Install Engine With Trans, or Engine Then Trans?

[KenFirch]

sfm6s524,  It's hard to tell from just a pic, but yours looks like the darker batch. There might be some overspray on the plate between the block and trans for a comparison?

Not much original paint left on the plate, but it does look pretty close. Here’s a pic in better light (old fan belt). But I may be a bit color blind too. I think my spray can is about 3 years old now.

[pogden]

I’ve done it both ways a few times now, but believe putting the engine and transmission in as unit is easiest. I can imagine that just a small difference in the geometry of one hoist/leveler setup vs. another could make an annoyingly big difference, but here’s what worked well for me:

 

Jack up the rear of the car and set it on jack stands (lowest level, about 12in from the floor to the top of the stand. Make sure you leave enough room in front of the Z for the full length of the engine+transmission hanging from the hoist.

 

Aside: My son and I (mostly my son) devised this approach to minimize the vertical clearance needed (my garage ceiling is 10ft) while leaving room under the car to finagle the transmission crossmember into place. It works perfectly.

 

Put some folded towels over the core support and draped in front of the firewall from the cowl. Lubricate the screw threads on your engine leveler.

 

Raise the engine+trans until the transmission clears the core support, then wheel it over the engine bay, centering it right-left as best you can. Using your leveler start tilting the whole thing back (transmission down) and raising the whole thing up so that the oil pan clears the core support. Between you and your helper, one keeps a hand on the tail of the transmission and steers the whole thing, the other guy manages the hoist (up/down, forward/back, tilt/level). Hoist man should be confident in his ability to lower the hoist at a slow rate and stop its decent - practice before this point can’t hurt.

 

As the oil pan crosses the core support you will probably approach the backward-tilting limit of your hoist. As you lower it into the bay, start tilting it forward (transmission). Continue lowering, pushing, and tilting until the the engine is almost resting on the drivers side mount (it’s higher than the other one). Make sue the fore/aft tilt looks good compared to the engine brackets and mounts.

 

At this point, it may be useful to loosen the engine brackets bit to make threading the bolts into the engine mounts easier. Put the bolts on the driver side first, then lower the engine a bit more so you can get the bolts on the passenger side. Getting all four transmission mount bolts threaded can be one of the most fiddly, annoying, swear-inducing things you can do on a Z (at least, on mine), but you WILL get them. Having your helper push tail piece of the transmission forward/back, in/out, up/down from under the Z can help.

 

Once the front engine mount bolts are finger-tight, the transmission crossmember can be installed.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Captain Obvious]

9 hours ago, sfm6s524 said:

Not much original paint left on the plate, but it does look pretty close. Here’s a pic in better light (old fan belt). But I may be a bit color blind too. I think my spray can is about 3 years old now.

 

 

You're right. That does look pretty close. If you bought that can three years ago, it's probably the older formulation.

I don't know if it was intentional or an oversight, but the newer cans (from that same source) are different than the old cans.

[KenFirch]

9 hours ago, pogden said:

I’ve done it both ways a few times now, but believe putting the engine and transmission in as unit is easiest....

 

Thanks pogden, detailed!  And everyone else.  I should make a time lapse video of install.  Waiting for a couple parts, and maybe get my 16 year old grandson over to help.  But I'll probably keep him away from the hoist lowering valve as engine is dangling over the car.  

[cgsheen1]

I actually had once where the engine slipped right into the transmission without much fuss. It's the 12 other times (slow learner) that finally made me:

A. Always pull the ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION as a unit.

B. ALWAYS reinstall the ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION as a unit.

We exclusively use the "Raise The Rear End method" when we re-install.

Someone told me once to cut the heads off four head blots and round the ends. Screw them into the block. Now the engine has GUIDES to make a perfect re-alignment into the transmission. He SWORE by it. I SWORE while doing it because it didn't help me at all (I'm obviously not as skilled - it seemed like the perfect method)

The one interesting thing about the L-series when installing an engine (where the transmission is still in place) is it's "lean" to the left. If you can't get that lean right (I mean correct - and I'm not talking politics here) it's more difficult to mate them. 

[KenFirch]

28 minutes ago, cgsheen1 said:

Someone told me once to cut the heads off four head blots and round the ends. Screw them into the block. Now the engine has GUIDES to make a perfect re-alignment into the transmission. He SWORE by it. I SWORE while doing it because it didn't help me at all (I'm obviously not as skilled - it seemed like the perfect method)

Yeah, that seems to work okay with trans studs into bell housing, but not so much for bell housing to block.  

Install has gotta be a be a bit easier than my Sunbeam Tiger!  Engine has to be pulled with trans to get to trans or clutch.  Tight fit!  😓.   On Tiger you can go out the top, or drop subframe and drop out the bottom.  Choose the scary way.

[Mike]

This was removal process... highly recommend the angle adjustment option on the lift.

[rcv]

I just did them both together.  This is my first build and I had a hell of a time getting the transmission mated up even out of the car. I think I would have just quit if I’d tried to do it with the engine already in. 
 

Putting them in together was pretty straightforward with my cheap Harbor Freight hoist and load balancer.  I roped my fiancé into helping me guide it in, but probably could have done it myself with only marginally more cursing. 
 

 

Edited October 6, 2020 by rcv

[siteunseen]

I had the same problem, on the garage floor. I thought I had a wrong 5 speed. It was tough.

[rcv]

On 10/6/2020 at 2:58 AM, siteunseen said:

I had the same problem, on the garage floor. I thought I had a wrong 5 speed. It was tough.

I ended up un-mating and re-mating the transmission about 5 times before the engine went in (see my clutch thread for that fun story).  I finally got really good at it. The trick was to get the vertical alignment of the friction disk just perfect. To do that, you have to wiggle it up and down while it’s being held by your alignment tool, and torque down the pressure plate when the disk is in the middle of its range of motion.  Once I got that right, the transmission would slide in very smoothly with no issues. 

[KenFirch]

A bit off topic, but primed the motor today.  Found a 7/16" diameter rod about 18" long, and ground a flat to fit the oil pump.  Ran drill CCW for a minute or two and made sure oil was squirting out of all the cam oiler bar holes.  A little messy having to remove oil pump afterwards, but should be good to go.

[siteunseen]

Why will you remove the pump? I don't think I had to.

I did like you but my Dewalt was on #2 and I had oil everywhere from my oiler cam. This is on low speed setting.