Engine removal- from above or below?
 

Hey all,

It seems pretty easy to drop the engine down versus pull it with a cherry picker?

I have a lift and air.

Any thoughts?

Pulling it from top isn't that big a deal. I did mine alone with hand tools in 2.5 hours, and another 2.5 hours to reinstall.

If you ever plan on switching your subframe or updating the bushings in your control arms, the lift would be plenty useful to use to drop it from below.

Out the too with the trans attached. Lifting the car off and trying to get the engine out from underneath would be way more work.

I've never had a lift, so I use a engine hoist and take engine/trans as one. Easy enough

Even with lifting the body off the engine, you would still have to attach an engine hoist to lift the motor to put on a stand. To me it just seems like a ton of extra work with zero benefit.

dropping the engine down sounds like something someone on cr.net would do.

MEOW

liek dis?
I never go on cr.net for fear of my sanity

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1454740803
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1454740803

I've also done the MT way
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1454740803


Both pretty easy, but only if you haz a forklift and lift like I haz :party:
I'd never do "from below" without lift and forklift doe.
Don't be a moran

Vlad likes a good power bottom.

Did a Mustang last week like this, was putting the engine back in though. Worked out pretty good actually. It won't drop in from the top with those headers attached so that's why. Motor mounts are also a bitch to get to without removing the headers as well.


https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1454748316

Without trans is NOT mt way.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1454877031



Like dis.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1454878564

Like Dat

Or dis:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1454880339

That said, if you have a 2-post lift and have reason to want both the engine and the diff out, dropping the roller skate out of the bottom isn't an bad way to do it.

--Ian

I've gone through the top and bottom...
Top is faster and easier for me...
No lift/forklift

I have done out of the top with trans attached, and I have now done it out of the bottom. Personally I found it easier to pull it out of the bottom with everything attached, however I will be replacing a vast majority of those components when I reinstall so for me it was the best solution to bring it all out together. I used a hoist to lower the engine/ subframe and everything down onto a rolling dolly and then used the hoist to lift the front of the car up while i slid the rolling assembly out of the bottom. From start to finish was just under 4 hours with me and a friend. I think ultimately its persona preference. When i pulled it out of the top and attempted to put it back in it was a bitch getting the motor mounts lined up. Just depends on what you're pulling it out to do, and what tools/ resources you have available.

Swapping the inspection engine in once every year I start to get quite used to pop it out over the fender (no space in front) with the trans still in the car.

Pulling things out the bottom is faster when you don't care about subframe alignment. So for stripping Dow to scrap, sure.

But I have a tendency for doing things in the wrong order, like changing a 6speed without taking down the propshaft (yes, the engine was out), transmission in one hand and the yoke in the other :)

I find it fascinating when I hear people pull the miata engine without the trans. I did that once with Braineack and getting the engine back in, and then trans attached was a bigger pita then just pulling them both together. It is doable, just took us far longer.

i drop mine out of the bottom. iv'e done it so many times, it can be removed in under an hour. 20 min of i don't care about a mess.

You should probably mention that you're pulling an LS, not a BP.