Need help getting engine out

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Cam2363
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Need help getting engine out

Post by Cam2363 »

Trying to remove the 3100 from my 96, but am struggling. I was hoping I could just remove the engine and leave the trans in the car but that does not seem possible.

The manual says that I unbolt it all, and then basically lift the car and slide it out from under. Is this the best way to do it, or can I lift it out from the top?

Or does anyone have another way of getting it out, or separating the engine and trans, leaving the trans behind

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Rettax3
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Re: Need help getting engine out

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With the auto you have, it isn't too bad to leave the tranny in the car, just be sure to unbolt the flex-plate from the torque-converter and do yourself a favor and remover the starter too -it pokes pretty far into the bellhousing and will want to fight you. If you have a load-leveler to assist with twisting and tilting the engine, that might help too, but overall I usually find it easier to remove the whole engine/tranny assembly as a unit and drop it all out the bottom. If you really want to leave the transaxle in the car, remember that you MUST also unbolt the bracket at the rear of the engine on the passenger's side that holds the end of the tranny in place (I only mention this because it is frequently forgotten about), and it will help a lot to remove the harmonic balancer from the engine too. Sorry to hear it went this direction for you, good luck.


1989 SuperCharged 3800 Srs-II (First)Six-Speed GTU
1990 Turbo 3.4 5-Speed T-Type
1990 4.0L 4-Cam 32-Valve V-8 5-Speed Indy GTi (Project)
1990 Stock(!) 3.1 MPFI Auto Indy
1995 LA1/L82 4T60E Z-26
1995 3.4 DOHC Turbo 5-Speed Z-26
Cam2363
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Re: RE: Re: Need help getting engine out

Post by Cam2363 »

Rettax3 wrote:With the auto you have, it isn't too bad to leave the tranny in the car, just be sure to unbolt the flex-plate from the torque-converter and do yourself a favor and remover the starter too -it pokes pretty far into the bellhousing and will want to fight you. If you have a load-leveler to assist with twisting and tilting the engine, that might help too, but overall I usually find it easier to remove the whole engine/tranny assembly as a unit and drop it all out the bottom. If you really want to leave the transaxle in the car, remember that you MUST also unbolt the bracket at the rear of the engine on the passenger's side that holds the end of the tranny in place (I only mention this because it is frequently forgotten about), and it will help a lot to remove the harmonic balancer from the engine too. Sorry to hear it went this direction for you, good luck.
Thanks. I realized later last night that the bracket was the cause of my issues. I knew about it, but then completely forgot about it lol.

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Rettax3
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Re: RE: Re: Need help getting engine out

Post by Rettax3 »

Cam2363 wrote:
Rettax3 wrote:If you really want to leave the transaxle in the car, remember that you MUST also unbolt the bracket at the rear of the engine on the passenger's side that holds the end of the tranny in place (I only mention this because it is frequently forgotten about).
Thanks. I realized later last night that the bracket was the cause of my issues. I knew about it, but then completely forgot about it lol.
Really common mistake, don't sweat it. What caused you to pull the engine? Did you bend a rod with the fuel hydro-locking #5? Sometimes, with too much fuel dumping in, the cylinder can get 'washed-out', basically the fuel dilutes and 'cleans' the lubricating oil out of the cylinder which eventually causes damage to the rings and/or cylinder walls, resulting in low compression. But, sometimes the cylinder can 'come back' relatively quickly, healing itself by wearing back in once the fuel-dumping gets fixed. Sometimes...


