Deconstruction Thread: How to part-out an E9

[Markos]

Getting a head start on the block removal. I can't tell if it is because the bay is so dirty, but these internals sure do look shiny! Probably more Polaris overspray

Things to avoid. Sending your spring loaded timing chain tensioner bolt flying. Also, try to avoid dropping the cam sprocket bolts into the lower timing chain cover. Glad this isn't a head gasket job!

I called it quits after remembering that I didn't remove the second half of the exhaust manifold. More tonight!

 

[HB Chris]

Markos,

Much easier to remove the head with the header, those nuts are impossible to reach. I've been waiting for more of your posts here!

Chris

 

[Markos]

Markos,

Much easier to remove the head with the header, those nuts are impossible to reach. I've been waiting for more of your posts here!

Chris

Thanks Chris! That makes sense. I finished at 2AM so I wasn't applying any logic or best practices at the time. However I pulled manifold with ease this morning. You can hit the problem bolts under the manifold with a six point deep socket. You need to use a box wrench on the one closest to the downpipe flange. Surprisingly it is somewhat roomy. The Gods were looking out for me and my six point box wrench had enough room to break the bolt. I switched to 12 point after that. This has been my first exhaust manifold removal on a west coast car. This would have been an all day affair full of cursing in the midwest.

I removed the head with ease this morning. I love the big 19mm head bolts. I also used my telescoping magnet to grab the cam sprocket bolt that fell.

Mmmm Piano Tops!

I pulled the inspection plate on the head. My dream of finding a Shrick 282 has been crushed. At least they put the 272 back in when the head was replaced.

 

[HB Chris]

The 2800CS had piano tops and 9:1, the 3.0 flat tops and 8:1 for us here in the US that is.

 

[Markos]

The 2800CS had piano tops and 9:1, the 3.0 flat tops and 8:1 for us here in the US that is.

I recall you or someone spotted them in my borescope video on the 2800CS. As a reminder, this is a 3.0 CSI with 9:1, so anyone who uses these pistons in a 3.0 would bump from 8:1 to 9:1 (assuming pistons are still good). The motor is sold though. I'll finally be in the positive when I report the sale.

 

[rsporsche]

motor must have come from a 3.0csi ... which had higher compression than the US 3.0cs

 

[Markos]

motor must have come from a 3.0csi ... which had higher compression than the US 3.0cs

Sadly the parts car is a real CSI. It's not the original motor though, but it is still a CSI engine. I ran the vin on the block in one of the earlier pages.

 

[Markos]

Getting stuff out of the engine bay to provide clearance for the motor extraction. Now I'm not sure if you actually need to remove the booster to remove the motor, but all this stuff has to come out anyway.

The booster is surrounded by stuff. If I was actually replacing the booster or the steering box (god forbid), I would research what can go and what can stay. For a parts car, I removed everything in my way. So both the power steering reservoir (left) and the brake fluid reservoir (right) was removed. The power steering reservoir is secured by two 13mm bolts that are accessed inside the fender well. Much like the AC brackets on the passenger side, you need to scrape off any undercoating that has been applied to your fenders to get a good fit on your bolts. The brake reservoir is secured by two large Phillips screws.

I have to say that removing the MC is a bit of a chore. I cracked the flare nuts free with an 11mm flare nut wrench, but switched over to an open ended wrench immediately after due to wrench space limitations. A million awkward tiny little turns later, the flare nuts were off. The MC is secured to the booster with two 13mm nuts. The booster is secured to the tunnel by four 13mm nuts. There are another two 13mm bolts that tie the tunnel into the body bracket that I removed as well, but I this isn't required to remove the booster. Under normal circumstances you would also need to unhook your brake pedal, but mine was removed months ago.

40 years of gunk under the booster

 

[Markos]

I'm prepping to roll the motor out front. I'm hoping to have it on a crate and on the way to California this week.

One bonus to daytime work (which I never do) was the ability to use air tools. No sleeping family above the garage.

I pulled the horns, accessible from up top by two 13mm bolts. All of the wiring was pulled through. athe numerous access holes that run through the shark nose.

I had to remove the fender belt-line trim. I believe that the proper nuts are 8mm, but I found 7mm, 8mm, 9mm, and 10mm so far. They all snapped off on the driver's side unfortunately, but it did make for quick belt-line removal!

I'm not saving the fenders, so I prioritized the look of the nose for some wall art. I was able to get through most of the metal without having to use my angle grinder much. A reciprocating saw is much preferred for noise and dust.

 

[Stan]

As long as the belt line is ok, the t top screws and nuts with the rubber buffer are easy to find. The aluminum belt trim can be polished and clear coated to look as new for about $350 at Speedway in Santa Ana

 

[mark99]

I bought all new T bolts for my trim, but they are useless, the T is not as long as the originals and they turned in the trim slot
+ for speedway, did all my trim

 

[Markos]

I bought all new T bolts for my trim, but they are useless, the T is not as long as the originals and they turned in the trim slot
+ for speedway, did all my trim

I'm hoping that I will have enough bolts between the parts car and the project car. I made no effort to soak the bolts prior to removal. I would advise that you spray the bolts with PB Blaster or something similar.

