I am removing engine and transmission from a 1978 124 spider following the Haynes manual (UK version) and info I find on the forum. I have the engine compartment and exhaust pipe steps done. Now Haynes says I need to remove the center steering track rod and ball joint nuts and that I need a joint extractor. Do I need to remove both the rod and joints and what type of ball loint extractor is needed?

When attaching the hoist and load leveler, I will use the front lift point but need advice on a suitable rear lift point. I read people use a head bolt. Cam housing and covers are installed, so cylinder head bolts are not accessible. Will lifting on one side cause it to tilt and be a problem?

Thanks cor your help.

I'm a novice, so if you get any conflicting advice follow it. However, when pulling my engine/transmission I disconnected the exhaust down pipe from the header, then wrapped the chain around the back of the header as the back lift point. Two problems I could see with just using the front are that it's not that strong and will probably bend, and I found that I used the load leveler to shift the engine back and forth as I was removing it.

I didn't remove any of the steering linkages and definitely had to fiddle to get everything out past it. It will be a lot easier if you remove the center linkage.

Thanks, sounds like it can be done without removing the sterring linkage. Did you have help. Im pretty much doing this solo.

I took a closer look at the top of the engine and noticed that the head bolts are visible right next to the spark plugs. I may be able to use the back 2 head bolts.

I will try the bolts but a sling around the engine was mentioned in Haynes too. Did the chain wrap over the starter, and will that cause any damage?

Here's a picture of the engine, so you can see where I attached the chains.



I had someone to help me. That's not absolutely necessary, but does help a lot. We were able to watch under the car as we lifted the engine and one person could jockey the engine around while the other manipulated the leveler and raised the boom.

Almost all the time I have to disconnect the steering center link. You can rent a 'pickle fork' from an auto parts store. You only have to remove one side.
To lift the engine you can use the exhaust manifold as mentioned, or the distributor holddown bolt. I use that all the time, however I usually pull only the engine.

Before I saw your responses last night I hooked up to the head bolt using an "L" angle bracket. The head bolt could only screw in about 4 turns. I believe that is minimum number for satisfactory holding power ... I HOPE!!! The chain is bolted to the front load eye.

Let me know if you see any problems with this. I will be pulling later today or tomorrow.



I will try to remove with sterring link first and if its too difficult then remove one side.

If i did not plan to take the engine apart, i would probably not want to remove head bolt, so these other locations look like a good option.

Thanks,

Picture didnt show up ... First timer, Trying again

I put the leveler to the rear of car and the front chain is shorter. My thinking is this will help when I have to tilt the engine down. Do I have my thinking right?

That should help. When I did it I made everything even and you can see in the picture it's cranked all the way to the end to get the engine tilted.

Surfbeamer wrote:I put the leveler to the rear of car and the front chain is shorter. My thinking is this will help when I have to tilt the engine down. Do I have my thinking right?

You will likely have to adjust it during the engine pull.

Wow, engine is out but that was a struggle. I was able to do it with the steering link in place.

My first stuggle was getting the last bolt out of the tranny cross member. I had to raise engine a few inches and drop tranny down, then hand crank engine to move donut bolts out of the way.

I was having a hard time pulling the engine then I noticed there was another heater hose coming from the heater box to the engine. Haha. Now the hose is cut in half.

But what really got me was the "unmentioned wires" exiting the floor near the shift lever and connecting to the main tranny (gear box) housing. I destroyed one connector and popped a couple before realizing they were there. I dont think they are visible with tranny in place. What are these? I reread the manual and several posts and still dont see any mention of these wires.

Its the little things that take time. Like removing the shift lever. It sounds so easy, finally found a post on using pins and screw drivers to compress the snap in fitting.

I also would like to identify the sensor like item near the donut drive coupling. Its about 1.5 diameter and 3 inch long pot with several wires exiting the end. What is it?