engine support with the crossmember removed

[Ben Fenner]

David, I'll be at the 2013 convention in ATL for sure.

As for the ghetto rod bearing replacement, I've done it 6 times now. 
I've also done it non-ghetto style a few times. I would still do the 
ghetto style if I had to (engine in car) again. If I had the luxury of 
time and an engine hoist and engine stand, I'd probably do it non-ghetto 
outside of the car. Probably...

There's no reason to worry about holding the engine or the cross-member 
up. Remove the cross-member entirely so you'll have room and hang the 
engine and transmission by the two engine mounts designed for that 
purpose (the one by the timing chain sprockets, and the one attached to 
the transmission by the battery tray). The other two engine mounts are 
not structural for holding the mass of the engine and transmission, they 
are simply to counteract the torquing of the engine under acceleration 
and engine braking. No worries about hanging the whole thing from those 
two end mounts for as long as you want.

However, if you've got other things to do, which it sounds like you 
might, you could pull the whole thing out (I like going out the bottom, 
have gone it a dozen times now) and make sure you have an engine hoist 
and engine stand to work with. The water neck hoses are almost 
impossible to replace with the engine or intake installed, so those 
would be good to replace. Go with rubber only, absolutely no silicone 
hoses for stuff that carries water. Do the water pump maybe while it's 
out? I guess you already have a good idea of what you need to tackle. 
Front and rear main seals too if you want.

Cheers!

-Ben Fenner
1994 Black SE-R (turbo)
2000 BMW M-Coupe



On 5/22/2013 12:28 PM, David Pertuz wrote:
> Hello OGs,

> I've assumed that it is really best to support the driveline when the 
> crossmember is out rather than let it hang there on the front and 
> transmission mounts. But is it necessary?

> On a related question, I've thought about pulling the whole 
> engine/trans unit, which would make it a lot kinder to do the bearings 
> (standing up rather than lying on my back) and would also let me do 
> other stuff like reseal the front cover (if needed, but might as well 
> if it's out) and replace any hard-to-get-at rubber that may be 
> over-aged on the back side of the motor
>
> David
> Chicago
>
> P.S. Any of you going to the convention? Greg brought it to my mind 
> yesterday.
>