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Can '97 OBW HG be done "in car"?

Featured Replies

Can the HG job be done with the engine in the car, or does the engine have to be pulled? If it has to be pulled, what do you do with the A/C?

 

Bummed,

Monte

Yes it can be done in the car. If you take it out, you unbolt the ac compressor and put it to the side. No hoses have to be opened.

 

nipper

Here's a pic of my 97 OBW after removing the engine to replace the head gaskets, clutch etc.

 

IMG_0637.jpg

 

The last thing I removed before pulling the engine was the fuel lines to the intake manifold. The next to last thing was to flop the A/C compressor over towards where the battery is supposed to be.

Immediately after having the engine clear of the car, the first thing I did was to place a board into the engine bay and place the A/C compressor on that. When flopped over near the battery area there is a lot of twist to the A/C hoses...which isn't good and those hoses are BIG TIME expensive to replace!

 

Were I to do it all over again, I'd definitely remove the engine. If you have any history of back problems, doing it in the car is going to be an absolute killer. Sitting on a stool (or the bottom part of the office chair that you leaned too far back in once upon a time!)with the engine on a pallet is the way to fly.

 

IMG_0662_1.jpg

How long to get the engine out and how did you lift it?

 

Also any pitfalls or gotchas putting it back in?

 

rd

Okay, I see the hoist, duh. Will these motors mount up to an engine stand? I notice you are using a pallet.

 

rd

If it is your first time to remove this type of engine, count on about 8 hours to remove everything that has to be removed before you lift the engine out.

 

By far, the best "tip" I could offer would be when re-installing the engine, find a bolt, 2 washers and a nut that you can put in the chain that you bolt to the engine lifting eye on the back of the engine and one of the A/C compressor mount bolts on the front of the engine to put the engine in a slightly "nose up" position to match the plane of the transmission. It is a trial and error deal in where to put the bolt/washers/nut in the chain to form the loop that you place over the hook on the hoist, but you'll get it right. Without the bolt/washers/nut in the chain, the engine is going to balance slightly "nose down" which is exactly the opposite of the slightly "nose up" of the transmission and it is going to be a real struggle getting the engine to mate up to the transmission.

 

As far as an engine stand, that would be useful to tilt the engine 90 degrees so that the head gasket you are replacing is going on vertical and not horizontal. During the procedure of replacing the head gasket, there is a point after initial torquing that you loosen the head bolts to where they are completely loose. If you have the engine 90 degrees to horizontal, the gasket would not be able to move any slight amount as if it were horizontal. But I did everything I needed on the pallet.

  • Author
If it is your first time to remove this type of engine, count on about 8 hours to remove everything that has to be removed before you lift the engine out.

I've done an ea82 a couple times, simplier yes, few hours.

 

By far, the best "tip" I could offer would be when re-installing the engine, find a bolt, 2 washers and a nut that you can put in the chain that you bolt to the engine lifting eye on the back of the engine and one of the A/C compressor mount bolts on the front of the engine to put the engine in a slightly "nose up" position to match the plane of the transmission. It is a trial and error deal in where to put the bolt/washers/nut in the chain to form the loop that you place over the hook on the hoist, but you'll get it right. Without the bolt/washers/nut in the chain, the engine is going to balance slightly "nose down" which is exactly the opposite of the slightly "nose up" of the transmission and it is going to be a real struggle getting the engine to mate up to the transmission.

I've got an engine block tilt thingy for an engine hoist. I'll see if it is worth the money.

 

As far as an engine stand, that would be useful to tilt the engine 90 degrees so that the head gasket you are replacing is going on vertical and not horizontal. During the procedure of replacing the head gasket, there is a point after initial torquing that you loosen the head bolts to where they are completely loose. If you have the engine 90 degrees to horizontal, the gasket would not be able to move any slight amount as if it were horizontal. But I did everything I needed on the pallet.

Don't have an engine stand, but I might get one. I've got a couple ea82 projects coming up.

 

Monte

  • Author

nipper, fastwgn286, thanks. I'll probably end up pulling the engine. Good time (if that's possible) to do timing belt, cam seals, and whatever else needs tlc on the outside of the engine.

 

Monte

don't forget the rear seal.

 

nipper, fastwgn286, thanks. I'll probably end up pulling the engine. Good time (if that's possible) to do timing belt, cam seals, and whatever else needs tlc on the outside of the engine.

 

Monte

  • Author
don't forget the rear seal.

 

Rear crank seal?

 

Thanks,

Monte

Here you go, this is worth mentioning if you are going to replace the rear main crankshaft seal. Also make sure you have a digital camera handy and take lots of pictures. Mark the flywheel/driveplate and then make a matching mark on the end of the crank (before you turn it!) so you can put them back together in the same place for balance sake. A "paint pen" is a good way to mark it....available at the hardware store......the same type yellow marking pen that the junkyard writes all over stuff with.....

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52957

  • Author
Here you go, this is worth mentioning if you are going to replace the rear main crankshaft seal. Also make sure you have a digital camera handy and take lots of pictures. Mark the flywheel/driveplate and then make a matching mark on the end of the crank (before you turn it!) so you can put them back together in the same place for balance sake. A "paint pen" is a good way to mark it....available at the hardware store......the same type yellow marking pen that the junkyard writes all over stuff with.....

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52957

 

Thanks,

Monte

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