About to pull 3.4dohc motor...Update

[Jon89le]

Is there anything i should know or look out for? Its out of a '94 Z34. Cars oil pan is leaking and rather than have a garage charge us, i figured we'd pull the motor for cheaper and replace other gaskets as well as do the plugs. Im not new to pulling motors and trannys but just figured id ask anyways . Thanks

[jeffz34]

You will prolly need to remove the master cylinder to make room for the pull. That is if you keep the motor and tranny bolted together. If not you can prolly get just the motor out without messing with the brakes. If you leave the tranny in there you dont need to mess with the axels or anything either. just getting to all the bellhousing bolts can be a pain. One way or another its a pita.

 

Jeff

[joey b]

pulling the oil filter will give you some much needed room. The fans are gonna have to come out. Don't forget to unplug the VSS if you are not pulling the tranny as well. I'm not sure if you have to unplug the CPS or if it is harnessed to the engine, but they are both yellow and purple so make sure to label those. I would leave the Air compressor in, just unbolt it first. PITA but will save you from having to recharge. I don't know if you have regular access to a garage, but if the alt is aged at all I would suggest changing that while it is out unless you are confident with that repair with it in the car. I'd also replace the knock sensor that is on the back of the engine cause with it in the car it is about the biggest PITA to get to.

[patgizz]

only takes ~3 hours to drop the cradle and do the pan gasket. its a hell of alot easier than picking it out the top, the ABS is gonna be in the way big time.

[Jon89le]

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only takes ~3 hours to drop the cradle and do the pan gasket. its a hell of alot easier than picking it out the top, the ABS is gonna be in the way big time.

 

How am i going to drop the cradle and hold the motor up? Where would i get one of those Engine braces at? And by ABS, do you mean the booster

[joey b]

if you pull the engine but not the tranny (up) you will HAVE to pull the passenger driveaxle because that damn mount goes around the transmission (to help hold it up I'm sure).

[gp90se]

  \ said:

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only takes ~3 hours to drop the cradle and do the pan gasket. its a hell of alot easier than picking it out the top, the ABS is gonna be in the way big time.

 

How am i going to drop the cradle and hold the motor up? Where would i get one of those Engine braces at? And by ABS, do you mean the booster

 

put the engine hoist over the engine, tighten the chain up so its got tention on motor, take out the engine/tranny/cradle bolts. I believe its that simple.

 

-Jeff

[Jon89le]

Hmm. Alright, i didnt think of it that way. If i do drop it from the bottom, what else needs to be unbolted to allow the cradle to drop?

[skalor]

I would drop the subframe like suggested above as it's the easiest way. You also will have to deal with the steering rack. I usually unbolt the rack and unhook the power steering lines from the subframe too. Then support the rack and let the lines hang. I've done this a couple times in the past when changing GM FWD trannies.

 

Also, anytime you drop the subframe it's a very good idea to get the car aligned afterwards as it can get screwed-up.

[Jon89le]

Ok. Im assuming the C-arms will need to be unbolted and removed?

[skalor]

Yeah, I always drop the lower control arms with the subframe. I usually just undo the lower balljoint. I don't use a balljoint fork as they usually ruin the dust boot if it's not ripped already. Just pound on the side of the lower control arm with a sledgehammer near the balljoint with the wheel turned so you can hit it easy.

[Jon89le]

Wait, you confused me there. So you undo the balljoint but dont seperate it? Hows that work? And is that all there is too it, the control arms and four cradle bolts? The rack and pinion ill hold up.

[skalor]

No, you separate the balljoint. I'm just stating that I don't use a balljoint fork as they tend to rip the dust boot. I take a sledgehammer and hit the lower control arm on the side where the ball joint goes through. Hitting the lower control with a hammer pops the balljoint out of the lower control arm.

 

-4 subframe bolts

-4 engine mount bolts(on a 3.1, maybe more on a 3.4)

-2 balljoints(hold on the lower control arm)

-2 steering rack bolts

-2-3 bolts(hold the power steering cooler lines on)

 

That should be all you need to unbolt. If you don't know what I mean about the power steering cooler lines, then you'll see what I'm talking about when you drop the subframe. It's no big deal, and they're just a couple 10mm bolts that hold the line to the subframe.

[patgizz]

the one time i did mine i just undid the steering column joint, power steering lines, motor mounts, and let the cradle hang off the lower ball joints(jackstands under car at the formed "frame rails" under the floor where the rear of the cradle bolts, and engine supported by the engine hoist)

 

second time i completely removed it, which involved removing the 2 rack bolts instead of the steering joint, and separating the ball joints. its easier to remove it completely so you have full access

 

while its out cut off the unused 3.1 mount in the front right corner of the cradle so you can remove the pan without dropping the cradle in the future

[Jon89le]

Tonight im going to go under and check all the things out you guys mentioned. The part about cutting the 3.1 mount seems like a nice idea so i will definitely be looking out for that. My father seems to still want to pull the motor just to do all the other repairs that much easier, mainly the plugs and alternator. Im getting older and its getting harder to convince parents when im the main car guy here . So it looks like im going to be looking into removing that ABS unit...

[topless94style]

Can you cut off the unused 3.1 mount with the engine and everything still in the car?

[patgizz]

true you can do that, just hard to get a blade in there and not chop anything important up.

 

with the cradle off the alternator would be a snap as well.

[soccrplayrgtp]

Jon there has been a recent post on clubgp about that.. was that you as well? anyways.... drop the craddle if you have the tools. I can drop one in just over an hour. very easy. IM me if youd like to know more

[Intimidatorz34]

well if youre going to pull the motor, might as well regasket, retime it, and change o ring

[Jon89le]

Alright. I ended up doing all of the work while the motor was in the car. Everything from the top end is off, Heads, Carrier, etc. A couple of things though. The Spark plug tips on both heads are white as well as the exhaust valves. I think they are the exhaust valves since they are the smaller two of the four. Can someone tell me what this means? Is it that the motors running too lean? If it is one of those hopefully the issue will be resolved now. My dad just purchased new plugs, wires, gaskets, and O2. Thanks for any help.