TomRhere Posted March 12, 2004 Share Posted March 12, 2004 Well, the garage has been cleaned out. I now have atleast 75% of floor space back in a 2-car garage. So............. It is time to pull the BRAT in and get busy with the engine/tranny swap. I'll be pulling her into the garage after work today, and will start the dismantling. I plan on dropping the entire engine/tranny unit with crossmembers attached out from under the vehicle. I'll get the ER-27 bolted to the tranny, and get the nessecary crossmembers attached. Do some measuring for a few ideas, then stuff the unit back up where it belongs. I do plan on taking care of a few details while the engine bay is empty also. Like repositioning the hill holder, or just get rid of it alltogether. Seeing what if anything can be done with the master clylinder, as in moving it closer to the firewall for more clearence at the engine. Maybe a bit of clean up and repaint in there too. I will also be doing some R&D type stuff for a planned lift and suspension mods to the BRAT. Lift will be needed for the planned T-case mod. It's in the works now, just waiting on parts to be aquired. Trogdor is working on those for me. Thank you kindly. Lots of ideas floating around in my brain here, will try to fish afew out and see how they work. Over-all goal right now, is to get engine/tranny in. Get it fired up and debugged, and driveable. Not sure yet if I'll use the stock XT-6 exhaust for now, or fab in my 2" dual set-up. We'll see when I get to that point. Was going to do some body work, but that will have to wait for another time slot. Notes will be taken, and pics as I can get them. I don't have a working camera here, really need to get one though. I'll keep you all informed as to progress and anything I find out in the R&D section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam N.D.J. Posted March 12, 2004 Share Posted March 12, 2004 You don't have to worry about the master cylinder. Do take out the hill holder though. Then go to the parts store and find a T that fits the threads on the brakeline connections, as well as a couple lenths of brake line (about 6" will do). You jes need to pull out the HH, then use the new brakelines and T to move the front line (coming out of the master), out of the way, as that is the only one that really has clearence issues. You will also need to use an "adjustment tool" on the frame rails to slightly "adjust" them for a good fit. I beat mine down about 3/4's of an inch on each side, and can barely slide a butter knife between the camcover and rails. As far as the wireing, wotch out for that ignitor on the coilbracket, they are kinda testy, and hard to find a replacement for, (I live in a very Soobie rich area, and they are hard to find for me). Lotsa luck, keep us posted, and if you have questions, feel free to PM me anytime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted March 12, 2004 Author Share Posted March 12, 2004 Scott did a 8" lift to his, and says that it needs to be done to fit engine properly. Adam says a BFH with proper application will work to fit engine properly. Question here, Ifin I do a subtle 4" lift, will that be enough, (for the time being), to fit engine in? Have the scrap stock steel at the shop to do that, ifin it be nessecary. The EA-82 and EA-27 are supposed to be the same width, from what I understand anyways. I have the EA-82 in there now, and yes, it's tight. But, no real fitment issues, as far as frame is concerned, just the HH and Master cylinder. But that is an easy work around. I have weak motor mounts on the EA-82, so the engine does rub the frame on hard pulls. I can go the 6" or 8" lift if needed, but don't have rims/tires to make it look right, at this time. 8" of body lift, with the stock 13" tires would look way re-diculous. No want to go that route right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted March 12, 2004 Share Posted March 12, 2004 They may be the same width, but the ER27 is longer - there's where your difficulty lies - and what will you do with the radiator? GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted March 13, 2004 Author Share Posted March 13, 2004 Radiator??? More worried about keeping the Center Light than I am worried about the radiator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted March 13, 2004 Share Posted March 13, 2004 You go Tom! I've got XT6 and XT stuff around right now if you need something.Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subarubrat Posted March 13, 2004 Share Posted March 13, 2004 I think I can clairify my remarks on lift and ER27 fitment. To fit the ER27 without modifying the framerails a lift is a great solution. My combo at the time was a 6 inch body lift and a 2 inch suspension lift. The lift was notched during construction for the head clearance. A 4 inch lift would probably not have enough area to notch. Further your T case would be low slung at 4 inches. I would reccomend going up to 6 inches of lift as a bare minimum, preferably 8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam N.D.J. Posted March 13, 2004 Share Posted March 13, 2004 RIGHT LEFT It is pretty snuggly in there, but the big silicone filled moster mounts keep it in line, that may also have to do a bit with the fact that I have about an inch of preload on each mount from putting the bottom holes for em further in on the engine crossmember. I've revved the engine hard and it doesn't hit the frame, the body rolls to the side a little, but doesn't hit the frame. You can actually do the ER-27 swap, and Tcase mod WITHOUT ANY lift AT ALL in the