Engine out today. It didn't start well as the main bumper bolts refused to come out so I had to take it off with the supports. I'm getting quite good at this now though since the last four I've done have been like this! I am running out of new bumper bolts though
The power steering fluid is past it's best so I'll change that.
After the bumper, everything else came off just fine - no other seized bolts and it all went really well
Front panel off:
Oh, well apart from this
At some point in the past there has been an issue with two of the connectors in the electronics box and someone has made a really nice job of splicing the body harness to the engine harness. Unfortunately, the engine harness must come out with the engine - its nigh impossible to get it off with the engine in and completely impossible to refit it like that, so I had to cut these apart
I'll fix this later with some original connectors.
Everything on top disconnected, so on to the underside
Strap the suspension up so it doesn't destroy the upper arms when the lower arms are removed from the subframe
The spring on this exhaust bracket is awol for some reason. I have spares though.
I could tell the gearbox had been out in the past as this heat shield is loose. For some reason, every single 8 I work on which has had the gearbox out has this particular stud broken off. I've never taken the gearbox out with the engine in place so I haven't discovered why this is so.
This is interesting on the gearbox. New OE replacement perhaps rather than a rebuild?
All the coolant hoses are distended so will need to be replaced. This one is especially bad
A pile of tools, as is tradition
Which allowed me to assemble this pile of bits
Engine out. 6 hours in total which is pretty good. Apart from the bumper and the wiring harness, everything behaved itself which is a pleasant departure from recent projects!
Before I removed the engine I opened the sump plug again, and was rewarded with 3/4 of a litre of clean coolant, then a cupful of the brown slime, so the coolant is leaking in while it is just sitting there. That means whatever is causing it should be relatively straightforward to find.
I'll split the engine and box tomorrow and then strip the engine.