Cuong Nguyen Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Trying to figure out how to make my engine install faster. Old engine is out, and new engine is ready to put in. Should I leave the headers on or off? What about the upper/lower intake assembly? Engine mounts attached to the motor or to the frame? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewebster Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Put all that stuff on the engine and just drop it in. I think all you need to worry about is getting the oil pan past the cross member and not smashing your rad if that is still in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Nguyen Posted September 2, 2011 Author Share Posted September 2, 2011 Well I was going to have everything installed but then I realized that I will have a hard time trying to hook up the knock sensor wire. I'm also replacing the OEM style hose clamps with regular hose clamps that you screw to tighten so that removal/install of the bypass hose to the thermostat is easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewebster Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I don't recall having any trouble hooking up my knock sensor... I think I just connected it before installing the lower intake manifold. Which harness does it connect to anyway? Or maybe I just plugged it in from the back once I had the injector harness on there if that's where it goes... Unless I forgot to connect it But in that case I'd expect an ecu error code. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejin4499 Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 (edited) Well I was going to have everything installed but then I realized that I will have a hard time trying to hook up the knock sensor wire. I'm also replacing the OEM style hose clamps with regular hose clamps that you screw to tighten so that removal/install of the bypass hose to the thermostat is easier. I had my wiring harness all hooked up before I put the engine back in the truck. everything that goes to the top of the engine goes back to a the connector that sits on top of the passenger side valve cover. I also bypassed the metal coolant lines on the bottom of the upper air intake. So removing the upper intake is a lot easier. don't have to mess with clamps that are behind the engine. Edited September 3, 2011 by ejin4499 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Nguyen Posted September 3, 2011 Author Share Posted September 3, 2011 Actually, all my harnesses are all still attached in the engine bay. I never thought about disconnecting them and hooking them up to the motor. How did you go about bypassing those hoses? I was just thinking about extending the lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejin4499 Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Actually, all my harnesses are all still attached in the engine bay. I never thought about disconnecting them and hooking them up to the motor. How did you go about bypassing those hoses? I was just thinking about extending the lines. originaly thats all I wanted to do to but the hose kept kinking. eventualy I got pissed and looked for another place to hook those lines up followed them to find somewhere else to hook em up. I found a spot on the throttle body and the other just on the back of the upper intake manifold. Now I can disconnect my vacuum lines and lift the upper manifold off to the side without messing with my coolant level. Make it a little more work to burp the air out, but the lines are so small its not that big of a deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Nguyen Posted September 10, 2011 Author Share Posted September 10, 2011 Man, I can't get the dang motor to line up with the transmission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehuntersam Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 If your putting the VG30 motor back in it might be easier to disconnect 1 header or so, I think I ripped off both.. a lot easier to with the BL. Once you get the tranny and engine to cooperate, it's all down hill, motor mounts, exhaust, and the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Nguyen Posted September 11, 2011 Author Share Posted September 11, 2011 (edited) If your putting the VG30 motor back in it might be easier to disconnect 1 header or so, I think I ripped off both.. a lot easier to with the BL. Once you get the tranny and engine to cooperate, it's all down hill, motor mounts, exhaust, and the rest. I think I figure out what I can do. My motor mounts are attached to the motor so I can't really lower the motor any lower. So what I can do is pivot them so I can lower the engine lower so it will line up. That way i won't have to have so much of an angle between the motor and bellhousing. Edited September 11, 2011 by Cuong Nguyen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Nguyen Posted December 27, 2011 Author Share Posted December 27, 2011 I ended up towing the pathfinder home to my mother's to work on. My brother and I could not get the engine to line up with the transmission. What a pain. So tomorrow we are going to pull the engine and transmission out and install the two outside the truck and reinstall it as one piece. Hopefully no snags... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nefarious Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 (edited) dude that is so much more work.... it really should not be that bad to line up the motor and transmission... just put a jack under the little hump on the bottom front of the transmission to straighten it out and level it with the engine. then put your motor in the engine bay and make sure it is sitting LEVEL. do this with the headers off makes it much easier!!!! i found it was easiest to drop the motor down with the engine mounts fully attached to the MOTOR. then let it rest on the motor mount pads on the frame. then u can just slightly take some weight off the motor and make sure it's really level again. and just shove it backwards. i just used my arms and a jack for that....then... get a pry bar!! all u need to do is line up one side with the plug and hole to line up. then u just go to the other side and jack up whatever u need to to get it to line up. you must be able to do it man. i did the whole job by myself!!! just take a bit of patience. im telling you it is a lot easier then putting engine and transmission in together... transmission is awkward and very heavy and large, and the engine and transmission together is VERY long... u have a lot more work ahead of yourself going that route.... Edited December 27, 2011 by Nefarious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Nguyen Posted December 27, 2011 Author Share Posted December 27, 2011 For the life of me I cannot get the torque converter to fit into the pilot hole on the flywheel/crankshaft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1994SEV6 Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 For the life of me I cannot get the torque converter to fit into the pilot hole on the flywheel/crankshaft. whaat? It would seem like the torque converter would be the least of your worries. I think there are only two ways to put it on since it's notched. I know it's heavy but just muscle it in there. Not really a big deal. It might be easier to put a bolt though and do like two threads just to get it to hang on. Definitely value Nefarious' words. He knows what he's talking about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRich Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 For the life of me I cannot get the torque converter to fit into the pilot hole on the flywheel/crankshaft. Are you sure your crankshaft doesn't have a pilot bearing in there for a standard transmission? Just a thought. Maybe try pulling your torque convertor and stab just that into the flywheel to make sure it fits flush. Then you will know if it's an alignment problem. Have a pan under the trans if you haven't pulled the convertor yet, oil will run out. