Jalpa engine rebuild

Jalpa_Aus · #1 (**permalink**) 12-29-2007, 08:43 AM

I have decided it is time to rebuild the engine in my 1984 Jalpa. I have low compression in the front bank of cylinders down as low as 75 psi in one of the cylinders. The engine still runs Ok and reasonable smooth and no other engine noises. The dash on says the car has done 23500kms so it shouldn't be worn at all, the car was converted from LHD to RHD at some point so not sure if it is the orginal dash or not, all indications so far point to those kms being correct. It still has the original pirelli tires on the front and they still look like they have 90% tread (The are aged and perishing so they will be replaced). The water pump has also started leaking and they will need overhauling, so have decided to do the whole lot. Ross's engine rebuild has inspired me

I am not a mechanic but like to do things myself and have had a reasonable amount of experince working on engines over the years, bought the following things to get me started.
The first picture is the engine crane I will use to lift the car. Thanks to Laust for giving me this link showing how he used the same crane to lift the engine out and where to attach the ropes http://www.400gt.com/vlg/jalpa3/P8070347.JPG
The second picture is the engine stand I have seen a few similar to this one on the site so hopefully it will do the job.
The third picture is the walnut shell grit used for sandblasting aluminum.
I started the following thread the other day for removing the front spoiler so as not to damage it when you pull the engine out.
Jalpa front spoiler removal

Jalpa_Aus · #2 (**permalink**) 12-29-2007, 09:38 AM

There are a lot of things to do to get ready to lift the car and drop the engine gearbox out the bottom. The usual stuff of draining all the fluids, but because the rear wheels and gearbox are coming off also you need to also remove the handbrake cable cables and disconnect the hydraulic break lines, the tricky one to do was remove the gear selector shaft. It actually runs through the middle of the engine chassis. It needs to move forward about 20inchs to allow the engine to be removed, I just pulled it right out to get it out of the way.
The first picture shows the gear shift shaft at the gearbox end. The bolt needs to be removed and then the shaft needs to be pushed upwards, if you do what looks reasonable and bring it down you will NOT be able to get the shaft out, took me a couple of hours of trying to work that one out :-(
If you look at picture 2 you can see the gear shifter end of the shaft. You need to remove the tray that protects the channel under the middle of the car.
In the third picture you need to remove the bolt indicated by the yellow arrow, the bolt needs to be fully removed so the shaft can slide off the end. Once that has been done move the shaft backwards (You need to make sure the other end of the shaft is above the connection indicated in picture 1 so that you can get the correct angle to get the shaft out. I also need to use a screw driver at the point indicated by the red arrow to lever the steel tube out to bet the shaft under pop out over tope of that steel pipe to remove the shaft.

Jalpa_Aus · #3 (**permalink**) 01-25-2008, 06:49 AM

I got the engine out a couple of weeks back but haven't had a chance to post any details. When using the engine crane to lift the back of the car instead of a hoist it brings in a few new issues. I had to remove the shock absorbers & spring assembly. When I tried to lift the rear of the car, the dipstick tube was pressing on the rear fire wall as in the first picture, I had to remove the dip stick tube as in picture 2 and also there is a strip under the rear rocker cover that also had to come off. Once that was off I was able to lift the car up and have the engine stay on the ground. You need to be very precise when initially separating the engine chasis from the car, it needs to drop down about 8 cm then remove the rubber chasis mounts so that you can then get the front chasis mounts to come away from the mounting point in a reward direction, needed a few levers but the main thing that helped was removing the rubber mounts to give the clearance.
Next will be to separate the engine gearbox and engine chasis.
The last picture shows the engine crane in use to lift the car, you need to have the crane at maximum extension so that the legs dont get in the way of the engine, I also had to remove the carbies to get the engine to slide out the side.

EarlyCat · #4 (**permalink**) 01-29-2008, 03:18 PM

How much time did it take to pull the engine? Keep posting, this has to be really helpful to someone doing the same.

Jalpa_Aus · #5 (**permalink**) 01-30-2008, 05:03 AM

EarlyCat, took me about 2 days to get the engine out, I had many things taking my time and it did end up taking two of us to lever and jack the car to get the engine out. Will obviously be much easier the next time once you had done it once :-). Spent a lot of time labeling things and taking digital photos as a record of where every thing goes. I suspect it won't be till the end of the year before the engine is ready to go back in again. Will try and keep the pictures up.

raymond · #6 (**permalink**) 01-30-2008, 05:48 AM

with a regular 2 pillar car lift it needs 2,5 hours

**Ross** · #7 (**permalink**) 01-30-2008, 09:24 AM

Looks good Jalpa_Aus!

Jalpa_Aus · #8 (**permalink**) 02-04-2008, 04:45 AM

People, I am having problems removing the drive shafts from the gearbox. As can be seen from the picture I have removed all the allen key bolts last one indicated by the yellow arrow. I was expecting that the joint would seperate at the joint indicated by the green arrow but I have had no luck. I don't want to force things, so if anyone could advise if I am in the correct ball park or not.

Thanks

Mike

Laust · #9 (**permalink**) 02-04-2008, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jalpa_Aus

People, I am having problems removing the drive shafts from the gearbox. As can be seen from the picture I have removed all the allen key bolts last one indicated by the yellow arrow. I was expecting that the joint would seperate at the joint indicated by the green arrow but I have had no luck. I don't want to force things, so if anyone could advise if I am in the correct ball park or not.

Thanks

Mike

With the 4 bolts out it is being held loosely together with two spiral dowel pins and a gasket that may have been dressed for better sealing and therefore acts as a weak glue.
With the bolts out just lightly tap on the side of the CV joint with a hammer while slowly turning the wheel/shaft/joint (to get even separation). Lightly tapping in a wedge (screwdriver) at the green arrow, should also do the job.

Jalpa_Aus · #10 (**permalink**) 02-05-2008, 05:25 AM

Laust, I had tapped that area a number of times with out any movement at all I had also tried to get a screw driver into that same point with no luck. Ross has sent me a picture which shows exactly what you are describing, I have included it here so people can see the dowel you are talking about, it also confirmed (As did your description that the joint split where the green arrow in the previous image showed. I have been back out to the car and given it a bit more of a tap and it came away :-).
Thanks for the info
Mike

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