bigfish13515

so i am thinking that after i hopefully pass smog in january, i am going to attempt a motor swap. I dont have the skills to rebuild the motor myself, but i would like to try to take it out and put it back in mysel (i might as well be trendy and send it to pinneapple racing and get a nice big street port )does anyone know:

1) some basic tools that i will need (i.e. motor stand, wrenches, anything) and places that i can get them?

2)are there any other good manuals out there other than haynes' that can accurately show me what i am doing? cause my luck, i will totally **** it up and mis mount everything!

3)is there anything that i should be looking for now in junkyards, classifieds, online etc. that i should try to replace when putting a new motor in?

4)For someone who has a time slot of a little over a month to do this, it is feasible to take the motor out, and do whatever is necessary to make it run properly, and is a person who has like "no skills?"

thanks again, damn i am so glad i found this forum!

-eric

rico05

1) Good set of metric wrenches, prybar, penetrating fluid, rags, screw driver
2)Hayne's sucks. Look for a post by "scathart". He has the BEST how to on how to do this. If you can't find it, find a fax machiene. I have a hard copy of it. It rocks.
3)Motor mounts, new clutch
4)Yes, unless it is blown, and you have to do a rebuild. That can take a newbie a while. The actual pull takes a day, the install takes a day.

Have fun, be careful, mark EVERYTHING

TonyTurboII

Dont rip on haynes man, I did my first motor swap with one (a Rx7). If you can read, this manual will do.

bigfish13515

i am not bagging on haynes, i am trying to keep my options open, and get info from a wide variety of sources.

Rico, 2 things:

1) i might hit you up down the road about copies of whatever manual/book you have, unless:

2)you purchased it somewhere that you think i might be able to attain it at.

thanks all.

oh ya, metric wrenches? good call on that, i dont want to have all my ****, then be fucked with wrenches. oooh, oooh, another question.

3) with no experience, should i even attempt to do the clutch myself, or should i have a professional install that?

thanks, -eric

rico05

No, Sean Cathart from here on the forum wrote it. Hayne's has about 2 pages that consist of the how to. Sean's version gives you a step by step. You can use Hayne's but Sean's write-up is about 10000x better, IMO. I used it to do my pull/reinstall, and it was a snap. I am not a fan of Hayne's as a LOT of the info it provides is wrong/incomplete as MANY here have found...

banzaitoyota

Rico, can u email me a copy of the Sean write-up?

TonyTurboII

I myself purchased a good set of Craftsman tools. It was somewhere in the neighborhood of 100-150. As for the clutch, its super easy with the engine out. Youd be a fool not to replace it. Just take the flywheel to a decent autoparts store, and they should be able to resurface it, or tell you where you can get it resurfaced. After you get it back (a few hours later) You simply put the flywheel on, the the clutch disk, then the pressure plate. Line up the clutch plate with the alignment tool, usually supplied, and bolt on the pressure plate, torqued to specs. Easy as pie.

bigfish13515

when installing a new clutch, am i installing just the pressure plate, or the entire unit?
has anyone else had any experiences with this? good or bad, ANY advice is welcomed, thanks!!!

-eric

rico05

You need to replace what is worn. Usually a new pressure plate is a good idea, as well as pilot and throw out bearings. Check out www.capclutch.com I ran their high performance kit for my FC, and I never had any slippage, even after repeated 7k RPM shifts. And for $175 for the kit, it rocks. Also, you really should get the flywheel resurfaced. Yes you can do it, but I had a shop do mine, but it cost me $350 for just the install, and resurfacing of the ol flywheel.

rico05

And banzai, I only have a hard copy. I really don't feel like typing all 5 pages, but I will try and scan it for you. If you got a fax machiene, I can get it to ya.

CincySpeedFreak

goto www.atkinsrotary.com They have a very good "removal and replacement" video tape for sale. Its like $25. and is VERY detailed about the whole proceedure. I would've probably screwed up my engine swap if it hadn't been for that video. There are some inconspicuous details that are very important and are easy to miss unless you have this video.

bigfish13515

cindy, i totally forgot about that, and even if it doesnt help, which i know it will, it will be worth the 25 bucks just to watch it and learn, thanks for reminding me about that!!!

eric

AreExSeven

Just to let you know, my motor blew and I pulled it out and am in the process of repainting the engine bay, replacing bad parts, and putting a new motor in. I am 18 and prior to this the only automotive experience I had was changin the oil, sparkplugs, and installing speakers. So I'd say you should be ok.

HAILERS

http://www.iluvmyrx7.com there's a free download of the factory service manual there. Just basic hand tools. Metic.

jspecracer7

Rico...don't scare the man...It should take a whole day to pull AND install...if you wake up early enough and work until dusk...

bigfish13515

thanks all, you are making me more comfortable in attempting to pull the engine.

AreExSeven,

1)what year/model do you have.
2)what kinds of things are you replacing?
3)is there anything you wish you had done, but forgot about while taking the engine out, or putting it back in?
4)what manual or guide are you using for reference, if any?

thanks all

HAILERS

If you download the factory manual at http://www.iluvmyrx7.com it gives a detailed description of step by step procedures for taking the engine out of the car. The download is free. Just download the Section 1. You just need a ratchet, a couple of 12 inch long extensions, two of each of the following box/open ended wrenches: 10mm, 12mm, 13mm, 14mm, 15mm, 17mm, 19mm. Sockets of the same size. Two common slot screwdrivers, two phillips screwdrivers, a knife to cut old hose, channel lock pliers, an engine hoist, don't need a engine stand, a pair of dykes, a hammer, a box of rags, a receptacle to contain the oil from the pan, a floor jack would help to hold the transmission up while removing the engine but you can work around that in a pinch, some small dia rope to hold things out of the way while removing the engine, boxes to hold the bolts, nuts, hardware that you remove , a drop light if working in the dark, hand cleaner of some sort, a place to put the radiator and removed parts like the hood. Something to cover both fenders.

vnova94

I would say also a 23mm socket and breaker bar for those damn oil cooler lines....

AreExSeven

1) 1989 TII
2) Any Hoses, wires, clamps, etc that seemed too dirty, deformed or rusted. And took out A/C, Power steering, Air Pump. Replaced power steering rack with manual one. I totally tore apart my engine wiring harness and I am retaping everything on there so it is new and clean. As well as replacing broken connectors.
3) Haven't put it back in yet, but I think while putting it back in I'm sure I'll wish I could afford to replace more parts
4) The engine removal section of the FSM, and this forum. I started this before Scathcart put out his guide.

Hope that helps. Message me if you have any questions.