In case it wasn’t obvious from the above good advice – that ‘bolt’ supports nothing. You want to undo it early on as it is merely a stabilizer to dampen engine movement in use.
To emphasize: disconnect the rear stabilizer FIRST, before removing the rear and front mounts.
The bolt at the top back of the engine is not a mount, it is just a stabilizer, and not designed to hold the engine weight. After supporting the engine I take it loose first before I undo anything else, that way the mount on the firewall doesn’t get distorted. Also, looking at your picture the way I got mine out is not going to work for you, I had to lift the body and frame (with the crane) before I could roll the engine out, with it up on blocks like that it would scare me to do that (I had the rear end on mine, with the wheels on dollies, that way I could pivot on the rear axle). I used a slightly different method the first time I pulled the engine, I lowered it down onto blocks on the floor, removed the transmission, clutch, and flywheel from under the car, then lifted the engine back out the top. That way I didn’t have to use the radical angle required to pull it out the top, I could just leave it level. You could likely get it out with the flywheel attached, but you will be surprised how far it sticks out, pulling it gives a lot more clearance.
David has a point here…have you measured the total height of the engine including the required extra height of the dolly it will sit on once powered? If so, with the car up on blocks, will you have enough clearance to roll the engine out from the car without having to go through some dangerously looking car lifting?
With the engine resting on 3/4" pipes to act as rollers you need to have something like 28" under the picture frame to roll the engine out. And you’ll be amazed at how easily the engine is to move if it’s sitting on three or four short sections of 3/4" schedule 40 PVC pipe.
Looking at David’s pics and counting the 2x4 blocks at 1 1/2 a piece, it seems he has about 18" clearance under the blocking point at the rear…assuming he has the car level then it would appear he is well short of the required minimum clearance of 28"…more if using a dolly…time to adjust or rethink.
I’ve had the IRS out and the engine out (bottom method) but not at the same time. I’m a little concerned about balance / stability and the tank sump all exposed and unprotected.
I would add some supports where the frame and IRS connect…
Marco
Remove the picture frame? I haven’t measured but I believe the head is narrow enough to pass through the opening if it’s removed.
It is, and it’s going to come apart, anyway.
To minimize the amount I lifted the car I used a 3/8" thick rectangular piece of nylon , drilled two holes attached a chain and sprayed the bottom with the WD-40. Pulled the engine out with minimum effort.
The floor is actually somewhat rough due to decorative flakes…
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Does anybody have a set of photographs to match this procedure? -Steve
Likely a dumb comment but you do realize once the weight is relieved up front the car body as depicted in the photo is going to slide backward and down?
does anybody have a photographic depiction of this procedure?
Without the IRS in there, which I believe Steve has it removed, I don’t
think it should be a big problem. Just to make sure he might try moving
his blocks back further.
Yes, you want the rear support as far aft as you can. I used jackstands near the aft end of the ‘frame’ pieces:
But I did not try to do anything (remove engine, raise body) at the front of the car.
I cannot attest if the center of gravity is forward of those stands with the bonnet off and the engine & gearbox out:
I hope you do not have a full tank of gas. This makes me a little nervous - you need some solid suggestions from those who have secured the body with the IRS, engine and gearbox removed.
When I was a caver I always carried 3 sources of light, when I am under the car I like it supported at least two ways at the end that is not on the ground.
I think, instruction-wise, you may be to the point of deciding how you want to remove the torque reaction plate but first the basic set-up needs to be addressed.
My Gosh!!! That was an “illusion” that was messing with me! I thought you had the most MASSIVE diff/IRS I had ever seen for an “E”. They are sitting on a table forward to the camera! LOL! The diff looked as big across as BOTH seats.
Indeed, I am at the “torsion plate removal step” What I need a visual of is the relieving of the torque on the torsion bars so I can remove the torsion plate. So the exploding of the two front a-arms etc.
Anybody?
-Steve
p.s. Wiggles REALLY wants me to do a full off restoration (darn him) I have two other kids that want to go to college. Is there a “Jag-Lovers” scholarship to the “most-eager-new-Jag-owner”?
You mean the rear engine stabilizer? Nothing pounds, if you allow it to take the weight of any part of the engine you’ll either bend up the bullhead or rip the mount off. It needs to be disconnected.
FYI, the order in which you’ve done these operations is very unconventional. Generally the engine is dropped when the IRS is installed so you can use the wheels as a pivot point for tipping the car up to allow the lump to be rolled out after it’s on the floor.
Not saying you can’t complete it this way, but you need to slow down and understand the implications of every move before you make it. TBH, that Jenga stack in the back makes me nervous. I would not be tempted to lift the front end in a way that make the Jenga pile a hinge.
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E-Moss, I am trying to go on the advise of Wiggles who said the IRS would need to be removed prior to the engine to prevent the tipping of the car backwards. And lord knows most on this forum know more than me! But the Jenga stack is nailed together and is monolithic. That said, it is apparent to me that I need to support the car rearward of its current state. Perhaps directly below the center of the IRS mounting points. I plan on removing the picture frame and ALL struts forward of the firewall for cleaning and inspection. Thus I also won’t be lifting the car at all now. This is jumping the gun, but when I start dissassembling the front, do I need to take measurements, making identifying markings, etc? Is the alignment of all the components fool proof? Are they drilled/pinned in position? Or does the disassembling/reassembling require complete realignment of the entire car?
-Steve “the innocent”
I have to chime in here as well. You need to seriously consider how you are going to do the engine removal in a safe way. There needs to be some sort of fail safe mechanism at the back of the care to prevent disaster in case anything shifts. I would be inclined to at least place a heavy 6x6 beam from side to side in the rear wheel wells supported on both ends by a framework solidly screwed or nailed together. The bodyshell is not that heavy but if it falls your best case scenario is damage to the shell. If you happen to be under it consequences would be much worse.
I am sure you are going to address all-around safe support before you go at the torque reaction plate, but I will offer a photo per your question.
There are several ways to skin this cat, here is what I did: I undid the tie rod end, removed the shocks, undid the stabilizer bar and undid and split the upper ball joints, letting everything droop. I may have undone more than absolutely necessary but here it is:
The ropes are limiting the droop, the wood supports are merely supporting the hubs as a back-up to the ropes, the weight of the car is on those jack stands.
This amount of droop rendered the torsion bars ‘mostly harmless’ though I still followed the book method of knocking back the bolts and using a hardened steel pin in place of one bolt on each side:
I think the book may describe that pin as longer than the one I used - no idea why as the length shown worked fine.
BTW - this is an opportunity to assess the condition of the ball-joints or at least the gaiters/boots in case you need to replace either.