My '85 MGM, "Maisa"

[friskyfrankie]

May want to get a CTEK Battery Tender/Charger. I have seen them work wonders even on "dead" batteries! Always good to have especially for bad weather and for parasitic draws until the reason is found.

[gadget73]

no better time to deep clean the engine bay than when its out.

[Arquemann]

I hooked a smart charger to the battery, it got about halfway the arbitrary scale and threw an error / fail, 10,5 Volts. Totally dead.
Decided to just get a new battery, as I was removing the old I checked for a date on the battery. It was, ahem, 8/2011...
No wonder it only took one time to drain it completely to kill it.

Euro-spec car batteries don't fit properly since they're 175mm wide, but I reused the previous owner's "adapter" aka a block of wood under the battery.
Now I've even got terminal covers so I won't be an idiot again and short out the posts by laying tools on the battery!

Today she got a proper wash, tires wire covers and windows cleaned and Qyeon wet coat applied. Whitewalls could do with a better scrub, tire shine has left streaks in them. A few cruise nights left before I'll yank out the engine.
A couple quick pics in the evening sunshine:

[Arquemann]

Well, no time like the present. Engine removal process has officially started with putting the insurance on hold and removing the hood ornament since that'd be the first casualty when wrenching. Decided just to get to it instead of waiting for some arbitrary sign of when to start. Better now than when it's sleeting.
I've made a list of things to remove, so far I've got a couple questions:

- How does the radiator shroud come off? I see two bolts up top and the thing seems to be one piece.
- Do I need to remove the wiper linkage box off the firewall? Seems kinda close.
- No way to remove the PS pump without taking off the pulley? I was thinking about just moving it aside to not spill ATF everywhere when moving the car around.
EDIT: and where the hell do I access the frame side motor mount bolts from?

A quick audio clip of the curreny engine noise situation, sounds like a fcking diesel...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Mzw...ew?usp=sharing
Can't believe how it sounds like that on idle but it's otherwise completely fine.

Took her for one last drive today and met a big buddy from the east. (MAZ-537G)

[Tiggie]

It does sound diesel like in that sound clip. The shroud lifts up once the two bolts at the top are out and the fan is off the water pump (the fan comes out with the shroud IIRC). The power steering pump bracket can be removed from the engine and you can leave the pump hooked up if you so desire. Only pulled one box engine and that was in the junkyard. Seems like I took the bolts out of the block/motor mount bracket instead of the motor mount itself. The wiper stuff stayed put. I don't recall trashing it.

[Arquemann]

It does sound diesel like in that sound clip. The shroud lifts up once the two bolts at the top are out and the fan is off the water pump (the fan comes out with the shroud IIRC). The power steering pump bracket can be removed from the engine and you can leave the pump hooked up if you so desire. Only pulled one box engine and that was in the junkyard. Seems like I took the bolts out of the block/motor mount bracket instead of the motor mount itself. The wiper stuff stayed put. I don't recall trashing it.

Yeah, I'd like to remove the accessory bracket though, I want to clean it up and such. The pump could use a good clean too. Dunno, if I can't find a proper puller for the pump pulley, I'll have to keep it attached to the bracket and clean it all in situ.

[DerekTheGreat]

Hey, there's a big ugly truck like that in Snow Runner.

[Arquemann]

I guess I'm removing the lines off the PS pump anyways, not really enough give on the hoses to set it aside and I didn't find a puller to borrow.
Trans bolts, converter bolts, exhaust and motor mounts left, as well as the PS hoses.
Borrowed an engine hoist and a lift plate from a friend. Now to wait for a dry day. Meanwhile I can assemble the engine stand.

Hey, there's a big ugly truck like that in Snow Runner.

Yeah, the same truck. ZiKZ 605R in game. I posted on Snowrunner's Reddit and like half the comments are on my car

[gadget73]

Well, no time like the present. Engine removal process has officially started with putting the insurance on hold and removing the hood ornament since that'd be the first casualty when wrenching. Decided just to get to it instead of waiting for some arbitrary sign of when to start. Better now than when it's sleeting.
I've made a list of things to remove, so far I've got a couple questions:

- How does the radiator shroud come off? I see two bolts up top and the thing seems to be one piece.

2 bolts on top, unbolt the fan, pull both up. The bottom just has a pair of U shaped clips that it slides into, but the fan has to come off the water pump before it will come out.

- Do I need to remove the wiper linkage box off the firewall? Seems kinda close.

nope, not in the way at all.

- No way to remove the PS pump without taking off the pulley? I was thinking about just moving it aside to not spill ATF everywhere when moving the car around.

not if you ever want to re-use it. Many things are possible with a torch and a big-ass hammer though. There isn't any need to remove the PS pump from the bracket though, you can simply unbolt the bracket from the engine and leave the pump in the engine bay.

