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MG MGA - how do I remove the tranny-1500?

I'm pulling out the engine and transmission from my 1500. Thje books say pull them both as a unit. Others say separate them, and pull the engine alone. If I do this, how do I get the transmission out? Do I drop it out the bottom? Do I need a transmission jack?

Thanks
BruceP

Remove the floors & the center tunnel. There is one bolt on the bottom of the trans. with a bushing, it should come right out from inside the car.
ps: unbolt the drive shaft & bolts from engine

best of luck:
C.C. Jones

Hi Bruce. DO NOT remove the floorboards and tranny tunnel unless you want to do lots of unnecessary work!
Simply remove the driveshaft, and then the single transmission mounting bolt, then pull the engine. If you cannot remove the transmission mounting bolt because of inadequate clearance with the tranny tunnel, take a small diameter hole saw, and bore a hole in the side of the transmission tunnel, which is directly in line with the tranny mounting bolt. The mounting bolt can then be removed through the hole in the tranny tunnel. A sheet metal patch can then be installed using 4 sheet metal screws. Drilling this small hole eliminates the very nasty job of removing the floorboards and transmission tunnel This nasty little job could easily take several days if the floorboard screws are at all rusty. If you snap off any screws, the job takes even longer, since then you need to drill, easy out, retap or helicoil the floorboard nuts! Good luck. Glenn
Glenn

Bruce,
If you need to remove both the engine and transmission, save yourself a lot of grief and follow the directions in the shop manual. Do them together. Its so much easier. I've done it this way, by myself, several times, in the driveway as well as in a garage. The only way I would consider doing them separately is if the car was freshly restored, all the screws were new, then remove the tunnel and boards. But even then, its way more work then needed.
Glenn makes a good point regarding the transmission mounting bolt. However, I've never found this to be necessary. The real problem, in my opinion, is getting the upper transmisson mounting bolts out and separating the engine from the tranny while its in the car. Not to mention trying to get the input shaft into the engine on the re-install. That's a real b**ch! Soooo much easier when they are both out of the car.
Regards,
GTF
G T Foster

Bruce,

You will need to remove the crank pulley before pulling the engine (or engine and gearbox together). Gives you another couple of inches movement that makes the job much easier.

If you are working alone I would tend to pull the engine first and then the box. The box comes out the engine compartment. Do not remove the floor boards, seats and tunnel as in the workshop manual. That would make the job far more comlpicated.

I go with what Glenn said with the hole through the tunnel to see the gearbox mounting bolt. I had to as the previous owner had put the bolt through from the wrong side. It also makes it easier to reinstall the bolt when you are putting the box back in as you can see from inside the car if the gearbox mounting ear is lined up with the supports and then slip the bolt back in from inside the car.

I would tend to put the engine and box back as a unit. Much easier to get everything bolted together outside the car. It's a pig if you put the box back in and then find you can't get the input shaft slotted home.

When you come to put the thing back in the car as a unit I would leave the timing chain cover off as well. When I put mine together there was no way I could get it back in without doing this.

When I pulled and replaced mine I used rope looped through the rocker shaft. I know this will cause some people to wince but it worked for me. Seems to get the unit hanging at just the right angle for slotting it back in.

Chris.
Chris C

For clarification,
I agree that it is NOT necessary to remove seats, carpets and floor boards to remove the engine and transmission as a unit. When I said follow the manual, I only meant the part that suggests doing them as a unit.
Please don't use the rocker shaft as a lifting device. There are plenty of other places to attach a sling.
Regards,
GTF
G T Foster

Hi Bruce

I agree with the guys above and when you are under the car remove the rear transmission flange as well to assist in clearance of the lower tranny support. This can be done easily once you have the whole unit mobile and slightly lifted at the front. Leave the car up on four solid jack stands placed as far to the outside as you can for stablity. But make sure the engine lift legs have room to manouver under the car. A very good investment is a $30 to $40 adjustable tilt engine lift bracket simply bolted onto the top of the head with the rocker cover bolts. It allows you to easily change (and hold) the angle of the block and transmission as you move up and out. you need as much as 20 to 25 degrees of tilt to clear the front of the engine bay and the firewall as you slid the transmission out. One casualty of our MGA installation was the little timing marker on the bottom of the flywheel it just would not clear until adjusted with a hammer.


I pulled an engine last week from a doner car for my Austin. slick as could be but then I was using a 25 ton mobile industrial crane. the crane operator then hooked onto the car and flipped it over so I could cannabalize the underside, too cool.....
Ralph H .

I'd like to make a point re the rear transmission bolt. If you look carefully from underneath you will see that the body/tunnel at the trans bolt is offset so the bolt can be withdrawn (at least on my 1600) w/o removing floors, tunnel, etc. If this cannot be done on a car it is likely that someone installed the transmission and inserted the bolt in the wrong direction THEN installed the tunnel, etc.
John
John

I go along with the engine/tranny removal as a whole unit. It is a two man job, but is relatively simple. Just take your time as there is no rush. I didn't remove the crank pulley and found that by tilting the engine, I had enough clearance. Another way of gaining more clearance is to undo the 4 bolts mounting the stearing rack to the chassis.

Don't forget to take off the oil filter before you lift!

I agree with Ralph H on the engine tilt. It will save you a few swear words later! Before you do the lift, have a look at your engine mounts. If they are cracked and worn, now is the time to change them. If you're pulling the gearbox, change the clutch at the same time!

Ian
Ian Pearl

This thread was discussed between 13/12/2004 and 21/12/2004

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