Date:         Sat, 3 May 2003 19:44:18 -0700
Reply-To:     laurasdog@WEIRDSTUFFWEMAKE.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Steve Delanty <laurasdog@WEIRDSTUFFWEMAKE.COM>
Subject:      WBX removal
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

Well, the wasserboxer is out of the westy.

Thursday morning the '86 drove it's last miles under
WBX power. I brought it home and parked it in the
best location my mud driveway has to offer..
I dosed all the exhaust hardware with penetrating oil
while the parts were still fairly hot, and pulled the oil
plug and allowed the oil and coolant to drain overnight.

Friday morning the engine removal process began.
Removal was (relatively) easy, the exhaust hardware
came off easily enough and the biggest removal hassle
was getting all the #$%^& coolant hoses disconnected.
There's gotta be at least a million of them, and they
were hard and brittle and most didn't want to let go.
I managed to break the coolant distribution thingy
trying to get the heater hose off it. Sigh...  Oh well.
I won't be needing THAT anymore.

Once all the "stuff" was disconnected, there's the
problem of getting the engine safely to the ground.
Thanks to the miracle of the modern floor jack,
a hunk of chain and some scrap lumber it went
real easy. (-:
A wooden "frame" of scrap lumber was made to sit
across the engine compartment opening, and a floor
jack (with front wheels removed) was set across the
wood frame. The jacks rear wheel assembly and the
carefully chosen distance between the 4x4's keeps
the jack from slipping off. The vise grips make sure
the chain can't jump off the jack...
<http://www.weirdstuffwemake.com/automotive/vanagon/WBXremoval/Boxer%20Hoist.jpg>

I started by putting a sturdy pile of blocks under the motor.
The jack was raised up, the chain attached to the engine
and then the engine was lifted just a tad to support it.
The 4 engine/tranny bolts and the rear crossmember
were removed and the engine was swung backwards on
it's chain until it was clear of the tranny input shaft.
The engine was lowered onto the pile of blocks and then
chain was lengthened and the jack raised up again.
I lifted the motor just off the blocks, pulled the blocks out
and put a piece of plywood on the ground. A few lengths
of pipe (3/4" EMT conduit) layed on the plywood for rollers
then a chunk of heavy aluminum plate on top of the
rollers. (a piece of heavy plywood would have been fine
instead of the aluminum plate).
The engine was then lowered down on to the plate, the van
got jacked up in the rear a bit, then I simply rolled the
motor out from under the van and along a plywood
runway to the garage. (Did I mention that my driveway
is dirt/mud? The plywood runway kept the rollers from
sinking in...)  The engine was super easy to move on
the rollers, even up a small incline. Just pick up each
roller as it comes out the back, and put it in front again....
Cool... makes me wanna walk like an egyptian.
<http://www.weirdstuffwemake.com/automotive/vanagon/WBXremoval/WBX%20on%20rollers.jpg>

The entire removal ordeal wasn't too bad really. The coolant
plumbing took a little longer than expected, but the exhaust
came off easier than expected. The wiring was easy enough
to disconnect and once the engine was out, it only took a few
minutes to remove the entire FI wiring harness from the vehicle...
<http://www.weirdstuffwemake.com/automotive/vanagon/WBXremoval/WBXinjectionharness03.jpg>

Now there's just a big greasy hole where the WBX used to
sit. That's gonna take some *big time* cleaning up
before the new motor can go in! The motor didn't leak
much, but a leaky power steering hose has been
doing it's dirty work...

Hey, it's real easy to get at the CV joints with the motor out!
I'll service those and also replace the wheel bearings
before I slip the new engine in.

Hopefully in about 2 weeks I should be back on the road again!

Steve
'86 Westy (undergoing Subaru engine conversion)