Can anyone tell me of a site that has a detailed step by step procedures in removing an engine? I have an 86NA engine that needs to be removed and replaced with a new one. I have a shop manual but I know there is somebody out there that wrote a simplified procedures in removing engines. help!

Mel 86NA

 

You might want to get the Haynes manual. There's a lot of pictures and step by step instructions in there. I changed the engine in my 88 using it.

 

simplified? remove exterior parts ,pull engine.

Seriously, having a shop manual or the haynes is the best way to go.Unless you do like me and go by memory(now where does this go........? )

 

Pull all external components and make sure you label everything you disconnect. This way it will be alot easier for oyu to put it back together the right place. Hayes is a good guide also!..Be careful with fuel, A/C frion, oil, & radiator coolant. Also degreasing the motor before pulling it out will make a clean pull out!..

This motors are so easy to pull i did it by myself and it was my first time removing a motor ever.

 

there are 2 ways to pull it. you can either pull the wiring harness out of the ecu and pull the motor out with everything on it, or pull the upper intake and remove the wiring harness from all the sensors. they are both about equal in terms of time and effort.

mike

 

Well.. All that labling everything MUMBO JUMBO.... is acually great idea =) Of course I didn't do that.. so I will have a hell of a time getting it back together =)

basically I removed everything but the exhast manifold and lower intake manifold... Take out the starter motor, Take off all the transmission bolts..... Check make sure you have everything unbolted (motor mounts are a must.... =) and grab on with the hoist, and work it loose.... Then you can attach it to your stand... I am using one made out of 2X4's ... works perfectly... So far =)

 

Thanks guys! Great advice... Now I can tackle this motor removal coz I have some inputs from you fellow rotor heads. This is my first engine removal and may the force of Wankel be with me. I will let you all know in a few days. I will write all the lessons learned so I can pass it down to the next fellow.

Mel 86RX7NA

 

One other thought for you. When I pulled my engine a few years ago I was a REAL rookie. I did everything with the tags mentioned by someone else and the info in the Haynes manual. What I did was to copy the pages out of the manual and put them in sequence on some posterboard so I could refer to them easily.

Yeah, I know it was wimpy but I had no idea what I was doing at the time and it helped a lot. Also a good reminder of the order things have to go back together. After this last episode I had I think I could pull most of the thing blindfolded, but if it's the first time this isn't a bad idea.

 

bobr,

I think i'll do that too just to make my engine removal as easy as possible so every little advice helps. Thanks. I know if I wait for another day i'm sure I can get more pointers from the experts. Common guys, add more comments, give more pointers to help a fellow rotor head in need, lol. Like I said this will be my first motor removal so i'm a little hesitant to do it but I know with your help I can do this.

Mel 86rx7NA

 

I'll tell you what else helps for inspiration if you're married. When I was in the middle of pulling the engine, I had parts all over the place with little tags on them. The hood was off, no engine, not much left in the engine compartment. I was standing inside the engine compartment doing something and my wife opened the door from the house, looked around the garage, and shook her head with one of those "he'll never get it back together" looks. That was my inspiration. I swore I'd get the thing to run if it killed me.

If you really want to do the charts from the Haynes manual approach, I still have mine. I can tell you what pages I used.

 

Thats exactly how I did mine!

 

You guys are funny... lol... I can see myself now scared staring at the loose parts all over my garage thinking of what to do next, lol. Any horror stories or difficult situation while you guys are taking it apart or putting it back together? Did you get hurt during the process? After everything is put together were you guys confident enough that the motor will start the first time you swith the ignition? Tell me.. I need to know. This is starting to be a good topic...

Mel86RX7NA

 

bobr,

Tell me about the Haynes manual approach. I know I can use it.. Yeah, tell me exactly what pages you copied and posted in your poster board coz that is a very good way to keep track of what i'm doing. Thanks

 

If you don't already have one, I think they're about $20. I've seen them at Trak, among other places.

The pages I had up were 75,76,253,254,127,53,46,132,248,249,111,159,156.

And of course the book handy for other things like torque specs when it's time to put it back together. For just pulling an engine, the Haynes manual is pretty good.

Good luck...

 

pay someone to do it is the easiest way.

 

Mel,

Nah, didn't get hurt except for a few scrapes of the hands. It was actually a good experience learning how to do it. I was a total novice at the time (not that I'm a genius now by any means), so I was tagging everything, keeping screws for assemblies together in baggies and labeling them, had a notebook handy for anything I wanted to write down to remember.

