miata2fast for a super-moderator replacement.

do i hear a second?






What we have to remember is that some folks on this site think that weight training means reducing the amount of wait time between yelling at your mom upstairs, and receiving another Mt. Dew from her.

 

I mean the hardest part of doing it on a stock car is removing the stock exhaust manifold. Other then that if you know what you are doing the job is relatively simple.

 

But dont you want to spend an hour or tow unplugging hoses and connectors, draining fluid, pull the motor/trans, unbolt it finally, and spend the rest of the afternoon trying to refit it because it's still heavy and hard to manipulate whether or not the engine is in or out of the car?

Remember that day we swapped my clutch and trans in 2 hours, then welded a new exhaust rear section for me, with time to spare for lunch?

 

I am not a big guy (nor am I strong)... and I've solo swapped a 5spd to 6spd on the ground without pulling the engine.

I'd do it again, didn't think it was a big deal.

 

that's because you're not a ***** and you're a real man. Jus tbecause pulling the motor is easy doesn't mean you need to do it for every job you can think of.

 

[QUOTE=Braineack;975759]miata2fast for a super-moderator replacement.

QUOTE]

Would I be allowed to keep my carburetors? I am dedicated, but not THAT dedicated.

 

it's not like any of the other mods have turbos/miatas anymore...

 

Engine in. I did it at work with a two post lift/tranny jack, first time pulling it with help from a friend, in and out in 3-4 hours.

 

Thanks Guys

I am going to share this thread with my mechanic.

Will let you know what we did when finished and how hard or easy it was.

Road Out

 

I was able to do the clutch on my NB without a trans jack, just using the Harbor Freight low profile jack (not the aluminum one) and a ratcheting strap. The HF jack is meaty enough to keep it stable.

Did it on jack stands without pulling the engine and would do it that way again for sure. Plus, it's pretty much your only option if you have a 1 car garage like I do.

 

I vote everything out ON A STOCK CAR.

there are too many brackets and BS you cannot remove with the engine in, like the manifold, you WILL NOT remove that **** cleanly with the engine in the car.

Also if you are a full sized man not a manlet you will have a lot of trouble fitting yourself and the trans under a car on regular jackstands.

Pulling the engine only take an hour and everything can be done properly and inspected with the engine out.

Aligning gearbox and engine yourself is easy, go practice.

Dann

 

I didn't even remove the manifold, just the downpipe (mine is not turbo). The only bracket is on the downpipe and comes out with the two bellhousing bolts. How is removing an engine easier than two bolts?

 

I just installed mine the other night. I tried it a little different from when I've done it before. I bolted the PPF into place first then put the transmission in. It worked out pretty good. But that was just for mocking up the exhaust. Motor and trans are getting pulled today to finish the build and will be going back in th car as one.

Both ways have there advantages and disadvantages.

 

If you have access to a lift, leave the motor in the car. If not, it's a toss-up.

 

I would leave the engine in the car. When I had to redo my clutch it did not really seem like a big deal to put a jack under the oil pan and pull the tranny. It was heavy but not THAT heavy. I bench pressed it back up into place and sixshooter aligned it with the engine no problem. It took us forever to do the whole job though because I had never done it before and we weren't rushing it.

 

Engine out, gives you the chance to replace anything you want to on the back/hard to reach areas. It is much easier to disconnect and unplug **** then work crammed under a car, not to mention less risk of ur pos jack stands to fail. Draining coolant takes 2 mins, wire harness connectors tops 10 mins, non stock exhaust shouldnt take more than 5 min to disconnect. 5 min to unbolt one motor mount from block. Intake takes 2 min.

Pull it out! Replace water nipple, cas o ring, vaccum nipple, check for leaks, etc.

 

In my opinion it depends.

If ONLY doing a clutch job or trans swap, pull just the trans.

If you need to do a timing belt, front main seal, water pump, tap the oil pan for a turbo setup, etc. just pull the motor/trans together. This way is nice because you can scrub the motor and engine bay, etc, to make it look like new again.

Edit: I've done it both ways, and will always pull the motor and trans to do it if i have any oil leaks that need fixin'

 

What is funny is the one time I have used a lift to change a clutch, it took longer then what I can normally do with the car just up on jack stands. The first reason I think it took longer was because I was not used to the car at different heights and moving everything and such, when it is on jack stands I know where exactly I need to lay to get to all the bolts and such that I need to get to. Secondly the car had a FFS so I blame that for being shitty.

 

So, you're basically going to tell her "A bunch of guys on the internet disagree."

 

Basically the exact same thing he found before even posting up the question.