New Project Alfa. Yew.

[BigSud]

I pretty much do it how Lenus does, but there are a couple of other neat tricks to lessen the time spent grovelling under the car.

You can remove the engine together with the front crossmember, front and rear suspension arms and hubs, by just undoing the bolts that hold the rear arms to the car - under the driver's and passenger's feet. Undo the hubs from the bottom of the struts, the brake hoses, and the handbrake cable from inside the car, and you're ready to go. YES, this assumes that the exhaust, speedo cable, wires, hoses etc are off...

Once the whole shebang is on the ground, you can easily get to driveshaft bolts etc - and this has the HUGE advantage of not having to twist the suspension arms (a la Haynes manual) to get the crossmember and front arms back in. If you're just changing the clutch, it's easier to pull the engine off than undo the brakes, driveshafts etc to get the gearbox off.

I also use the centre engine mount bolt to lift the shell up over the motor - like Lenus says, much better than trying to jack it up etc.

[lenus]

You don't have to twist those rear suspension arms if you unbolt it there? whaaat :|

The hardest part of doing the engine change overs for me is the suspension arm off the crossmember.

Previously it used to take me for ever to get right, but now it is only a 20 minute or so job. It gets easier once you know exactly how to do it.

I just have a pipe wrench that I clamp to the arm then push the top hole into alignment then drop the bolt through, then use the wrench to maneuver the arm around to align the bottom hole. Then I bash the bolt through with a hammer.

It's not really all that hard.. And I guess it's only 1 bolt compared to 5 for unbolting to rear arm + hub.

I find the hub's alot harder to get back on then the cross member anyway - especially when you trust somebody else who know's nothing about alfa's to put the suspension towers in for you and puts them in the wrong way around!

I've generally found everything in the haynes manual has been pretty much the easiest way to do most things.

The whole process of removing engine and gearbox now really only takes me about 3 hours and about the same to put it back in. This includes stand back and drink time in between bolts.

It's also about having the right tools. I pretty much carry all the tools I use to remove the engine of my car and dismantle most of the engine in the car. But really having a specific tool set with ONLY the sockets that you need in it is a good way to shave time off jobs like this.

I used to forever be spending time looking for the right tool, so before I took the engine out of my Sud, before putting in the 16v, I made a list of all the different tools that I needed and bought good quality ones. So for the price of a cheap 40pce toolkit from Supercheap, I basically got 1 socket, or another 1 socket, or half a power bar.. etc.

But now this tool kit lives in the car and I always know where to find the bits.

[Spooty22]

I'm doing an engine swap on my car right now, it's a horrid job that I want to do as little as possible in the future! Not that it's super difficult, just physically exhausting, I imagine it would be 10 times easier with a lift. Working under the car will fatigue your neck muscles fast.

Suspension work is always fun Multiply the exertion required 10 times if you have poly bushes

Take your time and safety first

[Paolobuchberger]

I did what Lenus suggested too. One obvious thing I guess is make sure the hex bolts are really clean so that the hex socket goes all the way in. Mine had twenty years of dirt in them and to avoid the bolts being damaged, especially if they are stiff, it helps to clean them out with degreaser and something pointy. The usual tap with a hammer to loosen them a bit helped too.

If you raise the car on stands fairly high the gear lever clears the floor easily.

[GTVnut]

Great pearls of wisdom and experience from everyone, thank you. Now all we need is the list of tools that Lenus always keeps in his car!

[lenus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTVnut Great pearls of wisdom and experience from everyone, thank you. Now all we need is the list of tools that Lenus always keeps in his car!

[Paolobuchberger]

Ah the gearbox input shaft!

Last Saturday I planned a "quick" (ten minutes I thought) replacement of the seal and little brass bearing behind it before finally putting my gearbox onto my new engine and putting it into the car. How I was looking forward to the latter.

Result: after much swearing and consulting my knowledgeable friend, the diff. was taken apart to free the seal, bearing and shaft. At least I know how it is put together!

Paolo

[BigSud]

Just got back to this - so it will be an odd reply in the stream of the the thread, but there you go...

The Haynes manual recommends that you leave the front suspensionarms (the Trailing Arms) on the crossmember, and separate them where they bolt through the rear arms (the Leading Arms). To put it all back together when you do this, you need a massive Crescent wrench to twist the front arms around until the holes line up. If you have poly bushes (and I do) then it's WAY worse.

However, (this is my point) If you undo the hubs from the bottom of the struts, and the rear arms (the Leading Arms) from the shell, you can drop the whole lot on the floor and twist/bend/swear in comfort. You won't have to undo half of that stuff in all liklihood in any case.

Now, to a more important point - last month's Octane magazine has pointed out that Haynes now do an Owners Workshop Manual for the Supermarine Spitfire (All models 1936-45).

Is it just me, or is that possibly the coolest gift ever for an old car person?

And, yes, safety first. Make sure you don't begin work on your spitfire until it's on axle stands and the battery has been disconnected...

Chris

[Paolobuchberger]

Haynes manual on a Spitfire! Fantastic!

Now I can finally start working on that Rolls Royce Merlin in the shed!

Paolo

[GTVnut]

Lenus, I think I hi jacked your thread Im sorry! Have you tracked down your bits yet? I will keep my eyes peeled
Cheers

[lenus]

Oh yeah.. About that... I found some in my shed...

[GTVnut]

Do you happen to have a spare plastic assembly that goes with the rearview mirror? Im not sure if it can be separated from the actual mirror or not, its the plastic part that goes on top of the rear view mirror (interior) and has clips to hold the sunvisor in place......

[lenus]

What car?


lenus.

[GTVnut]

81 sud
but I think they are the same