a small one. They gave me 11121-14Y10 and 11121-14Y00. I dont even know which is which anymore.

Unless a local dealer has one (or Matt discovers he has a spare), I have to wait until Monday at the earliest to even put the engine back together. Talk about a setback, I planned to have the whole car assembled tomorrow.

mikekantor

iTrader: (5)

I found my bolt, it was in the trash , 80mm long. It was the only place I hadnt looked.

Here are the seals btw, old on bottom new on top:

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

one more (of the million already) point against Courtesy. This is why I quit using them years ago.

Check with Tom Peacock and Sterling McCall Nissan for the seals.
If all else fails, clean up an old one really well and coat both sides with a thin layer of RTV. I've reused them before but only when I had to.

mikekantor

iTrader: (5)

I found one at the first place I called, Backer-Jackson Nissan. Sweet.

mikekantor

iTrader: (5)

Almost finished, just need to get the axle and y-pipe back on, then fill fluids. I could’ve done it last night but instead quit because I was exhausted.

If I had known how insanely difficult it is to deal with the rear main seal, I would’ve just left it alone. I don’t even think my old one was leaking, but I had the attitude of “well I’m already here, don’t want to do this again later so I might as well change it” and it was a bad idea. That paper gasket had become part of the block, and the seal itself just wouldn’t move, it took forever to deal with and was just really frustrating.

I read this in the FSM, but too late, that when the engine/tranny are separated they have to be market on the flywheel and torque converter in put together the same way later. Didn’t do that. I don’t think it should make a difference, these parts should be fairly uniform and balanced, at least I hope so.

Oh and I need to torque down the pulley bolt more, right now its at like 50-60 ft-lb, that’s an annoying one…

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

the issue with the engine and tranny being in the same position is that you need to line up the seal and pinion thingy between the torque convertor and input shaft on the tranny.

I put one together a few years ago and didn't get them lined up. engine wouldn't even crank over to start it had so much resistance. loosened the tranny case bolts and turned the engine by hand to line it up, then POP!! it landed in place and everything was fine after that.

mikekantor

iTrader: (5)

I had the same issue, it resisted turning over. It turns over with ease now, so I guess I got them right after all.

mikekantor

iTrader: (5)

WTB: dipstick

Someone guess why...

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

dealer for $15 last I looked
I've had to buy it before

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

If they're the same for a 5 spd and auto- which they should be- I might have an extra..
I'll check tonite when I get home.

mikekantor

iTrader: (5)

Thanks guys, but I was more eager to see if anyone would guess that my crankshaft sucked it in and devoured it when I started the engine.

I'll be pulling the oil pan again later today to get it out, just hope that it didnt get broken up and caused little damage.

LvR

How the hell did you manage that?

Forgot to stick the steel tube it sits in, into the hole in the block?

mikekantor

iTrader: (5)

I honestly have no idea how it happened, I just know that it did. When I removed the oil pan and reinstalled it, the dipstick just stayed in its normal place and was never touched. The steel tube was never removed.

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

http://blehmco.com/pics/car/engine/100_1227.jpg

only thing I can guess is that maybe it got stuck between the crank girdle and the crank's counterweights.
there's not enough room between the two so if the dipstick gets moved behind the girdle, the counterweight will hit it and rip it apart.

also note in this pic there's a small "tube" welded to the inside of the oil pan. I'm pretty sure that's for the dipstick.
http://blehmco.com/pics/car/engine/100_1234.jpg

mikekantor

iTrader: (5)

Ok I see it, should've just removed the stupid thing, oh well. Based on the way the engine was running after ripping it, I think it will be ok once I get it out. Thankfully I can do this repair quickly now, since everything is clean and easy to work with.

The plastic top remained in place, so at least I can plug up the hole until a new dipstick is in place.

mikekantor

iTrader: (5)

I removed the dipstick last night, it was stuck exactly as Matt described, getting smacked around and sending little aluminum chips into the oil pan. I cleaned those out.

The car started right up, but now gave me two more issues:

1. High idle, it races to just under 2K. I never had this problem before so I'll search the org for answers. I did remove the IACV-AAC when I had everything else apart, and replaced the gasket. It didnt look too bad, so I just wiped down the dirt and reinstalled. I'll also check over the vacuum hoses again, just in case.

2. Turbine sound coming from the flywheel/tranny area. Its definitely not metal-metal grinding, just sounds like a loud propeller, I might record some audio of it tonight. I'm thinking the torque converter hasnt taken up all the ATF yet. When I drained the pan originally, that should've been around 5qt. After the engine and tranny were first separated, tons of ATF poured on the floor, but I dont know how much exactly. I added 6.5qt to it so far.

mikekantor

iTrader: (5)

After sitting at my desk at work all day and thinking about the car and what could've gone wrong, I realized that I cant recall re-installing the O2 sensor after bolting the y-pipe back on for the 2nd time. If that is indeed the case, then it would account for both the idle and the "turbine" noise... work ends in an hour, now I'm very anxious to get home and find out for sure.