Evening folks, I’m at the latter stages of preparing to pull the engine from my R26 after finding low compression on a cylinder. I didn’t manage to find any step-by-step guides (I probably wasn’t searching for the right things!) so have just been unbolting and removing anything that looks like it might get in the way. However, it’d be great to have some pointers for the final stages of prep before I commit to removing engine mounts and finding myself in a world of pain with everything suspended on a crane. So far I’ve: Removed battery, tray and all surrounding engine bay plastic trim Removed suspension and driveshafts Removed front end (bumper, crash bar, intercooler, rad) Removed front subframe and cross member underneath the gearbox Unplugged and pulled loom over to the passenger side Disconnected gear linkage cables I still need to disconnect the clutch line, the various vac lines and the fuel line. Also, the aircon system, but I know it currently has no gas so it may be easier to just separate the compressor and condenser. The exhaust has been unbolted at the turbo to down pipe joint, however, one of the studs is still in situ, so not sure if this will give me some bother. For those who’ve done this job before, where is the best place to unbolt the exhaust, and is there anything else that needs removing? The intake manifold is still on, as I can see any need to remove it unless someone suggests otherwise! Any pointers to the above will be much appreciated, as I’m sure pushing an engine crane up a slightly sloped tarmac drive isn’t going to be much fun on the best of days!
I have one this job a few times now, best time for me was 2hrs 18 minutes from jacking up the car to having the engine on the floor. As for the aircon, as there is no gas then remove the pipes from condenser and the two pipes from the aircon pump. Clutch line you can remove from the gearbox an tie it up to the bonnet hinge. Did you unplug all the wires on the engine ???? all you needed to do was remove the plugs from the fuse box so much easier. Pull the vac pipe out of the servo, everything else can stay on the engine. Leave the exhaust on the turbo ad remove the 3 nuts or nuts and bolts at the bottom of the cat or the decat pipe which ever you have fitted. leave the intake manifold as it is. Take the weight of the engine with the hoist, remove the three bolts holding the drivers side mount, then make sure the hoist has most of the weight of the engine. Gearbox mount is slightly different, undo the nut but leave it on with 3-4 turns then hit the stud with a sharp crack with a hammer, hoist the engine till it moves drivers side, remove the horizontal bolt, remove the mount. remove the gearbox mount nut and lower until the stud is just clear of the mounts underside. then just pull the engine forward, its tight but it will come out. HTH
Ian, that is a big help, thankyou for taking the time to post that up. Your removal time is impressive - I know everything is easier second time round and beyond, but given that these cars aren’t the best designed for accessibility, that is good going! I will keep you posted as to how I get on. I can’t actually pull the engine until one of my other vehicles is back in one piece and out of my garage, as it is currently blocking access to wheel my engine crane into there. One other question - I need to set the engine down on the floor / onto a pallet. What is the best way to support it? I know people use old tyres to rest engines on for transporting them etc (not necessarily Megane engines), but I’m always worried about crushing the sump, or other fragile ancillaries.
The sump is cast aluminium, you will have to drop it to damage it, are you transporting it somewhere ??? if so then a block of wood under the crank pulley and just and ratchet strap it down, if you are sending a bare engine (removing intake, exhaust manifolds, alternator etc etc) then i would lay it on its side and strap it down.