front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted March 13, 2004 Author Share Posted March 13, 2004 Those pics are exactly how the EA-82 fits in there now. Are those before, or after BFH? State Law here, limits the over-all height of lift one can do to a vehicle, so I have to work with that in mind. But, I should be good to go, even with a 6" lift combined with the tire size, and still be at or under the max allowed at the rocker panels. Have to check on what that limit is now, they've changed it a couple of times. When they set the first limit, you legally couldn't drive a new Ford 3/4T 4X4 off of the lot, it was to tall. The T-case mod is further down the road, as I won't have all the pieces for it until the end of May, or there abouts. I was wanting to wait on doing any kind of lift until that time. But if need be, I will do a bit of lift now, just to fit the engine in. I have ideas floating around in my head, for some suspension mods to go along with the T-case mod/lift. Those will take a bit of time to fully figure out, and test. But, if they prove-out, it will be good for all owners looking for improved front-end performance, and handling issues. I will try to keep in mind, fitment for a non-lifted rig as I plan this out, for those who don't have a lift under theirs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subarubrat Posted March 13, 2004 Share Posted March 13, 2004 State Law here, limits the over-all height of lift one can do to a vehicle, so I have to work with that in mind. They have the same laws here, I am in vilation by about 8 inches over the max. I am still not taller than a Toyota with the max legal lift. Look, I am a good conservative republican pro-law enforcement and decent citizen. I don't rape, murder, steal, commit arson, embezlement, assault or any sort of bad behavior. However there comes a time that I just have to tell the gov. to get f****ed and step out of my life. I draw that line at my lawn darts and lift kits. I know that I may get a fix-it ticket here and there (no points and non-binding to correct) so I will pay the $40 and get on with life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted March 14, 2004 Author Share Posted March 14, 2004 A-MEN!~!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted March 14, 2004 Author Share Posted March 14, 2004 Well, I decided to leave the front suspension under the BRAT for now, may need to roll it out of the garage. It needs a powerwash, badly, (see below). Anyways, I've dropped the exhaust system, drained the coolant, removed radiator, and pulled the engine. Had company show up, so I called it quits for the day. I'll be heading out to the garage here in a few, to commence the days activities. I tell you, it was a real nasty yucky mess on the PS, due to a blown inner boot. That crap is just plain YUCK!! How do they get away with calling it Lube???? Didn't think to take it to the car wash first, So now it'll be done in the driveway. Oh well, can get a better washdown with engine tranny out of there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subarubrat Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 I feel your pain. The Nissan I pulled my Tcase out of died of engine failure at about 80k miles and on the way out it had one hell of an oil and power steering leak. The lubes misted back onto the Tcase and combined with dirt to form this epoxy like coating all over the Tcase. It took days to clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted March 15, 2004 Author Share Posted March 15, 2004 Pulled the tranny out, but not without dumping gear lube all over the floor. Was surprized that both mounts were still in one piece. Going to take the tranny spline end off of one of these "extra" driveshafts I have here. Then if I have to drop another tranny, I can put it on the output shaft, and not make another mess on the floor. But that's what they make floordry for, isn't it?!? Decided to pull the windshield out, it has a long crack in it, all the way across the bottom. That be a no-no, according to the police. I have a replacement here, just need new gasket. Did find the source of water leak on DS whenever it rained. Gasket was not sealed properly at lower corner, nice little rust hole there. That'll be fun to fix. Also pulled the entire dash out, for two reasons. The top is cracked all over the place, and I have a good one sitting here. Pulling dash isn't all that difficult, but getting out those push-lock buttons that hold the defroster vents in, be a pain. There are three bolts under them, that have to come out to remove dash. That's when I decided to pull the windshield. Plus, I wanted to re-do the heater box, with the one from the '86. I pulled the '86's heater box apart, and put the new core in it. Way much easier to do the core replacement described in the USRM, than it is to take the heater box apart. Plus, you still have to do some trimming where the tubes come thru the case. But I atleast have a new core, with non-leaking shut-off valve. Going to remove the tar-like stuff on the floorboards. Then see about patching up some of the rust areas there. I'll be Rhino-lining the floor afterwards. Then I'll be swapping all of the interior trim, to match the "new" dash. Unless I can change the color of the dash that is. Biege dash, and Smoke Gray trim, just doesn't sound like a good color combo to me. And Scott, I've had to chisel some of that epoxy-like substance off of trannies in the past. I know what you're talking about. Mean stuff it is, yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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