New Clutch etc. Has Arrived, Now Time to Pull The Engine!

Hi all,

Thanks again for all the advice. I ordered the parts from Clee, they arrived in record time and he threw in some extra bits. Classy all the way. He mentioned a guide to help me along, so hope to see that soon. In the meantime, do you have any good tips/tricks I will need to follow to make the job go a bit smooother? Maybe some warnings about connectors, look out for this and that? Maybe somebody has an alternate checklist/guide? Looking to get going tomorrow, and fnish up over the next 2 weekends if I need it. Days are short right now.

The starter seems to draw a lot of amps, are these a problem area? Maybe somethign I can look at when I get it out. Hopefully it's just a bad connection or somethign easy like that.

Cheers!

Hi Tom ,yes will get the guide to you .Got 5 cars and three engines to build at the mo
I still think it's easier with the lump out and lining it up can be a bit of a mission ....sometimes they go in ,sometimes they fight .Jersy John's car is an Atmo so nowhere near as much to remove and access is a lot better .
Quick ones to get you started .
Remove the rear glass .Disconnect the bat .Unplug big plug at ECU and associated relays and pull through to engine bay ,very small nuts holding the clamps/rubber seals where the top loom enters the bay ,do not lose them .Remove intake hose to turbo,intercooler hoses,ducts from rear spoiler to engine cover ,silencer and dizzy cap .Remove heatshield LHS on outrigger .
Disconnect main coolant hoses at pipes on turret ,also small feeds to turbo if water cooled and expansion bottle .Remove earth strap ,if fitted ,rocker cover to turret LHS .
That little lot should keep you busy for a while .Any question as you go just shout up on here as I only have my phone access at the unit otherwise I;d never get stuff done .

Whether you are lifting or dropping .......... remove the "D" plate off the lower bell housing before splitting the engine from the gearbox. When removing the bolts that hold the bell housing to the engine that plate does not look that important. but it will trap the flywheel behind it when trying to pull them apart if not removed first.
Because that plate is right under the lump, it is unseen and can be easily missed.

Yes,I haven't got under yet but that plate is a 'catch you out' if you don't know

I figured you were tied up so I was trying to be too much of a pest, sorry and thanks. That will get me going. I will only have 3 hours or so tomorrow so no way to complete it, but that will be a great start. I'll make sure to drop the cover as one of the first things on the list. The engine will be removed completely from the top, no plans to do it in the bay. I went ahead and got an extra hex socket for the flywheel bolts. A nice made in Japan one instead of them Chinese ones that shatter. It was an extra 300 Yen, or about a GBP. More later......

[BIG_MVS]

Good luck, take plenty of pics

Underside .Remove .
At bellhousing ,3 bolts 13mm for starter,4 main bolts 16mm .Top of bellhousing ,2 nuts 16mm for heatshield under turbo protecting slave cylinder .Bottom D plate as mentioned 4 bolts 11mm .
Small water pipe above RHS driveshaft to pipe for heater matrix .

Unplug lower loom connections ,starter and alt cables ,RHS behind wheel arch or on wheelarch depending on year .Unplug connector to rear fuelpump located in RHS wheelarch .Remove cooling ducting to Alt .

Undo engine mount nuts,2 per side, 16mm, carefully as the stud through the lower engine plate can snap .Leave mounts attached to subframe if poss .This is where it can get messy as the mount is attached to the subframe at an angle so getting the lump back in with mounts attached to the engine will be nigh on impossible if both mounts in place .It is poss if just one attached .

Check all round for anyting still attached ,extra earth straps,ziptie fixes etc .

Jack under bellhousing ,Engine hoist attached .Lift carefully ,continue to support bellhousing .Engine mount studs in bottom plate clear mounts ,rock and pull lump to release .Watch out for turbo fouling on rear bulkhead,this is where the space gets tight compared to Atmo .It should come out...just ..watch for crank pully and other protrusions catching on rear screen release cable/rod .

If I've missed anything someone please shout up .Not done it this way for years and only once at that .
Getting it back in ...reverse the procedure but spend time aligning and get the two lumps dead true .Turbo again gets in the way with heatshields etc .

