Engine/Gearbox almost ready to come out
 

Well here's a pic of all the engine bits disconnected in the engine bay....

All that is need now is something to hold the engine while I undo the subframe and the whole thing will come away.

Put something with wheels on under the sump (pallet and pump truck is ideal but you get the picture), drop the car to the deck and undo the subframe.

Jack the car up, leaving the engine on the floor and wheel it away, far easier than trying to drop 500 kilos gently....

Pallet truck
 

I agree with you Ian I think pallet truck is the way to go...gona try and source a high lift one so don't have to lower the car...I was toying with just using an engine lift from the top but I don't feel comfortable lying underneath undoing subframe bolts with engine/gearbox only held by a chain....

Engine is finally out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Well I finally managed to seperate the engine/ gearbox from the car.....

Never done anything like this before....so alot of it was taking my time every step of the way....and double checking everything...so it has taken me about 2 weeks to get to this point....doing about 2 hrs a day..

I kept the car on axle stands and got myself a highlift pallet pump truck....that way i didnt have to worry about lowering the car ...instead I just lift the pallet up until it took the weight of the engine....loosen the subframe bolts 2 at the from and 2 at the back...and 6 smaller bolts towards the back....

I managed to drop the engine and gearbox complete to the floor...however that is where I have got to as it is too heavy to move it by myself!!!!!!!!

Well done mate, top work +++

Wow, that's impressive! +++
Having seen it on your driveway on Sunday I did wonder what on earth you were going to do next.

Congrats and very brave +++

Thanks
 

Cheers guys....to be honest I think this was the easy bit....fixing engine and then getting the subframe back in the right place wiill be tricky bit I tink

Good work that man.

You'll love the arse clenching time you first turn that key again!

I was right...it has certainly got trickier
 

Well after much toil and trouble I finally getting to the point of dismantling the engine/gearbox....

I had bought an engine lift off gumtree, which looked fairly sturdy and up to the job....however it didnt do the job I had planned for it.
Firstly, the wheels were too high so it wouldnt actually roll under the pallet.
Secondly, I initially missed the lift points at the front of the engine as one was missing, and I was only aware of the two at the back. So I tried feeding lots of strong rope around the engine and using that to lift the engine/gearbox....but what ended up happening a)my lift was too puny and was coming off its rear wheels and b)the weight of the gearbox was causing the engine to tilt downwards at the back.....at this point I stopped and luckily managed to get the engine/gearbox back on to the pallet.

Then my options were either fitting at overhanging joist or buying a stronger engine lift. Well the overhanging joist would have proven very expensive and required the visit of a civil engineer as I didnt want to risk toppling my house!!!! So I went for the second option.....I bought a long reach 1 ton engine lift from Machine Mart.....

The engine lift came in three boxes and took me the best part of two hours to assemble...but the good news is it definitely up to the job, and the wheels are lower to the ground and so go under the pallet.

I managed to lift the engine/gearbox using the two rear lift points and the engine/gearbox ensemble was suspended in perfect balance.

Unfortunately, I just have a picture of the lift getting ready to lift the engine...but I will take more pictures when I start dissassembling.