Chronicles of Elite6's Motor Swap - It lives 8/31

First thing to mention - this might take a while and already has! Been 2 weeks & the motor is still not out given my schedule... this weekend could be big progress though!

Started out with a ticking noise when I picked up my newest GTP a 99 Coupe. The iterations began:

Figured LIM gaskets (gummed up lifters) - did whole job, fired up still ticking
Figured Lifters - did whole job, fired up still ticking
Figured Injectors - replaced 2 that seemed to be noisy?? Still ticking
Got a 2nd opinion from a mechanic & he thought internal damage.

I have nearly zero free time in my life, demanding job, school & 4 kids

Based on me being super cheap with cars I decided to tackle the swap myself. I have never swapped a motor, most I have done is the LIM gaskets & replacing a head on a Honduh.

Plans:

Old motor out
Swap top end parts to new motor
New motor in

Pics to come...

Specimen

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Me helpers & not so organized setup











Blocking it up





Hood Off



The new heart





Little peek & parts coming off

Oh i guess you were able to find a donor motor.. Sub'n to see progress!

Yeah found a motor off a somewhat local guy. Wish it was complete but for the price I couldn't complain.

Wiring harness is off to the side
DP bolts were a pleasure (thanks WD40)
AC off
PS tied up
MM disconnected
***** bolt was easy to get to with the 3 ft extension i got but damn was it tight! My air gun is a beast and it took a bit to crack loose!

Only things remaining are the inspection cover, TC bolts and trans to motor bolts
Aside from my lack of time this really isn't difficult so far

Good times.. where you at again?

Originally Posted by Mad Monkey

Good times.. where you at again?

Cambridge

Secret to your first engine pull, sprinkle yourself with this


Managed to snag a suspension mod, don't think it will do too much (not like a swaybar) but it was cheap


Low cost KR Killer... should be interesting

looking good! im in the middle of an engine build not gonna lie im a little jealous of your shinny new engine stand

Looks good, but you aren't following the Boost guide to the letter...lol I can tell by some of the parts you took pics of. Oil level sensor didn't have to come out, it's all good though.

Take the tools I suggest with you and aim for the areas I suggest in order.

Like I say take 8mm, 10mm, 13mm, 15mm, large screwdriver, 18mm under the front. This is fresh, because I did it last night.
You do the inspection cover, starter, tc to flex bolts, wiring for knock sensor, oil level sensor wiring and two rear AC bolts at the same time. Then to the side.. pop your ps pump up and get the diff to engine bracket, rear knock sensor pigtail unhooked and backwards bolt.

I did everything last night in about an hour to get the motor out in about an hour or two except the diff to engine bracket. (Owner showed up and we swapped axles)

Originally Posted by BillBoost37

Looks good, but you aren't following the Boost guide to the letter...lol I can tell by some of the parts you took pics of. Oil level sensor didn't have to come out, it's all good though.

There is a difference between a parts name & my interpretation of that parts name I thought is was the pressure sensor so I removed it all, only to actually find the actual pressure sensor later

Inspection cover & TC bolts tonight. Might even pull the bish if I am feeling like a champ tonight.

Wanna hang like BillBoost? If I have an hour tonight (which I won't) I could zip off that diff bracket, ps pump, ac and reverse bolt. Then the motor would lift up and out. Could even drop the newbie into the bay. Like you I have headers to add etc. Gotta remember to bash in the tunnel.

Originally Posted by BillBoost37

Gotta remember to bash in the tunnel.

Yeah I was thinking about that, so am I better of bashing tunnel (don't actually know where to bash) or leaving the plug in and getting an O2 welded into the cross over?
Plus when putting the new motor in should I install the front & rear header plus the cross over? Or can I also attach more exhaust parts & still have everything fit?

You could look at the pics in my photobucket as to where to "adjust" the firewall/tunnel.

I lay the rear header piece in the tunnel/on the back of the trans and bring the motor into place. Then as I'm bringing the motor down and it's still pulled forward, I get a couple bolts started on the rear header to make it easier.

I wouldn't take off the hood btw, it's more work to line it back up. But if it makes you more comfortable.
And .. I have taken the backwards bolt out w/o taking off the tire. Darn Swiggles forgot his lug lock key and ... that didn't stop us. I got ingenious and realized you can take the bolt and the diff to engine bracket w/o taking the tire off.

Such fun, nice sanctuary too. I need to fix mine up more like that, I could do so much damage with a good sturdy work bench haha.

Sub'd for progress!!!

just removed starter & I see a connector (looks like it goes to a frost plug I think) - didn't see it in the instructions. It has a "T" on it, it pink/red - how do I remove this?

Edit - figured it out pryed it off from top of vehicle through the exhaust manifolds on the front

Motor on its way




Motor out


Realized I had trans support in the wrong place - re-positioned where the passenger axle meets up with trans


Randoms





Next process is clean up block a bit & maybe some paint

One thing I would note on removing a motor - remove oil filter adapter neck (makes a huge difference with clearance)
Gotta go back to hardware store now for some more motor stand bolts

You may think that..but overall it's easier for me to leave it on and just keep an eye on things. Because it's not that much further out than the harmonic balancer.

Nice job on getting that out.

Originally Posted by BillBoost37

You may think that..but overall it's easier for me to leave it on and just keep an eye on things. Because it's not that much further out than the harmonic balancer.

Nice job on getting that out.

Thanks, we kept getting hung up on the adapter/oil filter which was causing the motor to twist and get caught up with the trans. Once I removed that it was cake coming out. Now that I think of it, removing the oil filter might have been all I needed? Do one of the oil filter adapter bolts go into the water jackets? ie. I need to seal the threads?

K guys, best way to clean up block? Degreaser, wipe then wire wheel on a drill? Would like to paint it.
I am thinking of matching the block color with a caliper color. I want the block a lighter color so identifying any leaks in the future is easy.

1) Gold
2) Copper
3) Bright Blue
4) Orange

You need sealant on all the bolts for that. And make damn sure the spring/cap are installed properly and move freely, as well as a clean gasket surface. That is one of those things...you can't mess up or you'll have a major oil leak/problem and trying to put that on in the car is a major pain in the butt.

I leave the filter on so that the adapter can't get hurt on the sealing edge etc. If you had trouble..likely your trans was low on the passenger side.