Hello,

Ill start from the start...

I offered to help a mate out with a maxima issue, there was an large exhaust leak from his exhaust manifold. We narrowed the leak down to the exhaust manifold (one on the firewall side of the engine). After further investigation we noticed both of them had a couple of snapped manifold studs.

We pulled the exhaust components of the engine and called in a mechanic to look at it. He said we could drill the studs out, however due to space wed need to take engine out. He suggested dropping the engine and lifting the car over it.

So before i start on the adventure I was wondering for some advise from you more technical maxima people.

Would it be easier to lift engine out, or drop engine?

Where is the god dam fsm ?

what's else should we change when the engine is out? she has seen a few kms...

any tips / hints?

Christian

 

Pm sent on the fsm..

 

Well I'll start by saying...for being named "Christian" you got some blasphemy going on in your post.

You dont need to remove the engine. Find a mechanic thats competent enough to weld bolt heads on there and get em out. He'll definately charge an arm and a leg for the pull alone.

nm

 

God reigns from the heaven. Dam is across His Grnd Canyon. Fsm is on the net... What else: belt [if], all seals plus check last page link below...

--------------------------------------------------------------

Edit: added the word His...

 

Religion talk stops here....No more..

Carry on christian..

 

Lowering the engine to drill them out is the easyest way to do this.

 

I guess t-here is a writeup with pics HowTo drill em out w/o taking engine out?

All issues have to be first classified in proper descending categories and answered. Leaving some issues out, will cause everybody problems down the line... Next category (before touching tools) is to figure out is this car worth it? ...surely there will arise other costs yet unseen related to mileage. Issues like checking rear wheel wells have to be addressed (via trunk, upholstery aside and check out if chassis rotten through.) If it is, maybe its better to keep this as a spare, and buy another that has already repaired studs and good chassis...

 

I did this repair with the engine out, so this is "how I would do it if I did it again" and if someone has better suggestions, please add them.

Generic writeup for doing this:

disconnect battery -
raise and support the front end, or the entire vehicle (better)
support transmission from the bottom, engine from the top
remove y-pipe
unbolt the engine mounts
remove the crossmember with engine mounts, inspect mounts for damage and replace if needed
unbolt transmission mounts
lower engine and transmission slowly while monitoring items connected to the engine and being careful not to bend/stretch hoses and connectors, disconnect those that you feel might be compromised
when there is enough room to work: remove manifold, replace studs, install manifold
raise engine and secure all mounts
install y-pipe
connect everything you disconnected

 

just to add, a reminder to put some wheels underneath the car, so if it falls it wont be on you... along with all other safety guidelines.

but what are some good hook(?) points to support the engine(from the top)?

 

For me, that is 4"x4" that is just the lenght of hood. From nasty safety experience a war ning: make sure the chunk of wood is healthy...

 

On the VE, I used the a/c compressor frame on the front, and one of the plenum brackets on the back.

 

He's covering his *ss and trying to make some extra bucks at the same time. It's WAY easier to do while the engine is out, but it's not necessary. IF you decide to remove the engine, it comes out the bottom.

Neither. For JUST the studs, leave it in. You don't need to take the engine out to replace ANY of the studs. No welding is required. This CAN be done in a weekend by one person in the driveway.

You'll need jackstands and a right angle reversible drill (or adapter). You'll also want left twist drill bits and a tap & die set. Left twist drill bits are run in reverse so that while you're drilling into the broken stud it's loosening them. Right twist bits (the normal drill bit) tend to drive them in further. Make sure you drill in as straight as you can. You only want to drill into the stud, not into the head. Once the broken stud falls out on your head, chase the threads with the tap. You'll need to drop the rear engine mount to get enough access.

Replace ALL of the studs on the bank while your in there. The studs are cheap, your time isn't. I used new Nissan studs, nuts and washers from the 90's 300z (someone here suggested it years ago).

I did both banks 6 years ago and haven't had a problem since.

IF you remove you're engine....

Since you don't say whether it's a VG of VE, Manual or Auto, it's hard to say. But if it's a Manual I'd replace the clutch kit. If it's a VG I'd do the timing belt since if it breaks you lose your engine (timing belts on an interference engine are a STUPID design decision!). Also a good time to make sure your axle/CV joints are in good shape.

 

Hi Guys,

Yeah, this is a car thread not a religion thread. so please stick to car related idems.

I have done a few car related things before, im not that silly. I will be using proper tolls and jack stands etc.

Greeny - Thanks for the link, I have the FSM now so it should make things easier.

mikekantor - Thank you for the generic writeup.

Wiking - sure its old and properly not worth to much effort. But im young and wiulling to take on new adventures. Im keen to learn by doing.

shoult - I was going to drill them out with engine in, however i gave up due to space constraints. I asked a local mechanic (does verry good work) to inspect. He advised he could not remove them with the limited space.

This is a auto Vg maxima, Aus spec i believe. There is not really enough room for me to get a drill between the studs and firewall, i simply gave up and decided to run with the mechanics suggestion.

dropping the engine does not sound to hard.

I have already removed all exhaust components / radiator / hoses.

I wish to completely separate the car from the engine. so the engine can receive a full service has it has racked up the Km's. timing belt / gaskets etc.

