Engine Drop - HELP!
 

Hey all,

I have a 74 1.8 and (the engine siezed 2 years ago) I've started working on it. I decided to do the engine drop this long weekend and I used the tech article on engine drop made easy but I'm having an issue.

I had one engine bar mount bolt that just wouldn't come loose. So I switched from hand tools to air tools and the passenger side bar bolt snapped right off. The driver side seemed to lossen but just spins and doesn't come out. Needless to say I can't get the engine dropped becuase it just won't come loose. I've tried about everything, even getting on the beast and jumping on it, hoping to break it free. I've followed all the steps in the tech article, but I'm at a loss as of what to do.

Can anyone give me some suggestions if you've run into this... thanks

Nate

There is a nut on the other end of that engine bar bolt. Use 2 wrenches...and liquid wrench or PB Blaster...

Jeff is correct on the spinning bolt.

On the broken bolt you can remove the support, that the bar is bolted to, from the body. It will be difficult, but you should be able to wiggle the support out of the body. You may have to support the engine really well, loosen the center nuts of the engine mounts, and even drop the engine bar by itself.

Use some sheet metal or cardboard to help guide the engine tin past the inner suspension pivots; they tend to hang things up there.

When dropping the engine, it is always better to remove the nuts on the top of the engine bar (outer points) first. If not, then the bolts will tend to snap as you have found. The channels tend to be bent and should be fixed before using again. Often, new bolts with the correct strength grade should be used. The original bolts are getting too old to be trustworthy. A lot of these parts were a pain to remove 20 years ago. BTDT, and still doing it.

Thanks guys ...

For the spining bolt I was able to get to the top of the bolt and hold it tight enough to get it out. For the broken bolt I ended up supporting the engine and trans and then using a air impact hammer with a punch bit I got the other one out (with a little heat).

The broken one was in there pretty good it took awhile to get that one out. Thanks again for the support ... it's out and I can call it a weekend.


Nate

I hope you had plenty of beer...