1989 SuperCharged 3800 Srs-II (First)Six-Speed GTU
1990 Turbo 3.4 5-Speed T-Type
1990 4.0L 4-Cam 32-Valve V-8 5-Speed Indy GTi (Project)
1990 Stock(!) 3.1 MPFI Auto Indy
1995 LA1/L82 4T60E Z-26
1995 3.4 DOHC Turbo 5-Speed Z-26
Cam2363
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Posts: 333
Joined: Sun May 20, 2018 5:35 pm

Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: Need help getting engine out

Post by Cam2363 »

Rettax3 wrote:
Cam2363 wrote:
Rettax3 wrote:If you really want to leave the transaxle in the car, remember that you MUST also unbolt the bracket at the rear of the engine on the passenger's side that holds the end of the tranny in place (I only mention this because it is frequently forgotten about).
Thanks. I realized later last night that the bracket was the cause of my issues. I knew about it, but then completely forgot about it lol.
Really common mistake, don't sweat it. What caused you to pull the engine? Did you bend a rod with the fuel hydro-locking #5? Sometimes, with too much fuel dumping in, the cylinder can get 'washed-out', basically the fuel dilutes and 'cleans' the lubricating oil out of the cylinder which eventually causes damage to the rings and/or cylinder walls, resulting in low compression. But, sometimes the cylinder can 'come back' relatively quickly, healing itself by wearing back in once the fuel-dumping gets fixed. Sometimes...
Yeah. Silly me. But I believe so. The engine also seized. Why. Because a sparkplug I lost got stuck between the water pump pulley, causing it to get stuck lol. But I figured at this point, I'm this far into it, I'm doing the 3400 swap. I'm not going to put it all back together just to have it be broken still. So I found a complete 3400 that was tested and was running for 250. That includes the ps pump, coils and everything else but ac and alt. I'm probs gonna use my friends old starter from his 3400 because it's starting to go, so hes gonna replace it. I'm gonna clean it up, and try and use it until I can afford one. They arent much, but I also am gonna put some extra work into the engine to clean it up well.

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Rettax3
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Re: Need help getting engine out

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3400 is a good, easy route to go. Remember the LIMGs... :roll: Same issue with the plastic junk used in the 3100s, easier to do before installing the engine though, and you don't have to drain the coolant out again later... I know there are at least a couple of good how-tos on here for the swap, and 60-degree v-6 has good resources too. I know when I put in my 3400/3.1MPFI turbo hybrid into my '90 'Retta, I encountered the weirdest speed-bumps, like the radiator hose outlet on the timing case was a different size and the P/S pump offset was different so I needed to make spacers, but since you are starting out with an SFI Gen-3 engine and staying with an SFI Gen-3 engine, it should be much simpler to do. I still suggest reading through the swap guides just to make sure you have no surprises though. Good luck, hopefully you can share some pictures of the swap with us. :beer:


1989 SuperCharged 3800 Srs-II (First)Six-Speed GTU
1990 Turbo 3.4 5-Speed T-Type
1990 4.0L 4-Cam 32-Valve V-8 5-Speed Indy GTi (Project)
1990 Stock(!) 3.1 MPFI Auto Indy
1995 LA1/L82 4T60E Z-26
1995 3.4 DOHC Turbo 5-Speed Z-26
Cam2363
Registered User
Posts: 333
Joined: Sun May 20, 2018 5:35 pm

Re: RE: Re: Need help getting engine out

Post by Cam2363 »

Rettax3 wrote:3400 is a good, easy route to go. Remember the LIMGs... :roll: Same issue with the plastic junk used in the 3100s, easier to do before installing the engine though, and you don't have to drain the coolant out again later... I know there are at least a couple of good how-tos on here for the swap, and 60-degree v-6 has good resources too. I know when I put in my 3400/3.1MPFI turbo hybrid into my '90 'Retta, I encountered the weirdest speed-bumps, like the radiator hose outlet on the timing case was a different size and the P/S pump offset was different so I needed to make spacers, but since you are starting out with an SFI Gen-3 engine and staying with an SFI Gen-3 engine, it should be much simpler to do. I still suggest reading through the swap guides just to make sure you have no surprises though. Good luck, hopefully you can share some pictures of the swap with us. [emoji481]
That's the plan. I plan to do all the gaskets while it's out. And I definerly plan to share! I have also read that guide a few times and I'm pretty sure I got a solid understanding of it. Thanks for the help! I want to try and get the engine out tonight

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