EDIT: and where the hell do I access the frame side motor mount bolts from?

the answer to the question you asked is through the opening in the frame above the forward lower control arm bushing. The answer you actually want is you leave the motor mounts in place and remove the single bolt that goes through the bracket on the side of the motor where it attaches to the mount. If you have a look down in there where the motor sits near the cross member you'll see a roughly C shaped thing bolted to the side of the block and one long bolt going through it. Pull that and the motor can be lifted off the mount.

replacing the mounts is kind of a bitch with the suspension in place, super easy if the lower arm is out. If you're doing it with the suspension in, flex joints and curse words are your friends.

A quick audio clip of the curreny engine noise situation, sounds like a fcking diesel...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Mzw...ew?usp=sharing
Can't believe how it sounds like that on idle but it's otherwise completely fine.

Took her for one last drive today and met a big buddy from the east. (MAZ-537G)

does it make that same noise with the belts off? Honestly doesn't sound quite regular enough to be internal noise to me.

[Arquemann]

the answer to the question you asked is through the opening in the frame above the forward lower control arm bushing. The answer you actually want is you leave the motor mounts in place and remove the single bolt that goes through the bracket on the side of the motor where it attaches to the mount. If you have a look down in there where the motor sits near the cross member you'll see a roughly C shaped thing bolted to the side of the block and one long bolt going through it. Pull that and the motor can be lifted off the mount.

replacing the mounts is kind of a bitch with the suspension in place, super easy if the lower arm is out. If you're doing it with the suspension in, flex joints and curse words are your friends.

does it make that same noise with the belts off? Honestly doesn't sound quite regular enough to be internal noise to me.

Thanks!
I do know how the engine mounts are supposed to be separated with the one longitudinal bolt.
I'd like to replace the engine mounts, I feel like they're pretty shot, engine moves around quite a bit IMO.
So, cursing and flex joints for me then.

I did check for the noise with the belts off earlier this year, no difference. It has to be internal.

Currently debating with myself if I want to remove the PS hoses so I can clean the pump and bracket way easier, or just hang the pump and bracket aside and make slightly less mess.

[gadget73]

Pull the hoses and clean it. If you're pulling the engine you may as well do a deep clean on the engine bay and accessories.

something I'll warn you about on those aftermarket mounts, the threads aren't always well formed and the bolts don't go in nicely. Run a tap through them and it will fit together a lot better. Also probably will need to bend the bracket on the motor out a bit so it slides over them easy. Do that before you find the engine doesn't want to fit over them on re-assembly.

[Arquemann]

Pull the hoses and clean it. If you're pulling the engine you may as well do a deep clean on the engine bay and accessories.

The engine bay isn't awful, mostly just the steering gear and crossmember that's caked on with filth. The thing is that I need to get the car off the driveway onto a trailer and then off the trailer at the winter storage place and maneuvered into it's spot. No matter how much I empty the PS system, it'll squirt AFT everywhere as soon as I need to turn the steering wheel.
Since I don't have a suitable puller to get the pump off the bracket, the cleaning is gonna end up halfassed either way.

[gadget73]

its a common puller, basically every US car used the same one for decades. No clue what Euro stuff ran.

[Arquemann]

Well, it's out.
Weird thing, everything went pretty smooth, not a single nut or bolt rounded or snapped or gave too much of a fight. Worst were the exhaust manifold studs/nuts to the midpipes, even though I used a meter long breaker bar with my feet braced against the frame rail the nuts came loose even though the studs are a bit skinny from rust. Weird working on non rusty junk...

Didn't even break anything, oil filter got a dent and my pinky got kinda mangled. The cat air pipes didn't want to come out so I cut them with a sawzall, they're not going back in anyways and the cat holes will be welded shut.

Stupid fugging U-nuts on the hood, two of them fell inside the hood. Will retrieve in springtime when removing the hood again.

Engine bay isn't as filthy as I'd have expected, and the motor mounts are shot, as expected.
I'm tired, off to sauna and then to bed. Clean up, engine stand assembly tomorrow. Will take more pics too.

There it sits:

its a common puller, basically every US car used the same one for decades. No clue what Euro stuff ran.

Could order online, but I'm not in the financial situation currently to spend 40+ euros on a tool to clean up a bracket and pump better. All the stuff I've messed with can either be pulled from the outside edge of the pulley or the pulley has those super convenient holes that a socket can go through.

[87gtVIC]

Fun times.

I had an issue when I installed new motormounts on my car. I had to notch a piece of the motor mount bracket ears a tad to get the mounts clear properly and fully seat. May be worth test fitting your new mounts onto the engine before installing into car (when that time comes) just to avoid having to pull the engine out to do so afterwards.