I promise this will be the last thread I make regarding anything of the sorts. I feel like I'm spamming the forums lol. If you don't care about the back story and just want to know the question, I've bolded it.

I have finally decided the tranny is going to be replaced. I am going to contact the junkyard sometime this week; $250 for one with 70k miles. That's all fine and dandy, but I am taking it upon myself to replace this.

Since my car is very rusty, attempting to drop the subframe out the bottom will not be a choice. So out the top it is. I figured removing 4 motor mounts is way less trouble then trying to remove rusty suspension parts. I will be doing this with a friend in his shop where he has just about every tool at his disposal, aside from a lift, but since I'm pulling everything out from the top, that's not a big deal. I've been looking and looking for write-ups, videos, etc on how to remove the engine, but can't really find anything. I will remove the engine and trans together, and then replace the trans outside of the car and drop it all back in.

While the engine is out of the car, I will take the opportunity to gut the precats since that needs to be done and there would be no better time. Maybe get some new motor mounts, but not sure yet.

I have already begun ordering my parts as I have a created a parts list of what will need. The one thing stumping me is the torque converter. There's 2 options on RockAuto, both are the same except for the Metal Stamp on one is GB GD GE GF where the other one is just LF. Both cost the same and are identical in dimensions, just the "metal stamp" is different.

As far as the whole removal process, it seems fairly straightforward; as in remove anything that is attached to the body of the car. Once the axles are out, it's just wiring harness, fuel/evap lines, radiator, etc. Is there anything special to look out for that might break without proper care? I will have money set aside for any broken parts that might come along, but I'm trying to plan out how exactly I'm going to go about doing this.

Any help is appreciated, and again I'm sorry for making so many threads.

 

http://apidaonline.com/index.php/gui...5-swap-writeup

 

I found that which was helpful, but unfortunately the pictures do not come through

 

Photobucket Hotlink Fix by Bridgetroll

 

Check this guy. I'm in need of a engine swap myself so i searched Youtube and found this. The most detailed VQ35 removal and rebuild i have ever seen. He has about 10 parts to it.
Start here,hope it helps.

 

 

So after reading that write-up, it basically said to remove to the transmission first, but he didn't remove anything underneath such as the cross member. I think his write-up is for a 5spd, but is there enough room to get the trans out from the bottom without needing to remove the whole cross member or subframe? If this is the case, I would go this route as it's less work

 

You have to drop the engine down if it's 6 spd since the input shaft has to come out. Auto shouldn't be a problem in place as is. Just unbolt it all and drop onto a tranny jack.
Pulling engine and tranny together out the top is stupid, don't do it. I've done it that way and you won't clear the ABS bracket/lines easily. It took considerable effort to pull and drop it back in as adjustments had to be made over and over to avoid hitting rails/bracket. I don't recommend it by yourself at all.

Engine/tranny swapping these cars is easy and very straight forward. Dropping the crossmember doesn't matter with rust, anyway. It's only 2 bolts in front and 2 in back. I always take it out for more room to work on ****.

 

 

You should be reinforcing it, anyway, if it's that bad. Still doesn't have any affect for removing/reinstalling cross member.

 

I pull tranny from the bottom, engine from the top. By my self.

I take the hood right off. If you remove the struts and try to fold the hood back, it will put the corners of the hood into the windshield . I have done this and it destroys the glass.

 

Yeah, that's what I meant. Doing them separately is cake. It doesn't take long at all to unbolt and disconnect everything.

Pass CV is the hardest thing, b/c it's usually rusted in, so it'll take some lube and force with maybe heat if really stuck. I beat the **** out of it with a chisel two ways. Do it upwards on an ear to spin it. This will break the corrosion, then outwards to drive it out.

Reinstall every exhaust, suspension, etc, bolt with antiseize.

 

 

When i tried taking my pass axle out of the carrier bracket i couldn't get it out. even with it unbolted. I ended up ruining it.Bracket and axle.

 

I’ll definitely need to watch this

 

Ill tell ya when i did my lower rad support last year i removed the Center member and my rad support was rotted completely.
To my surprise the bolt holes were still almost perfect and the bolts came right out. Even as rusted as it was.
I did DRENCH all bolts in question with WD40 blue torch and all went good!

 

 

WD40 is not a lube. You should be spraying them with penetrating oil.
A lot of the big bolts have a corrosion resistant coating. They always come right out with an impact. I don't spray them at all. There's hardly ever rust on them.

 

I'm not spraying for the purpose of a penetrating oil, it's more for slowing the rust down

 

WD40 just evaporates and any wimpy film it leaves for the time being will wash right off. If you want to stop rust then you mix paint thinner with boiled linseed oil and spray it on everything.

 

Any input on the torque converter though? Two options on RockAuto, both identical except for the Converter Code. There's only 4 remaining of each so I would like to purchase it now before they become unavailable

 

A tip for rust is
Scrub the bolts thoroughly with a set of wire brushes too after soaking the bolts with penetrant
This really helps and prevents peeling the head off them

 

TC almost never fails, so it's not something I would touch. If you replace anything it should be the solenoid pack.

 

 

I thought before I removed the center member that it wouldve crumbled but yeah heres the way it appeared.

 

 

If it does like the front, then the whole thing just rattles around. If it were in pieces I would imagine the engine would be destroyed by now.

 

 

Good luck. Took me 2 hrs of drilling and pounding with a chisel to break it into pieces. The openings are off center. I wouldn't even attempt on car no mater what you were paying me.

The front one just falls out lol.

 

 

Im droppin mine next year for a rear main seal
i may scrub it then polish with toothpaste with baking soda
its aluminum so id avoid acid based cleaners or paint.

 

As the time nears even closer to replacing the trans, I'm starting to get nervous about some things, mainly being how I'm going to remove it. I know I can drop it out the the bottom, but can I do it by just removing the trans mount and sliding to the right to clear the engine and then drop it? Or do I have to drop the engine a bit at an angle and then take the trans off?

And as for the passenger side axle, I know it's going to be rusted in that bracket so more than likely gonna have to remove the bracket from the engine, but is there enough room behind the engine to remove that and drop the axle out?

I'm just stressing out the more I think of it. I have 3 days to get all this done, so I need to know exactly what's going on to not waste any time

 

Drop the engine all the way down till it about touches the chassis on the other side (so leave the pass engine mount) and just slide the tranny off. Axle will come out with the method I gave above. Torch it if it needs more persuasion.

 

anyone do a whole engine, trans subframe drop?

 

You got a lift?

 

So take off the trans, front & rear mounts off and lower the engine until the trans can come off easily, got it. If the engine is being lowered, does any wiring harness or A/C lines need to be removed to allow the engine to drop slightly?

 

I thought you were pulling the engine?

Unlikely to need to remove anything as everything's flexible, but you can just look and see in case.

 

Yeah. any other tips or just chasing wires?

 

It's too straight forward, really. The 1st time I did it (first ever engine removal) I never researched anything. I just went to the garage, removed the IM, unhooked all the connectors/hoses, removed exhaust, then unbolted the suspension and pulled the axles. Easy peasy. Just use a little muscle to turn the knuckles and slip the axles out.