I am about to start stripping my donor. I do not own an engine hoist and I have heard of removing the engine with the suspension but can't figure out the logistics of it. How best to support the car etc while undoing all of the bolts and once the engine and suspension are free how hard is it to lift the car high enough to remove the engine?

Also any other tips on the order to strip the car etc. or anything else would be appreciated.

[Edited on 11/3/2009 by Keith Weiland]

I saw an article where the owner cit out the front bulkhead/rad grille etc and simply removed it forwards on a homemade wooden trolley.

I stripped mine with it on 4 axles stands and that allowed me to remove everything required from the car.

Hope that helps

how did you remove the engine jabba?

Hi Keith

I dropped mine in a couple of pieces (mine was XR4X4).

What I did was remove propshaft, remove radiator, removed each suspension strut and driveshaft as 1 unit, disconnect all cables, wires & hoses and then lower engine and box (& subframe) onto ground.

All of the above was done with car on axle stands, once engine and box dropped I jacked shell up and slid them out. Only tools used were a good trolley jack and axle stands.

A word of warning though, this method leaves the car semi immobile so you should bear in mind how you are going to remove the shell before you remove the axles etc. You could always use, bread trolley pallet truck etc.

Hope this helps

fatfranky & Jabba, Did you put the axel stands in the 4 jacking positions shown in the haynes manual or elsewhere? I am concerned that having it up on 4 stands might be unstable.

Just use a large hammer and a wide chisel to slice the car up into manageable chunks, you be amazed how easy they are to cut through. If you strip the engine down to just the bare block, two people can lift it easily

Keith

I seem to recall I removed as much as possible with the car on 4 wheels, then i put the front on axle stands to remove engine/box, then finally i removed the rear axle.

You can drop the engine/box, steering and front suspension as 1 part but it is a bit unwieldy (struts flapping about) so I removed the struts and just dropped engine and box.

I think i disconnected everything and then with car on stands, supported weight of engine/box unbolted the subframe and lowered onto ground, even better if you can lower onto some form of trolley. shell is then surprisingly light to lift high enough to clear engine.

For what it's worth I joined the Sierra forum and offered all of the trim & body parts on there. Some forums can get prickly about people joining only to sell stuff but I (although i did not state this at the time) simply accepted offers on whatever part they wanted, everyone won, I offset some of my cost and they got bits for their cars.

I personally would not bother chopping the shell up unless that is the only way you can transport it, I borrowed a large trailer and took it to the crusher, got a surprising amount for it

Use some good penetrating oil (duck oil) and impact sockets, normal sockets tend to round off the stubborn nuts and bolts.

I have some pic's in my archive.

To remove the engine & gearbox I cut the slam panel out and lifted the engine approx two foot before pushing the car backwards.

To lift the engine I tied a big rope around it, slung it over a piece of Unistrut I got off a builder, sent it over the roof of the Sierra to my Audi (parked behind the Sierra), through the towing eye and to the Sierra towing eye. As I drove the Audi forward it lifted the engine/gearbox clear of the Sierra bay, then I released the Sierra handbreak to move the Sierra backwards and lower the engine to the garage floor at the same time - I'm an engineer!

I cut the slam panel and front chassis member off with stihl saw then dragged the pinto out the front.

Jacked the back in the air and removed the rear beam, it came out real easy, the bolts where only a bit tighter than finger tight.

My tip would be to completely strip the inside, keep all the ancillaries and the wiring harness.

I stripped all the lights, heater, wiper stuff, kept all the self tappers off everything. I took the dash to bits and kept all the switches clips and catches. Cut the chassis number out the floor and the vin plate then sold it on for banger racing

agree... cut the slam panel out, piece of scaffold pipe, some rope and some hefty lads (and a little beer afterwards).

Agree with keep ALL the wiring. label all the connectors with what they are (helps later)

Take your time.
when finished, a scrappy will collect for nothing, but ring around first.
They dont like taking tyres away as they have to pay disposal charges, so hide them in the boot !
Keep it on its wheels as long as possible. Its easier to move about.

Thanks all, loads of good tips. I have started to stip the car now starting at the back and working my way forward inside with the electrics etc.

IMHO the most important thing to do before stripping the car is to get it steamcleaned.

John