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 I ended up towing the pathfinder home to my mother's to work on. My brother and I could not get the engine to line up with the transmission. What a pain. So tomorrow we are going to pull the engine and transmission out and install the two outside the truck and reinstall it as one piece. Hopefully no snags... Tranny jack. Back the tranny up, get the motor in place and bolted down, then slide the tranny forward to attach it to the motor using a tranny jack. That is if the lower doesn't apply... Are you sure your crankshaft doesn't have a pilot bearing in there for a standard transmission? This was my first thought... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Nguyen Posted December 27, 2011 Author Share Posted December 27, 2011 For some reason the tc was not far back enough soviet pushed againsted the flex plate bending it. Pulled the tc out and the input shaft came out with it. Trying to free it up now which is a pain in the ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Nguyen Posted December 27, 2011 Author Share Posted December 27, 2011 No pilot bearing. Just the adapter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewebster Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 The bushing is actually inside the hole in the end of the crankshaft, if present. It is just a thin brass bushing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Nguyen Posted December 27, 2011 Author Share Posted December 27, 2011 Yeah no bushing. The input shaft is giving me problems. It's so weird since I have never had this problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Well, at least you found the problem even if you haven't solved it yet. Work like that can be trouble if you don't have the right tools/shop equipment... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Nguyen Posted December 28, 2011 Author Share Posted December 28, 2011 makes me wish I still kept my old 2wd transmission around... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1994SEV6 Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 So it sounds like you're trying to lower the engine into place, then line it up with and connect the transmission, THEN bolt the engine down? I read your posts a few times over, and it seems to me that you might be trying to adjust and maneuver too many things at once without having anything bolted down for a fixed position. Is that input shaft supposed to just come out like that? When I had my trans out, I never tried to mess with the input shaft, but it would seem that it wouldn't just come out as easily as that. Did you actually bend and ruin the input shaft, or is it just lodged in the TC in a weird way? When you have a snag, do you have to completely remove the engine again? Like when you took out that input shaft, you had to re-hoist the engine up and investigate? Based on how I removed my transmission, consider these options If you have the clearance, I think you should bolt the flywheel/flexplate whatever to the engine prior to installation. Then bolt the TC to the flywheel. I think this will make lining up the transmission much easier. Also, bolting up a TC while the engine is in would be murder. So then you are 100% certain that the TC fits properly. And it spins properly and all of that. That's when you slid the transmission into place. Just put the transmission on a jack and slide it forward. Since you can't really get in there and see the input shaft going into the TC, you want to match up the bell housing to the engine block. Match the top of the trans to where it's supposed to go. Match the bottom to the bottom. Get in the cab and use the t-case shift to maneuver the transmission left or right if it is slightly off course. Oh yeah, it sounds like you previously had a problem with getting the shafts lined up notch for notch. The notches on the shafts have to line up. They only do that 2 or 4 times per revolution, for example. If they don't line up, don't force it. Just get someone to put a 1-1/16 (?) socket on the crank pulley and turn the engine over until it slides in. I know this is long, but it sounds like you need all the help you can get. You asked how you could most quickly install an engine, but ironically, it's taken you 3 months. I can tell you have some significant level of mechanical knowledge, but there must be something that's slapping you in the face that you just can't see. Honestly, it seems to me that you're trying to do this the craziest way possible. I know I only removed an auto trans, and put a M/T, so I don't know how to install an A/T, but the transmission should be by itself. You still have like 5 or 6 inches of clearance with the trans, and you just pop it into place. What I recommended that you do is exactly how I removed my trans in reverse. Because I was so stubborn and didn't want to remove the torsion bars, I actually removed and re-installed my trans like 3 times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Nguyen Posted December 28, 2011 Author Share Posted December 28, 2011 The point of this thread was to see if I should have the engine fully assembled +/- a few things to quicken up the install process because I am doing this job alone. I live in an apartment complex which does not allow one to work on their vehicles in the open parking lot area. I have never had any problems removing engines and transmissions and reinstalling them in the past until now which I stated earlier that the input shaft is stuck in the TC and the shaft is not seating all the way in the transmission for some reason beyond my knowledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1994SEV6 Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 The point of this thread was to see if I should have the engine fully assembled +/- a few things to quicken up the install process because I am doing this job alone. I live in an apartment complex which does not allow one to work on their vehicles in the open parking lot area. I have never had any problems removing engines and transmissions and reinstalling them in the past until now which I stated earlier that the input shaft is stuck in the TC and the shaft is not seating all the way in the transmission for some reason beyond my knowledge. I completely understand what situation you are in with the apartment complex. I live in one too and I can't do anything to my truck except change a tire. I know what you said, and I was trying to give you methods that might help you get around your unknown snag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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