Clutch cover plate bolts should not be too tight and flywheel bolts coat the threadlock and 45Nm .Will double check on poundages ....or should that be Newtonages

[BIG_MVS]

My way is still the best for engine removal.

Only had about an hour today (had to replace the tires on my other car). Got the wiring out and a few other bits. Will tackle the rest on Wednesday. I will have 2 people helping out, here is one of them.

One other small point which goes without saying really, ...... but having loosened off the bolts at the rear engine mounts, with the hoist attached, lift the engine just sufficient to clear the mounts, then get the scissor jack in position under the bellhousing to take the weight of the gearbox BEFORE removing any bolts holding the bellhousing to the engine (apart from the "D" plate). ........ You do not want to put any stress on the gearbox spline.
In this position, once the attachment bolts are removed, a sharp pull, and the engine will come away from the bellhousing.
Now having done this, the gearbox is in the right position to accept the engine back on without having to adjust the scissor jack to line up the spline.
I am sure Lee meant this in his post above ....... it really is a question of first things first .... if you know what mean.

Thanks Lee, John, all,

Great tips. Would hate to damage the input shaft. Never had it happen, don't want to start now. Things going smoothly for the time being. Slow and steady and we will be fine. Anything special about the brake/clutch fluid? DOT 3, 4? Going to flush the clutch hydraulics out while there. Will use my Gunson's EZ Bleed. Great tool. Also, any special tips to bleed the cooling system? Seems like the engine is higher than the rad maybe just keeping it the correct angle? My guess is if we do it smart, no need for a bleed nipple that will probably break anyway. Forecast for Wednesday: sunny and unseasonably warm.

Oh, almost forgot. This car has A/C....that does not work-no gas. Can I pull the compressor off the engine and let it dangle? Even though there is no gas charge, I do not want to let what's left into the atmosphere if at all possible. If the car was drivable, I would take it to a shop and have them discharge the system, but not an option.

Also, any special tips to bleed the cooling system? Seems like the engine is higher than the rad maybe just keeping it the correct angle? My guess is if we do it smart, no need for a bleed nipple that will probably break anyway.

You are on to my favourite subject now
First ... to flush out the rad ... the best way is to remove it to flush, but that depends on how far you want to go. The other way, withour removing it is quite good also. Remove the Rad Switch and detach the two Rad hoses. Get a mains water supply with a hose and a trigger nozzle, and direct the jet through the rad switch opening directing the jet stream downwards and wiggle it around. This will get to any sludge that is lying around the bottom of the rad. Continue till clear water is being ejected from the two rad hose pipes.
With the hoses still detached, raise the back of the Alp up so the under floor water pipes slope towards the front, and flush there pipes from the engine bay .... before reattaching the hoses after engine removal. You can also flush the engine water ways via the hoses in the engine bay.
To assist refilling with coolant and to remove most air pockets, remove thermostat and drill a 2.5mm hole anywhere around the raised section of the stat. .unless the stat already has a jiggle valve fitted.
If you really want to go to town with the engine out, there are two water drain plugs either side of the engine which when removed will drain all the old coolant out of the block .... with these removed you can also flush via the top hoses and, again, continue till water runs clean.
When refilling, once all the hoses, drains, thermostat, and rad switch are put back, keep the rear of the Alp raised to allow the air to travel towards the rear whilst refilling. It is not necessary to loosen the bleed nipple on the stat housing as the air passing through the small hole will travel along the upper hose and pass into the header tank via the small hose going from the upper hose to the header tank.
Refill slowly to allow the air to escape out of the header tank and through the small hole in the thermostat. once you are fairly full, bleed the rad via the bleed hose attached to the top of the rad RHS.
You will not get rid of all the air first time, but with the little hole in the stat, you will be pretty close.
Now .... this is important .... refill only with Renault Coolant Type "D".
Hope this is of help to you.

I hope I can find Type D. Luckily, the radiator is almost new. But I am sure they filled it with off the shelf traditional ethylene glycol (green stuff) from the local parts store. Unless the type D looks/smells the same. Otherwise, sounds like a painless way to bleed the system. Oh, there is nothing in the system now after the huge heater hose blowout and lots and lots of fresh water ran through it to get it home. BTW, what is the total capacity of the system?

BTW, what is the total capacity of the system?

15 litres.