[spiderrick]

84 Spider Project: Electrical fire damage under the hood.
Just discovered that the transmission bell housing in the car is broken near where the starter mounts. (Previous owner must have forgotten to tell me about this.) Car came with a spare transmission so I will need to pull the transmission out of the car. Just read a bunch of posts on this topic and I am pretty sure I am going to pull the engine and tranny assembled. Most of the stuff that needs to be disconnected from the engine has already been disconnected (or burned off). I think all I will need to do is pull the radiator and deal with the exhaust and most of the engine dis-connect work will be done. Should I expect any problems (breaking bolts) with disconnecting the exhaust pipe from the headers? Should I be thinking more about pulling just the transmission and leaving the engine in the car? Thanks Much!
Rick
Snowy Southern, NH

 

[Norseman50]

My 2 cents

A lot of people say that pulling the engine and trans together is easier than dropping the gearbox out the bottom by itself.

Either way, you will still need to disconnect the downpipe from the manifold.

Pulling the engine and trans together requires the removal of the hood and radiator (which the gearbox out the back method doesn't).

Dropping the gearbox alone requires the removal of the front (or entire) prop shaft, one or more exhaust system pipes, and the starter motor (which pulling the engine/trans together does not).

If you have just one excuse/reason to need the engine out (like cleaning the block or the engine bay, or touching up some paint in the engine compartment), I'd pull the two together.

 

[alfaparticle]

bell housing in the car is broken near where the starter mounts.

That can occur as a result of using the heavier (pre '86) starter without a forward support bracket. If that is the case you should either install the bracket or a gear reduction starter for an 86-89 Spider.

 

[65Sprint]

Here's a late $0.02. I just did a transmission swap in the '88 Spider. Despite wisdom from Ed (Alfaparticle), I opted to remove the engine/transmission as a unit. This was ok since I am familiar with the process and I had to remove the radiator anyway to replace a front seal. But, I spent a good four or five hours getting the "top" of the car back together. The Bosch connectors, hoses, radiator, reservoirs, hood, and the lovely console required a lot of time, most of which could be eliminated if just re-installing the gearbox. In the future, I will only pull a gearbox for gearbox related issues.

If you had a fire in the engine compartment you may well want to remove as a unit to address damage as suggested above.

 

[spiderrick]

Most of the stuff I would have to remove to get the engine out is already removed. I have been removing burnt stuff for a while. Most of the wiring, hoses, and air handling system components are out of the car already. It also looks like I will be able to get the engine compartment and engine clean if I pull the engine. Getting the engine on an engine stand to get a better look at it (although I don't know what I expect to see) might also make me more comfortable with this engine that did go through a fire. Wondering of there is anything worth seeing if I flip it over and pull the oil pan?
But first things first: Have to get it out of the car. Thanks for your opinions!
Southern, NH, Rick

 

[dvoyer]

Same thing here as 65Sprint said, I did both, gearbox/engine combo and gearbox only and for me it's a no brainer if you don't need the engine out then let it there. I can do a gearbox removal/install by myself but I need help for an engine removal/install if I don't want to scratch the paint of the engine bay.

In my opinion, the trouble you have disconnecting/reconnecting the gearbox to the engine in place is well compensate by not to have to disconnect the engine/radiator/intake parts/etc.

In the OP case it's different and there are cases where it's the best option to remove the gearbox and the engine together. Here is another example:

BEFORE

AFTER (car will be black when finished)

 

[ARwrench]

Either way, you will still need to disconnect the downpipe from the manifold.

Uh.....NO.

 

[Norseman50]

Uh.....NO.

ARwrench is correct. It is not necessary to disconnect the downpipe from the manifold if you are just pulling the gearbox (even though it does make things a little easier).

What I should have said is: "Either way, you will still need to disconnect the downpipe from the manifold or the middle silencer pipe.

Sorry for the confusion. :surrender:

My intention was to indicate that some portion of the exhaust had to be dealt with, no matter which method was used.