Okay, its looking like this weekend or the next I will be pulling the motor. I have some questions that I need answered to figure out what the heck I'm supposed to do on a few things left. I will try to explain this as thoroughly as possible. First off, I removed the AC/PS pumps last night, wasn't that hard to do really...but this is my first question. I was planning on removing the AC system but I have been doing searchs on this and a lot of people are saying its not necessary, more or less I do not want the AC system all together. I was going to disconnect the lines running from the pump but I was not sure if freon was going to start spraying all over the place. Now how would I go about removing all of this without getting freon all over the place? I want to remove the AC compressor, pump, and lines. What would be the correct procedure to do this???

Second question, removing fuel lines. The only line I could recognize was the one running off the side of the fuel rail on drivers side running back to the firewall. There is still a lil under a quarter tank of gas in the car. How would I go about dissabling the fuel system and pulling lines etc, without fuel shooting all over? I disconnected the 3 relays next to the brake fluid resevoir during my comp. test to disable fuel and spark.

Third question, the engine removal process itself. I have an ATX and have heard people say that its easier to leave the tranny in place and just pull the engine. I have been searching on this subject for the past week and I have read several mixed responses on the process. Some people say to pull everything out engine/tranny, some say unbolt the tranny and pull the engine only. IMO, I would like to leave the tranny in, but I read that I may have clearance issues with the timing belt assembly on the passenger side with removal/installation of the engine. Is this going to be a problem? If it all comes down to it I will remove it all together if I must. Also disconnecting axels...I have no clue about where to even start on these. This car has been through several winters as well so Im
afraid that the axel is going to be froze onto hub from rust and not come off atleast on the one side (correct me if I am wrong here). The other axel was replaced with my lower ball joint recall last summer, because the ball joint seperated and yanked the axel out.

I have a general understanding and common sense of how things work from the little experience I have but I want to learn as much as I can. This is my first engine removal/install ever, and this is definately the learning experience. I want to do things right the FIRST time, so I don't have serious problems later down the road, and with the amount of money I'm spending on a built shortblock and top end mods as well as all the other miscellaneous things that add up on the bill. I could really use your guys input/help, as it will help me become more confident with the procedures and future modding to come. Thank you. Aaron



*winter rebuild in process*
GST Muffler
injen short ram intake
magnecore 8.5mm wires
EGR removal/blockoff
front/rear strut tower bars
GSX dual piston calipers

Originally posted by xcasbonx
Okay, its looking like this weekend or the next I will be pulling the motor. I have some questions that I need answered to figure out what the heck I'm supposed to do on a few things left. I will try to explain this as thoroughly as possible. First off, I removed the AC/PS pumps last night, wasn't that hard to do really...but this is my first question. I was planning on removing the AC system but I have been doing searchs on this and a lot of people are saying its not necessary, more or less I do not want the AC system all together. I was going to disconnect the lines running from the pump but I was not sure if freon was going to start spraying all over the place. Now how would I go about removing all of this without getting freon all over the place? I want to remove the AC compressor, pump, and lines. What would be the correct procedure to do this???

You are going to get the refrigerant all over, without th eproper charging/discharging tools for AC I don't know of a good way to evac the refrigerant. Maybe best bet is to try to bleed off some pressure with teh shrader valve, but this is probably going top spray EVERYWHERE. You could try disconnecting the return line form the compressor (smaller of the two hoses), but again I'd bet this will get refrigerant everywhere. Sorry I'm not of much help on this one.

Originally posted by xcasbonx
Second question, removing fuel lines. The only line I could recognize was the one running off the side of the fuel rail on drivers side running back to the firewall. There is still a lil under a quarter tank of gas in the car. How would I go about dissabling the fuel system and pulling lines etc, without fuel shooting all over? I disconnected the 3 relays next to the brake fluid resevoir during my comp. test to disable fuel and spark.

Undo the gas cap, revieve any excess pressure in the tank. You can then use the shrader valve on the fuel rail with a rag over it and push the valve witha screw driver to relieve any pressure at the rail ( I doubt there will be any). Then you can disonnect the inlet hose to the fuel rail, get a big rag ready fuel is going to leak out. Then start at the tank undoing lines. The only gas you are going to spill is the stuff thats in the fuel rail and the fuel lines. The gas in tank will stay, the lines come out of the top of the tank (you'll have to pull the back seat to get to thetop of the lines).

Originally posted by xcasbonx
Third question, the engine removal process itself. I have an ATX and have heard people say that its easier to leave the tranny in place and just pull the engine. I have been searching on this subject for the past week and I have read several mixed responses on the process. Some people say to pull everything out engine/tranny, some say unbolt the tranny and pull the engine only. IMO, I would like to leave the tranny in, but I read that I may have clearance issues with the timing belt assembly on the passenger side with removal/installation of the engine. Is this going to be a problem? If it all comes down to it I will remove it all together if I must. Also disconnecting axels...I have no clue about where to even start on these. This car has been through several winters as well so Im afraid that the axel is going to be froze onto hub from rust and not come off atleast on the one side (correct me if I am wrong here). The other axel was replaced with my lower ball joint recall last summer, because the ball joint seperated and yanked the axel out. I have a general understanding and common sense of how things work from the little experience I have but I want to learn as much as I can. This is my first engine removal/install ever, and this is definately the learning experience. I want to do things right the FIRST time, so I don't have serious problems later down the road, and with the amount of money I'm spending on a built shortblock and top end mods as well as all the other miscellaneous things that add up on the bill. I could really use your guys input/help, as it will help me become more confident with the procedures and future modding to come. Thank you. Aaron

Don' bother taking the axles out of the hub, just pop them from the trans, and undo the control arm bolts and swing them out of the way.
FO rthe engine removal with trans in: remove accessory belts and pull of the crank pulley off. undo all your engine harnesses, pull AC and PS, get them out of the way. Drop the exhaust manifold and cross member support the engine with the lift. pull the dust shield on the bottom of the transmission and undo the four torque converter bolts (you'll have to rotate th eengien to get them all). Undo you side motor mount. and start pulling.

