Tips on How to Remove Your Engine

There are many things you should remember when taking out an engine. Number one is safety first. So, how do you get your old engine out of your project car? Well, here are some tips that will keep you safe as you are working.

The first thing you should do whenever you are working on a vehicle is get a repair manual for that specific model. A repair manual about your specific model will show you how many bolts and where they are located, along with how to do maintenance and other important repairs.

Your, project most likely has an engine that should be lifted out of it. That means you can attach a professionally made engine hoist and pull the engine out of the car with it. However if you have a light weight engine, or you do not have an engine hoist you can probably drop it out of the far with a floor jack. A floor jack is one with four wheels and a large pumping handle out the back. You do not want to do this with a bottle jack or the kind that comes with your car because the engine could easily fall and crack.

Now take your jack and jack it up to meant with a safe sturdy place on the engine. This might not be possible with some cars because of a flimsy oil pan on the bottom. Refer to the reference manual if you can not tell. You probably need to take off the radiator and other things that are both attached to the engine and the rest of the car. So use the repair manual to help you locate and take off these components. Once you have them all unattached, loosen the nuts that are holding the engine onto the transmission. Remember you will always want a friend around if you crawl under a vehicle. Be careful that the engine does not tilt as you are lowering it. You might need a friend to help steady it on the engine as you slowly take it down. Now that your engine is close to the ground, on the floor jack on its lowest setting, or on a stand, take another floor jack and jack up your car until you can slip the engine out from underneath the bumper.

To put another one back it just reverse the process. This method works the best with air cooled engines such as early Volkswagens that do not have radiators.