this is my 1st time to ever do this, i am trying to put the cradle back in and am having some trouble lining the bolt holes on the cradle up with the ones on the frame. i am currently do the lift car, push cradle front/back, drop car and check, repeat method.
anybody have any suggestions to help a noob out?
anything would be great!

 

Is the engine on or off the k-frame?

 

engine is on, so is the tranny

 

There are plenty of members here that have done it this way and I'm sure they'll chime in eventually. I'm not one of them. I had to put the k-frame in 1st, then the engine.

 

man, i sure hope so

 

Use a big punch or equivalent to pull the k-member into alignment. Also, your k-member should have alignment pins that fit the factory locations. On my UMI, one of them was about 1/4" off and had to be bent slightly to get everything to line up.

It's not difficult once you figure out what method works best for you.

 

Use a couple of plumb bobs to locate the cradle straight down under the body--adjust the location to where it needs to be

 

I just put my motor in my car this past weekend. I needed the following to do it.

3 mechanically inclined people
3 floor jacks
1 1'x1' dolly to support the transmission tailshaft
1 2"x4" about 1 foot long
All the bolts and nuts to secure the k-member(6), both struts(8), trans x member(4+1).
Appropriate sockets and tools to do the securing.

1) Prop up the front end of the vehicle by using two of the jacks to raise the midsection of the vehicle. A good jacking point that worked for us was right on the framerail just below the center point of the driver door.

2) We used a completed front end when we installed but you will just have to modify your procedure according to what you have installed already. Place the 2x4 on the flat of the kmember and then use a jack to support the 2x4. We used the 2x4 for stability and so we didnt mar the paitned x member. Raise the whole assembly to about 6".

3) Since the wheels were already on, and the rest of the motor was supported by a jack on wheels we got the motor/tranny aligned to the nose of the car and then adjusted to make sure the kmem lined up in a linear direction with the holes in the frame/body.

4) Lastly, prop up the tailshaft of the transmission on a moving dolly or similar item. We made a 1'x1' dolly out of plywood, 2x4s, 4 casters and then screwed 2-2x4s on side about 9" apart from center of the dolly to keep the tailshaft on the dolly.

5) Push the whole assembly under the car, if the strut towers are cambered inward, raise the motor, this will take pressure off the wheels to allow them to move outward.

6) Check for side-to-side and front-to back alignment, also make sure that the wheels are an equal distance from the front and back of the wheel wells. This ensures that the motor is true to the car.

NOTE: At this point, you are preparing to mate the car and motor. Here are a few key things to keep an eye out for. HEADERS/Especially long tubes are a VERY tight fit when doing this, be cognizant of the collectors. SLAVE CYLINDER+HOSE/Tuck it up out of the way. WIRING HARNESS/TUCK IT. PLUG WIRES/Will get caught on grounding studs if you are not careful. SHIFTER/Make sure it clears the entrance into the passenger cabin. Ok, now that is out of the way.

7) Begin lowering the car. Keep an eye on all wires/cables/hoses/tubes/etc and all noted places. At first you want to focus on keeping the wheels cambered out so the struts fit into the wheel wells and then once those clear, shift focus to the k member. You should be familiar with where the dowel holes are in the frame and try to make whatever adjustments you need to get within 1/2" of the hole. You are trying to mate the dowel pin to the hole. You can always jack something back up if you miss your mark or something is rubbing, adjust and try again. Have all bolts ready and near where you are going to be working to secure the k member. Fumbling with bolts while your car is literally hanging in the midst is not cool. NOTE: It is very possible that if you have installed accessories on the motor before installing that there will be some interference. Notably the alternator makes the package a bit wide to fit in nicely so we had someone push really hard to tilt the package while lowering the body. This caused it to clear without issue.

NOTE: Keep in mind that if you have already installed your power steering rack/manual rack you should have someone guiding the input shaft on the rack onto the steering column shaft coming out of the firewall. A little general purpose grease helps. Otherwise, it is just a mild pain in the ... to get them to mate after installing the package. The steering wheel shaft is collapsible, but don't push it in too far or you can have fun dismantiling your entire steering column.

8) At this point, the package and vehicle should be pretty much close to mated. Make sure that you line up the studs on the struts to the holes in the body and get the dowel pins close to able to being mated. Begin lowering the vehicle to the kmember. If the strut studs aren't lining up right, the upper a arms have a bit of twist in them. Use a thicker screwdriver to guide the holes together and go in from the wheel wheel to turn the a arm in the right direction. If the dowels arent sitting in the pins right either something is sandwiched between the k member and the body OR the jacks, angle of the car, and essentially the entire geometry of your operation is causing a gap between the two. Lower all jacks an inch or so and try again, you can also try raising the engine jack and lowering the car jacks to get them to mate.

9) Drive all 6 k member bolts through their respective holes into the frame. Short ones go in the rear-most holes in the k member. Secure combination of 4 bolts/nuts in each strut tower.

10) Get someone to crawl under the car, jack it up if you need to. Have one person push up on the transmission (or use a jack) and have the other person secure the transmission crossmember, 4 bolts and a nut or bolt, depending on mount type. Mine is an energy suspension and uses a 5th bolt. Referencing the FSM (Factory Service Manual) its a stud, so you would need an appropriately sized nut.

That's it. Motor is now in car. This is how far I am, so when I figure out what order I am going to reinstall the rest of this stuff, I can write more.

Good luck.

 

Great writeup as I have to remove my old engine and re-installing my new one and it's my first time so this is very helpful.

 

I should also mention. Get a few 2 foot lengths of either 4"x4"s or railroad ties. Cribbing, as it is called, is awesome for getting a few extra inches off your jacks or holding the car up while you re-situate a jack that is slipping or placed improperly. Truly invaluable for this job.

 

thanks so much you guys!! i got it on! now the question is, how do you get the strut bar mounted? (i believe thats the name for it. black bar, hooks up at each tire on the ends and is held on the frame by 3 bolts and a stud) my issue is when i push it up with my hands to put in the bolts it is too far back by 1/4 to 1/2 inch

 

Sounds more like you are trying to install your sway bar in the front. Pictures would do a lot of justice to this question. But if you are infact trying to install the sway bar, try just starting all the bolts with the sway bar. Then once you have all the fasteners threaded a few times, hammer them all in.

If you are doing a strut tower brace do one side at a time. Use a jack on the second side to separate the strut from the wheel well. Then seat the brace and re-seat the suspension. The geometry of the suspension in these cars can put you in some pretty unique predicaments.

 

washington state fbody? where you located? and also the sway bar should go back on pretty easy. pics would definitely help