This is the simplified version, but the basic idea.



Exile Racing Technologies: http://www.exileracing.com
una salus victus
Mods List: http://highlander.dsmpower.com/sig.htm

I have just a little input.

Are wanting to totally remove the AC system? IF not just unbolt the compressor from it's bracket and move it out of the way. If so... have fun. When we pulled the motor out of our parts car (ATX)we gutted everything out of the bay including the AC compressor. DR1665 'releived' the pressure n the system through the fill fittings on the passenger side. The rest of us watched from 20' away while all this white chunky shit and gasses blew all over him and the towel he was using to protect his hands. There will still be some pressure in the lines that go into the compressor so be careful removing those.

Now for removing the motor without the tranny... First, make sure you have a jack under the tranny when you start.It is possible to do, you just need to remove all of the accesrories on that side of the motor (altenator, AC, PS, UDP. Get the motor hanging free on the cherry picker then remove all of the tranny to block mountng bolts. THen there will be 4 bolts that go through the flexplate into the torque converter. You can access these after dropping the oil pan and removing the small access plate on lower part of the tranny. Have someone remove the starter and use a screwdriver to rotate the flexplate so you can remove the 4 bolts. The easy part is jacking the motor up and making sure it clears everything on its way up.

Originally posted by run4cvr
DR1665 'releived' the pressure n the system through the fill fittings on the passenger side. The rest of us watched from 20' away while all this white chunky shit and gasses blew all over him and the towel he was using to protect his hands.

Yeah. 20ft away cowering behind the driver's door like a bunch of little bitches! LOL. Yeah. I started to vent it to the atmosphere (which is illegal btw) with this long ass screwdriver. White plume about 4ft into the air. Instantly icy on the hand. If you do it this way (not worth it imo - you might save 30lbs tops with everything gone - plus your defroster won't work for shit either = much foggy winters) make sure you wrap a towel around your hand to protect yourself. Compressed refrigerant is super cold and it will take a few seconds to pass it all.

Good luck man! Have fun!

bumpin this to see if anyone else has any input.


*winter rebuild in process*
GST Muffler
injen short ram intake
magnecore 8.5mm wires
EGR removal/blockoff
front/rear strut tower bars
GSX dual piston calipers

Michael and John got it right on. I wouldn't remove the A/C unless you have to- to fit a huge turbo and downpipe in or something. Removing the engine by itself and leaving the ATX tranny bolted to the car is FAR easier IMO. Make sure you remove the crank pulley before you start jacking the engine out. You may have to loosen all 4 motor mounts and scuff up the inside of the frame a little, but it will come out. The hardest part is removing the 4 flexplate->torque convertor bolts, but even that is fairly easy if you do it with the timing belt still intact. Just tie the cam gears together with thick wire (coathanger etc) to keep it from turning.

I'm doing the same thing you are as we speak.

Saturday I removed the head and as a novice I instantly saw an advantage to doing this......so much more room to work with.

(if you are lazy like me, know you are replacing a timing belt, and don't care about the plastic cover: then removing the head is pretty easy..........if you do like the plastic cover, etc. then it's not hard to do....just takes longer)

I hope this input helps.

Tony

^^^ hahha yeah i got ya, I dont like that damn t-belt cover anyway. i think i know what to do heh. that things a biotch to get off.



*winter rebuild in process*
GST Muffler
injen short ram intake
magnecore 8.5mm wires
EGR removal/blockoff
front/rear strut tower bars
GSX dual piston calipers

I used a pair of wire cutters and needle nose pliers and just broke it off in chunks. you gotta break it around the idler pulley too if you go that route. Also, don't forget the two brackets that connect from the block to the bottom side of the lower plenum. The bolts are underneath the number 2 and 4 intake runners (counting from left to right), right where the runners begin to curve up.

Tony

You will enjoy the experience in pulling your engine for the first time. It may take a while, but after its all said and done and if you did it all yourself. The next time you can do it and put it back in w/in the same day. I have pulled a 420a a few times, but it was manual everytime, so w/ the atx I may not have useful tactics as in w/ the mtx. But hit me up on here or aol if ya need any help. where you located? peace
stv
rawdawgstv on aol

Im from northern indiana, near south bend. Theres a couple guys around here in the area, but I could use someone who has good experience with pulling the 420a, but it looks like Im doing it mostly by myself.


*winter rebuild in process*
GST Muffler
injen short ram intake
magnecore 8.5mm wires
EGR removal/blockoff
front/rear strut tower bars
GSX dual piston calipers

Don't worry bro......I'm doing my 420A by myself and the help of this board.....Don't be afraid to IM people on this board....everyone I've talked to so far is very friendly and glad to help.

I bet it's cold up there in Indiana right now....I'm originally from Covington which is about 2 hours directly south of South Bend, been living in the south since 1997 and I don't miss the cold whatsoever.

Tony