Finally... clutch time... (Page 1/3)
thesameguy MAY 13, 03:08 PM
I've been doing nothing about this car for years, but had a crazy dream about it and that has caused me to move.

I was agonizing over trying to get the transmission out the side, but I've resolved to drop the whole cradle... and I'm just about ready to do that.

I have a couple questions...

1. What is this pipe *supposed* to be for? It's connected to the air box on one end, but nothing on the other. The car has a 3.4pr swap, so I'm thinking it may be left unused as a result of that, but it's also possible the shop that did the swap (before I owned it...) ran out of talent. Lots of places where they did that...



2. Is there a way to separate the two halves of this connector? One half is very married to the the body, the other half to the engine wiring harness. The latter is something I likely did... if I can avoid undoing my superb cable management, I'd like to.



I was surprised to find the coolant pipe drain came out easily on this side.



I was not surprised to find the coolant pipe on the other side had been damaged and "fixed" ... no doubt by the idiot shop that did the engine swap. It's been fine for years, so I'm not gonna mess with it... just annoying anyway.

[This message has been edited by thesameguy (edited 05-13-2021).]

Patrick MAY 13, 03:57 PM

quote
Originally posted by thesameguy:

What is this pipe *supposed* to be for? It's connected to the air box on one end, but nothing on the other.



It's no longer used due to a recall, and it was supposed to be capped on the end. If it hasn't been, then engine bay air has been drawn into the filtered side of the air filter canister for decades.
thesameguy MAY 13, 04:03 PM
Gotcha... it is capped. Or rather pinched. Thanks!
theogre MAY 13, 05:14 PM
#2 is C500 is Three sections.
main ½ is screwed to body.
other ½ is actually 2 ¼ one to engine, other to taillight etc.

Loosen the bolt holding all parts. Bolt is captive to one part so Do Not try to remove it.
Maybe a 3/8 or 7/16" not metric. Some hardware isn't metric and easy strip w/ wrong tools.

------------------
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave

thesameguy MAY 13, 05:16 PM
Interesting... I will take a closer look at it!
thesameguy MAY 13, 05:36 PM
Got it... I misunderstood how to separate the halves, but once knowing they were supposed to I was less hesitant and able to do it.

Next step - engine comes out!
thesameguy MAY 16, 12:14 AM
Well, here is how I started out....



This went really well. Engine right onto the dolly, super smooth.

Then things sort of went downhill... the TL;DR is that I couldn't find a good place to lift the body that didn't put the legs of the engine hoist directly in the path of the dolly. I ended up resorting to the trunk latch, which is not what I wanted to do, but here was my spin:



It wasn't a complete solution - that involved an hour-long curse festival - but I did emerge victorious.



The only thing during that process that made me actually happy with hanging the rear calipers from the body to avoid opening the system....



Anyway, I have a lot to do now, but a major concern is going to be how it goes back in. The "installation is reverse of removal" does not apply here - I'm not fighting that fight again!
thesameguy MAY 16, 04:27 PM
I would say this is likely the issue.
theogre MAY 16, 05:11 PM
⚠️ Warning: Never Do This...

Isn't "safer" then lifting by latch loop and those Nuts can fail at any time and without warning.
See my Cave, Jacking to Clear Engine
thesameguy MAY 16, 08:33 PM
Yes, I am aware of your feelings on the subject, but given the substantial evidence it can work and no evidence it's a problem, I took the risk. I considered using a floor jack under the frame rails, but given the angles involved it felt like just a different type of risk - stability vs. integrity. However, for the reinstall I'll probably go that route and pick up one of these:

https://www.harborfreight.c...ross-beam-64051.html

which should eliminate the stability issue.