Removing my engine

Good evening everyone, I've taken my car off the road now & I want to remove the engine to recondition/clean every single component.
Does anyone know of a thread where they remove/recondition a 1.6 gti engine(preferably with pictures) as I'm not completely sure of the order in which to remove certain components & if there is a certain way of doing it. Also how many engine mount bolts do I need to remove & would you suggest slinging the engine out the top (I have no crane so will be using a few friends to take the weight while I take the final mounting bolts out

 

get a Haynes manual for your car first and read it.

For the car, disconnect the battery.
drain the coolant. disconnect the rad from the engine.

then to disconnect anything that goes from the engine into the car. not much, heater pipes for the matrix.
remove the driveshafts from the gearbox.
work out where you are going to split the exhaust.

as for removal, jack the car as high as you can, support the engine on a jack or two, slowly move the engine down and drag it out.

 

Thanks Jon, I've got a Haynes manual. What do I need to remove from the gearbox & clutch? I'll disconnect the exhaust at the flange on the back on the head . The metal pipes that run from the metering head to the head of the engine, are these injector pipes & how do I remove them?

 

take the gear box out with the engine. just remove the earth strap and the speedo cable.

injectors and lines, mark up which ones came from which cylinder and pull them out, gently mind you.
disconnect the air pipe from the manifold.

like i say you only want the engine and box out, anything else needs to be removed, its not that much to take off. 30 mins work.

 

Are there 2 engine mounts bolts & 1 gearbox mount bolt I need to take out?

 

My injectors were an absolute mare to get out, I resorted to a crow bar and other things i could wedge them out with, then replaced the seals upon refitting.

1 mount either side of the engine bay, 1 underneath at the back and 1 at the front on the cross member.

When I first did this i had little experience with that sort of thing. They are very simple to work on though and easy to figure out what needs doing as you go along. The most difficult part is generally removing the inlet manifold. as the bolts are awkward to get at.

If you have a comprehensive tool kit you should be fine, i used a halfords pro tool kit and i think that had all the extensions and attachments needed to do the job.

Took me about 2 days to get one out and another in the first time, so if your in no rush you will be fine

 

I'd not take an engine out without a crane, especially a Mk1 where the front crossmember is part of the shell (unlike the Mk2).

 

By the inlet manifold do you mean where the exhaust bolts onto the engine at the back?

 

Would I not be able to have a few friends round the front holding some straps that I'll wrap round the engine, then I'll loosen last few mounting bolts & help with the lift? I don't have access to a crane

 

It's terrible for backs. Get a crane from Machine Mart or hire one from HS. They're worth every penny.

Swing the whole lot out in one go, engine & gearbox.

 

Should be able to hire one cheap for a day, or a friendly local CGTI member may lend you one.

 

The thread with pictures you're looking for can be found in your Haynes, read the relevent section a few times. It should tell you what to take out in what order and the tools needed. Plusgas all the rusty/cruddy looking nuts and bolts a few days before hand. Of course re-fitting is the reverse of removal.

 

I'll look into the rental prices & also the buying prices & see the difference, as I won't have it done in a day, I'm hoping to have it out & in in a week. Whilst it's apart I want to get my rocker cover blasted ready for paint & also get cam cover chromed as it's a sad rusty brown at the moment

 

I'm slowly re reading the Haynes manual, just need to learn all the different componens. Sorry but what is plusgas? Is that like wd40? I have some penoil it penetrates rusty bolts etc & cleans them?

 

leave that on.

 

Plusgas is a 'dismantling lubricant', much much better than WD40

 

I've made a start on the stripping of the engine. I managed to remove the radiator, oil cooler(left it attached at the engine end), expansion tank, all water pipes, battery, air box/airfilter, metering head, injector pipes & then it got dark

 

good going

 

Thanks Jon! my friend who owns a small garage came round & said he has a mechanical hoist he will bring in his car once I've finished unplugging everything. I think all I need to do now is get the car on level ground & remove the driveshafts, then get all the jacks in place ready for the actual lift