I think it would be best to remove the AC compressor from the block, and also the PS pump. as these lines are something i do not wish to disconnect.

The other stuff like electrics should be self explanatory enough.

One thing id like to know is the drive train. One one side it looks like you can easly remove the connection, however on the shorter side it looks harder as it has no joiners in it. Please explain how to remove this.

Thanks for the pointers guys.

Christian

 

I wish you could now read what u wrote -and- understand. If it was so, u could keep your own statement.

 

There really is, but you need either a right angle drill or a right angle drill adapter. But you sound like you want to remove the engine so I'll quit now.

If your AC still works DEFINITELY DO NOT disconnect the hoses. Be VERY careful with the AC hoses. Hang the pump up and out of the way so that it doesn't get jostled around while you're working. I don't know what your situation with R-12 refrigerant is down under, but here in the US it's almost impossible to get. If you lose your refrigerant you'll have to change over to the newer R-134a which doesn't cool nearly as well.

 

Really? I took mine out the top.

 

You can do it either way, it's just easier from the bottom.

BTW, the factory put them in from the bottom.

 

Unknown, do post your progress and any tips you have. I'm going to tackle the exact same repair as you in a couple of months. I'm picking up the engine crane next week and engine stand the week after.

I've decided to lift it from above. I tried drilling the snapped stud from underneath but the space was so constricted it was hurting my neck and drove me crazy because of the access, and I couldn't see anything. This is after I removed the rad too. It was really frustrating. I'll be replacing front and back studs and hardware too.

Once I get it on the stand, I can sit on a stool to work on it, heating them with the oxyfuel torch.

 

what i've done is just dropping the trans out of the way and then lifting the motor out the top. automatic takes longer to drop cuz you have to spend more time dismantling the mounts i think, but if you haven't done it before you can still probably get the tranny and engine out in a day's time. of course with experience and 2 sets of hands, me and Goon did my engine swap (out, in, engine prep, fuel rail swap, wiring up different-style injectors, exhaust welded, etc) in a day and a half.

 

Daver, i'm sort of confused - I'm pretty sure you replied already to my other post in another thread but maybe you can point out my confusion. First, you did in fact end up mounting your engine to the engine stand via the Engine-to-tranny bolt holes I recall. So where was the tranny at this point, and what was supporting it?

For me doing just the manifold fasteners replacement, do I need to buy a separate tranny jack, in addition to the engine stand and engine hoist? The FSM under engine removal doesn't mention supporting anything from underneath, so I thought I could do without buying one, and pull everything from above.

 

I would consider changing all belts, (including timing) all hoses, and of course oil and filter. I would inspect drive axles, steering rack, tie rods, and anything else and see if they could need a change. My view is while your already there fix everything so you won't have to do anything for a while.

 

the tranny was chillin' like a villain on the driveway somewhere, and the engine was on the stand. yes i use a tranny jack it makes life much easier.

note how villainous tranny looks while chillin' on driveway:

 

Once the tranny is removed dropping the engine is pretty easy since you'll just be sitting on the two passenger side mounts. ARP also makes good replacement studs if you haven't already purchased anything else. My parts car engine had them replaced so I nabbed them for future use in my (hopefully I won't need them) car.

If all else fails... just start grinding away the entire front end of the car



Another Villainous black hole abyss of a tranny

 

*coughwhenareyoufinishingyourswapcough*

 

It was supposed to be done long before this point. Hah, I even made my sig in advance. Some financial problems came up and I still don't have VE-5 motor mounts, as soon as I get the extra cash they're getting ordered (hopefully I can find some, because no yards in my area have ANY VE-5's) Then the swap begins. I'm not too worried about the swap itself since I have a FL car and most bolts come out with ease and the impact wrench helps a bunch. I imagine it can't be too different from dropping the 5-spd tranny other than the obvious differences (And weight) But I really can't wait. I firmly believe the VE was meant to be a 5-spd judging from how the engine reacts at different RPM's and how long my stupid 1st gear is on the auto; kinda takes it a second to get moving with lack of low end power. Hopefully the fidanza and shorter gear ratio's will give me a nice powerband across the board. I'm really stoked seeing as though the tranny I got was rebuilt 10k miles ago.

Anyway, once I start diving in I'm gonna update on my 5-spd thread that's still around somewhere.

 

Great photos pearl & daver - it makes it much easier to picture things in my mind. I just want to try and have all the tools ahead of time. Sometimes it's been a ***** when I remove stuff and I'm missing a tool, and the car ends up being down just until I get the required tool.

 

Here's another good thread about engine removal.

Brings back some painful memories though.

http://forums.maxima.org/3rd-generat...ans-today.html

 

Just an idea I used to drill out the studs with engine in place:

I made a template from thick mdf ~3/4" with holes for the remaining studs and smaller ones for the missing studs. The template was done by taking print of the stud holes to the mdf itself and then using drill press to ensure correct hole's direction. Then you screw in 3 - 4 studs and fasten template on them. Now you have holes for the broken ones where you can put your right angle drill and start drilling. Template makes the bit to follow its hole direction. I managed to drill through 2 studs completely almost exactly in the center and parallel to its walls. Broken studs are not very tight there so left hand drill bit would make it much easier. One of my studs was screwed in further by the bit itself as I was using right hand bits.