Hello friends, I am preparing to remove the engine (3.8) from my 1964 S1 coupe. The shop manual instructs to remove the torsion-bar reaction tie plate. At first look it seems that to remove the tie plate you must first remove the torsion bars, but that is not mentioned in the manual. Is it possible to unbolt the tie plate and lower it down sufficiently without removing the torsion bars? I hope to lift the engine out with the transmission attached. Can anyone explain how to deal with the tie plate? Thanks for your help. Perry
Yesā¦and there is a boatload ir information in the archices on this.
If you want the car mobile, apres engine removal, you can do it that way: if thereās no need for mobility, it eases the removal to just drop the top ball joint out.
Dont mess with the clocking of the Tbars.
As noted you can undo the upper ball joint to relieve tension on the torsion bar. It also possible to secure it with steel pins so it stays under tension with the torque reaction plate removed but that is trickier.
Most choose to drop the engine and gearbox out the bottom rather than the manualās procedure of hoisting out the top, There are several threads on this and the last chapter of the Haynes Manual presents a step-by-step for going out the bottom.
Hereās the front suspension at full droop - had to remain that way throughout the work:
It looks like whether you take the engine out through the top or through the bottom the tie plate problem is the same. Removing the upper ball joints looks like the best solution either way.
I think that statement should read to first remove the torsion force that exists in both rods as itās force could take your face off if not relieved of its torsion force.
What I did was remove both hubs and then the torsion force is gone and the reaction plate is not loaded with force that would fight your ability to remove both those adjuster āear dropsā.
Patrick
'66 fhc
Thanks to all of you for clearing this up for me. I did not understand fully how the TBās are anchored back under the clutch housing. I see now what has to happen. I have now unloaded the TBās by removing both ball joints and the steering tie rod ends and the sway bar. I am not concerned about being able to move the car while the engine is out as the next āmoveā for this car will be to a rotisserie. Thanks again to all, I appreciate your generous input.
Perry
'64 FHC
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Perry,
You might considering removing head (complete with SUs attached) before removing engine. My head didnāt want to leave block (long story).
Myself, since I was solo, I removed engine from below, while hoisting front end upwards with engine hoist. Then, while engine sat on dolly, I used ATV to haul it our from under the car.
Patrick
'66 FHC
Thank you, Patrick. I followed your suggestion except I did not remove the cylinder head. Both intake and exhaust manifolds were already off so there was no problem going out the bottom. Because I am disassembling the entire car for ground-up restoration I didnāt mind removing all the ball joints and uprights first, thus relaxing the TBs so the tie plate could easily be dropped out. The engine hoist lifting the frame is in the way for rolling the engine forward but I was able to lift the car high enough to roll the engine on a dolly out the side next to the dropped lower A-arm. This looks like the best way to reinstall the engine too, but I wonāt be there for a while.
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Itās looks so harmless sitting there. I used the hoist to stabilize the gearbox for easier removal. Hopefully the head removes as easily; mine took forever. Also tapping the flywheel off could be eventful. I eventually used a sledge hammer as I replaced it with Italian aluminum FW.
Patrick
'66 fhc
