Engine out checklist

[jesfirth]

not happy with the new bearings, oil pressure etc - somethings still not quite right which is no good so going to pull out the engine and strip it.

Not done one for 25 years so will be a bit rusty. does anyone have a list/idiots guide for griff engine removal?

[Marty V8]

Sorry to hear that.

I took the exhaust and manifolds off and the inlet system so that all I had left was the block and internals and both heads still fitted.

The nearside head has a lifting eye attached as part of the PAS system at the front - use that. You will also need to screw something into the rear of the offside head for lifting.

If you have a T5 box, the bellhousing will unbolt externally - I left my g/box insitu when I removed the Griff motor and just left the bellhousing attached to the block as I was worried about the length of the gearbox hitting the wing as I didnt have much head room in the garage for the engine crane.

If you want to remove the box at the same time, you wont lose all the oil when you remove the prop from the rear of the box. Remember to take the gear knob off first before you drop the box - the knob unscrews, but is locked on to the top of the lever by a locking collar - peel the rubber gear lever shroud down to reveal this.

Dont forget to remove things like the engine earths and the main 100A fuse link which is stupidly situated under the offside engine mount - just the place to get covered in crap.

Removal will also allow you to check and replace if necessary the fuel lines which run from the back of the fuel rail.

Good luck.

Cheers

Marty

[steve-V8s]

Take lots of pictures and then take some more and as you take bits off and expose new things take some more. It is all quite straight forward but it was the simplest of things which were not recorded that confused me when it went back in. Like which engine mount had the spacer fitted.

Others may disagree but leave the gearbox and bell housing in and the manifolds on. With the plenum off you can get at all the bell housing bolts. When lifting it out the oil filter, oil pressure sender and front pulley are a pain. It will come out with them on but life is a bit easier with them removed. On mine there was an inaccessible (until the engine was on the hoist) earth point at the rear of the passenger side head.

[spend]

Could be an Lt77 being a pre-serp... Likely there is no alt fuse as well, in that case disconnect the battery first as feed to fusebox goes over engine from starter (via alt)

Remove the front crossmember, and lift + tilt it out complete with box & manifolds. Easier to crack the front pulley bolt first IMHO BTW.

Plenty seem to lift with straps on manifolds BTW.

If it is an Lt77 consider new clutch & release arm whilst you're in that deep.

[jesfirth]

marty/steve thanks i will leave the gearbox in the car

- a couple of questions - can i leave the rest of the exhaust in situ or does that have to come off for clearance at the front and access beneath?

photos is a good call will take many thanks.

i will have about 5ft clearance in front of the car is that enough?

spend thatnks its a T5 box so that bit is good

no doubt i will have many dumb questions as it progresses

Edited by jesfirth on Friday 31st December 18:06

[steve-V8s]

I took all the exhaust off as access underneath is a lot easier. Plainly the Y piece has to come out and the flexi bit bolts to the block anyway. Don’t loose that bolt by the way, it is a different thread to the rest. Rather than pull the engine forward on the lift I pushed the car back out of the way. When you put the engine down an old tyre to fit the sump makes it stand upright.

[Marty V8]

jesfirth said:

marty/steve thanks i will leave the gearbox in the car

- a couple of questions - can i leave the rest of the exhaust in situ or does that have to come off for clearance at the front and access beneath?

photos is a good call will take many thanks.

i will have about 5ft clearance in front of the car is that enough?

spend thatnks its a T5 box so that bit is good

no doubt i will have many dumb questions as it progresses

Edited by jesfirth on Friday 31st December 18:06

I would take the 'Y' piece off as a minimum, even if you do leave the manifolds on. I personally wouldnt lift the motor using the manifolds as you might just crack them when they're stressed with the weight of the engine hanging off them - the bloody things have a tendency to go between the four into one part anyway so there's no need to assist them in this process. Definately take off the crossmember that the swirl pot sits on as someone else noted.

5ft in front of the car should allow you to take the engine out and sit it down, but it'll be tight if you have to work in it as well. I used an engine crane and had to use an extension piece as the arm was not long enough to reach into the engine bay - ended up with the crane pointing into the engine bay from the side of the car rather than the front -see photo.

Label absolutely everything - masking tape wrapped round cables and indelible ink pens is what I uesd. Totally agree with photos - you'll never take too many.

I also used tesco's resealable clear freezer plastic bags for storing components in - again label these with an indelible ink pen otherwise its guessworks when you come to nail it all back together again.

the other photos shows the reason why I had to remove the motor in the first place.

Cheers

Marty

[spend]

The manifold flanges are plenty strong enough, if your idea of equilibrium when lifting puts any stress on the collector I'd be pretty worried It's the strain fitting across the Y piece that cracks the collectors IMHO BTW.

Disadvantage with that method is its not so good with a leveler to tilt the engine+box, maybe not so important if you are splitting the box? I always jack the back end up as well so you have extra clearance for similar reasons, probably not important if you are just pulling the engine. Preserp you may well have to strip alt, swirl tank etc if you want to remove manifolds insitu BTW.

Preserp has much more clearance at the filter BTW & the pressure sensor is not in the same location. Taking it out 'clean' and draining on the stand is no problem. Lift at front, tilt back of lump down and lift / pull forward over rad, fixing at front helps with the reach problem, but you need the tilt that way? Each to his own, I just probably blindly follow snippets I got from Joo years ago on the assumption that he's overcome more snags than I've encountered

[Marty V8]

Yeah - of course its a pre-serp - different fanimolds Doh. I'm just going off my experiences with the 500 serp motor. Would it still be easier to lift the engine from the heads though rather than trying to wrap lifting straps round the manifolds though?

scuse my ignorance but who's Joo?

Jes - bet you wished you kept the Cerbera now.....

Edited by Marty V8 on Friday 31st December 20:05

[spend]

Manifolds are pretty much the same at the engine end, even if it is a pre-cat, its the collector & Y-piece that varies mainly.

Joo is/was the "International Man of Mystery" IIRC

[Pasco]

spend said:

Joo is/was the "International Man of Mystery" IIRC

A legend in his own life time A God like person and has a pretty Fit Sister

We Miss you Joo

[CHGRIFF]

Would suggest Jez if removing or relacing engine with manifolds on you place some semi soft material between chassis tubes and manifolds as invarably when manouvering the engine out of of into position the engine manifolds will sit directly on the chassis tubes causing damage ( a dent ) into the manifolds. Seen this all tooo often. Best prevent damage if possible.

[The Moosehunter]

Sadly just done mine at the weekend

4 hours from cracking the first bolt to block out on the floor

25 mins for the gearbox

Nothing too tricky here, mine was easier as it only came out 3 years ago so all bolts still clean and loose ( ish )

Very good luck to you, it's not as bad as it sounds

Cheers

Moose