No real horror stories. Surprised the hell out of me when it started first time. I only made two mistakes. One was reversing 2 vac hoses on the throttle body, the other was forgetting to leave the radiator cap off on the first start so the coolant could circulate. Boy, those engines get hot fast.

Something I didn't do was to take some good before pictures for reference just in case, and some more pics during the process. It's no big deal for the guys who are really good with this stuff, but if you're a rookie and the thing runs after being in all those pieces, you gotta be pleased with yourself.

 

http://www.iluvmyrx7.com/Service_Man...ice_manual.htm

if you don't have the factory manual, see above. This guy rocks!!

 

topless7,
That site is awesome! He got everything everyone needs to know on "how To". I guess I can use it although it is intended for 3rd gen 7 and I have a 2nd gen car. Nevertheless, I'll use it for reference. Thanks top... Anyone else can tell me of a site on how to remove engine? I have search and search but I can't find one. I kow i'm just missing it.

Mel
86RX7NA

 

bobr,

When you removed your engine did you remove the radiator and oil cooler as well? Is there enough room to pull the engine without removing the radiator or the oil cooler? What component do I need to replace before i put the new engine back? i was told it's good to change all the fuel hoses and the primary injectors. Feedback please..... thanks

Mel

 

Mel,

It's been 5 years since I did it, but yes... pretty sure I pulled both the radiator and oil cooler. One of the other guys could probably answer better if you have to. But hey... once you're that far what's another couple parts?

As far as replacing stuff... the primary injectors are $250 apiece if you get them through a dealer or a place like Mazdatrix. I just got done buying some that were $78 apiece and I think they caused a lot of my troubles. You have plenty of time to pull them and send them out for cleaning. I wouldn't buy new ones until I knew the old ones were bad for that kind of money.

I would take a good look at the pulsation damper (also known as the 'carbecue' part. It sits on the end of the primary fuel rail. If the screw works out and the diaphragm bursts, fuel sprays all over the place.

Other things to change... good time to look at the clutch since everything is out. I replaced all the hoses and obviously gaskets. I also just got done changing the vacuum tubing to silicone, and if I were doing an engine pull I'd be doing that at the same time. If you do the vac hose, make sure you do that as you're putting it back together or tag them really well. Switching vac hoses around in some cases will cause some real problems. At least one of the vac hoses (coming off the pressure regulator) has a "pill" in it. I didn't change that hose yet, but I hear there are problems if you change it and don't move the "pill" with it.

I had a nasty problem to track down with the O2 sensor connector coming off the harness. Be very careful with it, seems like that potting compound is a real stress point and the wire can fracture internally. If it does it's no big deal to fix, but finding it took weeks.

Also a good time to add ground straps and do the grounding of the boost sensor. I did grounding there and at the ECU, which finally solved my 3400 rpm hesitation problem.

If I were doing it again now with the age of the exhaust system, I'd also check the cat and make sure the guts of it weren't messed up. If you're thinking about new exhaust for performance, you'll never have a much easier time to work on the car.

Gotta bring up the grounds again. Seems Mazda did kind of a crappy job on grounding, and it can cause all kinds of weird problems. Make sure you clean and tighten all the existing ones and add the new ones I talked about. If you go after the ECU ones (you don't have to, but supposedly the boost sensor approach doesn't work every time) I've got pics on how to do that. That's one that you can do whenever, though. It's in the passenger floorboard, so having the engine out doesn't matter.

Anyone else think of anything?

 

I forgot... I did just change all the fuel hoses and I'd change the fuel filter at the same time.

 

I just read through this thread again. One of the guys mentioned the AC. You don't have to pull that (at least I didn't) and it should maintain it's charge as long as you don't pull any of the AC hoses. Same with the brakes.

 

make sure to examine the oil cooler hoses, and replace if necessary. Nothing worse than putting in a new engine and one of those suckers busting a hole and spilling oil everywhere.

 

Any more techniques, work around procedures, ideas and lesson learned from you guys when you pulled your engines? I am also sending my injectors for cleaning. Anybody know of a place that perform injectors cleaning and calibration?

Mel

 

Hi Mel..... Just wanted to say I'll be joining you in the process of pulling my engine..... My apex seal just said bye-bye to me the other day.... are you putting in a used engine, or a rebuilt one? Im thinking of finding a good used engine with good compression......

Matt