Rear motor mount... pulling engine out.

[poynter]

I am puling the engine out on a 98 corolla and I have everything unhooked but am getting hung up on the rear motor mount.

I removed the 3 bolts going through the mount to the car but theres not enough room to pull it out that way. The mount hits the steering rack before the bolts are clear from the holes.
I cant seem to get to the middle bolt in the mount that goes through the bushing( the one you would normally take out on a motor mount) Im thinking a 3' foot extension through the holes where the tie-rods come out but not sure if I can get to the other side or not...

any suggestions?

[sam333]

Your last idea, is the way to do it. You don't need all of 3 feet though. If you want to replace the rear mount ( which you should do if you are pulling the engine) you will have to drop the crossmember to get it out.

[randini667]

I just pulled my motor this week. I only pulled the motor, left the tranny in and the back motor mount untouched. Once the motor was out, pulling the tranny would have been nothing. Just another idea.

[poynter]

Originally Posted by randini667

I just pulled my motor this week. I only pulled the motor, left the tranny in and the back motor mount untouched. Once the motor was out, pulling the tranny would have been nothing. Just another idea.

Well I didnt even consider that but that may be easier than wrestling both at the same time.

How many bolts are there on the bellhousing? Any of them hidden?
If I cant get the rear motor mount loose I may have to do it this way.

thanks!

[randini667]

Originally Posted by poynter

Well I didnt even consider that but that may be easier than wrestling both at the same time.

How many bolts are there on the bellhousing? Any of them hidden?
If I cant get the rear motor mount loose I may have to do it this way.

thanks!

There are two larger (17mm) bolts on the top. Bolt heads on the tranny side.
The two starter bolts also act as bellhousing bolts (14mm). One of the bolt heads is on the tranny side, one is on the engine side.
On the opposite side, you have two counterpart (14mm) bolts.
Below, there are two (14mm) bolts. One of the bolts is snugged behind the engine support beam. I was able to loosen some bolts easily and drop it and inch to get that one out.

I believe this is it for the bellhousing bolts. I have a manual tranny, so I also had to loosen the upper tranny mount to get clearance for me clutch plate. Let me know how it goes.

-Randy

[sam333]

Either way the rear bolt is easy to get out. Try to check the rear mount before you pull the engine ( so it has some weight on on it) so you can easily see any cracks in the rubber. I always pull the engine alone on a corolla( even If I need to get the trans out too) and install them separately also. I think it is much easier to dived the work up into two separate parts. I have heard complaints about installing the engine with the trans in the car , but it always goes in like butter for me.

[poynter]

My only concern with taking the motor out separate was if there was room to get the output shaft around the tranny.
Ive never worked on automatics but I imagine it would still need some room to clear the bellhousing.

I picked up a pack of extensions last night so with what I have Ive got around 30" so I will attempt to get the motor mount out and pull everything together at first since I already have it coming out that way and everything is already loose. I will go ahead and replace that rear mount since they are cheap.

[poynter]

Got it out on sunday. All the extensions I had put together got it there and my impact got it loose.
Very lucky that the nut was welded on the other side as that would have been a real pain.

I think I may put the tranny and motor back in separately so I dont have to align the rear mount.



thanks for all the help! Im sure I will need some in the reassembly as its been months since I took it all apart.
Everything is labeled and bagged and I took pics of the teardown but Im sure Ill still run into something.

[poynter]

Got some time this past weekend so I put the new motor back in. I had already reinstalled the tranny.
I have it in there but cant seem to get the thing bolted up. Im half on inch from having it bolted all the way around.
I was able to get the bolt beside the dowel pin near the front in and figured if I could another bolt and slowly thread those on it might pull it in but it didnt work there was too much gap at the bottom to get a bolt threaded.
Im thinking of using a c-clamp like I use on brakes to see if I can draw it together on the bottom.
The bottom bolt looks like its going to be a pain too as it sits right on the beam that goes under the motor. I guess Ill have to jack the motor/tranny sideways to get that one back in.

[poynter]

Im really close just afraid to mess up the tranny by forcing it back together.

[sam333]

Dont force it ,you will damage it( once it is lined up with a little jiggling and elbow grease it will easily go into place , you should never have to force it it) . Its always a juggling act to get an engine back in. On the Corolla, I leave the front and back engine mounts loose and the bottom crossmemeber( whatever you need to to get some wiggle room). It looks like you got it lined up fairly well , but the gap between the trans and engine is uneven( has to be even as you bring it together or it won't fit. One of the main things to look out for, is that the trans input shaft splines are lined up with the clutch disc splines( won't go together otherwise)and to do that, you will have to rotate the engine( clutch disc) or the trans (input shaft) or both to get them to line up.

EDIT: Just saw in another another post that you have an auto trans.