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Post by mini2infiniti on Jul 24, 2008 19:29:44 GMT 1
I've been trying to put the engine back into my mini, the engine hoist did its job well and thought it was going to be a doddle just bolting it all down and connecting it back up. I couldn't be any more wrong! One of the mounts wont line up  I've had to give up for tonight before I completely lost the plot! It just WILL NOT go down any futher. It's only about a cm but just won't budge at all. I thought this was going to be the easiest bit! |
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Post by thereddwarf on Jul 24, 2008 19:49:01 GMT 1
i had byron standing on the engine...it was that tight going in...it did eventually line up with a screwdriver in one of the bolt holes and an extra few stone on it...lol...
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Post by mini2infiniti on Jul 24, 2008 19:52:48 GMT 1
I've tired standing on top of it, I'm only 9.5 stones though. We've tried hitting the mount down with a hammer and a variety of poles and bits of metal. It's hardly anything, but it's not going to budge with just a screwdriver. Its stupidly tight.
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Post by thereddwarf on Jul 24, 2008 20:04:28 GMT 1
got a heavy mate???....it did take us hours to do it and a few carefully thrown tools but it went eventually...
thinking back i`m sure we hit it with a lump hammer on a large thick bit of wood as well, byron will probably remember more
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Post by mini2infiniti on Jul 24, 2008 20:05:15 GMT 1
I've only got the hoist until tomorrow afternoon, but I'll be in work 6-2 and will be dropping it off on the way home. So I've basically got til it gets dark tonight.
My father suggests grinding some of the plate away on the mount but I don't really fancy that idea.
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Post by dai9fxey on Jul 24, 2008 20:11:38 GMT 1
Okay. Been there, done that, sledgehammer, crowbar,all to no avail. If you're anything like me i leave the mounting on the flywheel end till last, because it's more awkward to get your hands in to insert the bolt etc.  Under the radiator is a steel mounting bracket which has 2 long bolts on the bottom which go through an alloy block which fits on the side of the gearbox casing. If you're still with me, slacken those 2 long bolts a bit, place a jack under the gearbox casing (don't forget a piece of wood) and jack the whole gearbox up as far to the right (as you look at the engine bay). It won't need much jacking. It will also help to loosen the nuts on the nearside engine mount where they go through the subframe. In effect what happens is, by raising one side of the engine, it drops the other side, thus helps in getting the mounting holes to line up. If you've got a nail punch and or a round tapered punch stick that through the mounting holes (if you can) and twist that around until you can get a bolt through. Have a look in Hints and Tips re getting the awkward bolts in their holes. |
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Post by mini2infiniti on Jul 24, 2008 20:11:48 GMT 1
Yeah, the holes are in line from above but wont align to put the bolt through.
What do you mean about using the weight of the hoist? At the moment the engine is sitting on a 2ton jack with axel stands under the front subframe as the balljoints are out and no wheels on it.
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Post by mini2infiniti on Jul 24, 2008 20:15:30 GMT 1
Okay. Been there, done that, sledgehammer, crowbar,all to no avail. If you're anything like me i leave the mounting on the flywheel end till last, because it's more awkward to get your hands in to insert the bolt etc. Under the radiator is a steel mounting bracket which has 2 long bolts on the bottom which go through an alloy block which fits on the side of the gearbox casing. If you're still with me, slacken those 2 long bolts a bit, place a jack under the gearbox casing (don't forget a piece of wood) and jack the whole gearbox up as far to the right (as you look at the engine bay). It won't need much jacking. It will also help to loosen the nuts on the nearside engine mount where they go through the subframe. In effect what happens is, by raising one side of the engine, it drops the other side, thus helps in getting the mounting holes to line up. If you've got a nail punch and or a round tapered punch stick that through the mounting holes (if you can) and twist that around until you can get a bolt through. Have a look in Hints and Tips re getting the awkward bolts in their holes. I sort of followed but not entirely  I've tired undoing the 2 long bolts holding the mount to the engine (below the rad) to get a bit of movement on the mount but it didnt help at all. |
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Post by mini2infiniti on Jul 24, 2008 20:17:29 GMT 1
Silly question, have you tried lowering the jack? Yes I have Even dropped it down completely to make sure it wasnt the source of the problem. |
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Post by mini2infiniti on Jul 24, 2008 20:21:45 GMT 1
Under the radiator is a steel mounting bracket which has 2 long bolts on the bottom which go through an alloy block which fits on the side of the gearbox casing. Aren't the gearbox and radiator on opposite sides of the engine? In effect what happens is, by raising one side of the engine, it drops the other side, thus helps in getting the mounting holes to line up. Well this will get oneside in, but then the problem happens on the side that was just in.  |
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Post by dai9fxey on Jul 24, 2008 20:27:47 GMT 1
Another trick i do is to undo the top engine mount and rock the engine as far back or forward as possible on the mounts.
If you can get one mounting hole to line up when the engine is either forward or rearwards,stick a bolt through, then when you rock it the other way it'll be easier to get the other bolt holes to line up. (with the aid of a tapered round punch).
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Post by dai9fxey on Jul 24, 2008 20:34:52 GMT 1
Under the radiator is a steel mounting bracket which has 2 long bolts on the bottom which go through an alloy block which fits on the side of the gearbox casing. Aren't the gearbox and radiator on opposite sides of the engine? In effect what happens is, by raising one side of the engine, it drops the other side, thus helps in getting the mounting holes to line up. Well this will get oneside in, but then the problem happens on the side that was just in. I didn't say take the bolts out, but just undo them a bit. |
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ljonez
turbo
Built not bought
Posts: 3,734
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Post by ljonez on Jul 24, 2008 20:42:31 GMT 1
had this exact same problem last week ( with new mounts as i had them laying around ), i got the fly wheel end in ok but the rad side i ended up smacking it with a large steel tube and sledge hammer. then the engine came back out cos of speedo problems.
when it was back out i compared the mounts with the old ones and they were 3-5 mm wider than the old ones, so i put the old ones back on as there was nowt wrong with them and the engine fell into place loverly.
i've spoke to a few people about it since and apparently its common that the cheap aftermarket mounts are the wrong size and lead to fitting problems.
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Post by mini2infiniti on Jul 24, 2008 20:48:39 GMT 1
the old mounts were nackered so couldnt use them. i bought the new mounts off ebay so were cheap  |
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Post by mini2infiniti on Jul 24, 2008 22:03:35 GMT 1
Time Started : 16:00 Time Ended : 22:00 Duration : 6 hours!!!!! Tools were thrown, words were cursed, tempers were lost..... but victory was of course.... mine in the end!  |
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Post by mini2infiniti on Jul 24, 2008 22:16:35 GMT 1
I hope to god the engine is worth the effort i've put into sorting it out to get in my mini! I will be over the moon if it works and continues to work for a long time, considering I would have put quite a bit of it together myself and I'm a total n00b to the mini world. Jack under one side and hoist on the other side, got the gearbox side lightly bolted in first, then used the 'whack it with a long pole and hammer' technique and a combination of wiggling a screwdriver through the hole to force them to line up and my dad rocking the engine til eventually we had 4 bolts in! I think we just needed a break!!!  |
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Post by dai9fxey on Jul 24, 2008 22:35:33 GMT 1
Nice one.  The next time you do that job it'll be a piece of urine.   |
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