 

[mark99]

No problem getting them off, no need for PB blaster etc.
The new nut and bolt set was not much $ so I just got them
What I was commenting on is that the new replacement T bolts (at least the ones I got) are not shaped like the original and therefore don't work (or as well)
The new nuts are a good replacement, on my car the nuts where replaced with 'plane Jane', the replacement nuts have a built in rubber washer

 

[Markos]

I had to switch gears tonight and work on boxing up a completed sale. The passenger door has some known issues so we landed on $100. It's a small investment for this member to work with the door and see if it meets his needs. Overall the frame is in good shape save for a few poorly executed speaker holes. The bottom of the door is rust free but the top has some deterioration.

Finding a good heavy duty flat box can be difficult. The only mediocre one I could find was over $20. I figured I could build one for $15-$20. Last weekend I stopped into home depot for two 2x6's and a 4x8 sheet of plywood flooring underlayment. I had them cut the plywood into two 3'x4' rectangles. I had them cut two 48" pieces of 2x6, and two 33" pieces. In retrospect 27" would have been better, as my box is a tad large. I drilled a few grab holes into the side for easy transport. It only took 10 minutes or so to assemble since the pieces were already cut. Total cost was $20.

The door is just barely under 5.5" (2x6). If the door was in better condition, I would recommend using a 2x8 or upgrading to thicker plywood. Either way, you are looking at a $35 box instead of a $20 one.

Total Sales: $3140
Remaining: $260

 

[Stan]

No problem getting them off, no need for PB blaster etc.
The new nut and bolt set was not much $ so I just got them
What I was commenting on is that the new replacement T bolts (at least the ones I got) are not shaped like the original and therefore don't work (or as well)
The new nuts are a good replacement, on my car the nuts where replaced with 'plane Jane', the replacement nuts have a built in rubber washer

I got mine from LaJolla Independent and they matched the OEM

 

[mark99]

Hi Stan, thanks! I am not sure if I am short originals or not, I might get some from him
I think I got my set from WN, the heads on mine are more circular, less T shaped so the fore / aft length is not as long as the originals
The nuts are cool though, so worth it for those

 

[bluecoupe30!]

I had to switch gears tonight and work on boxing up a completed sale. The passenger door has some known issues so we landed on $100. It's a small investment for this member to work with the door and see if it meets his needs. Overall the frame is in good shape save for a few poorly executed speaker holes. The bottom of the door is rust free but the top has some deterioration.

Finding a good heavy duty flat box can be difficult. The only mediocre one I could find was over $20. I figured I could build one for $15-$20. Last weekend I stopped into home depot for two 2x6's and a 4x8 sheet of plywood flooring underlayment. I had them cut the plywood into two 3'x4' rectangles. I had them cut two 48" pieces of 2x6, and two 33" pieces. In retrospect 27" would have been better, as my box is a tad large. I drilled a few grab holes into the side for easy transport. It only took 10 minutes or so to assemble since the pieces were already cut. Total cost was $20.

The door is just barely under 5.5" (2x6). If the door was in better condition, I would recommend using a 2x8 or upgrading to thicker plywood. Either way, you are looking at a $35 box instead of a $20 one.

Total Sales: $3140
Remaining: $260

Markos, I admire your resolve, and that packaging you created. FYI, in case it may help, I recently shipped a fender. Similar conundrum-how to find something that would fit a BMW fender, be strong, and secure. Decided to visit local auto body shop. They replace fenders every day, and cardboard is a nuisance to them. Picked up a MB fender box-as robust as any part on a Mercedes-included packaging foam +++. No charge, fender arrived, all is good. Even had handles! Mike

 

[Markos]

Markos, I admire your resolve, and that packaging you created. FYI, in case it may help, I recently shipped a fender. Similar conundrum-how to find something that would fit a BMW fender, be strong, and secure. Decided to visit local auto body shop. They replace fenders every day, and cardboard is a nuisance to them. Picked up a MB fender box-as robust as any part on a Mercedes-included packaging foam +++. No charge, fender arrived, all is good. Even had handles! Mike

Great thinking! I pass about 15 body shops on my way to the city each morning.

 

[Markos]

One thing that I failed to mention is that the screws on both of my door handles were trashed. One handle is still attached to the driver's door. I (quietly) drilled out one of two screws thaf are visible if you peer under the door handle while outside of the car.

 

[Markos]

I don't own a cherry picker and I'm hesitant to buy one at this time. I don't plan to remove the motor in my project car for several years. My parts car intention all along has been to wheel the motor out the front of the car after I had cut the nose off. With the nose gone, I began the process this evening.

Before getting started my last bit of housekeeping included the removal of the slave cylinder. I'm sure it is well documented on this forum, but this seems like a two person job. You have two 13mm nuts up near the clutch pedal pivot and a corresponding 13mm bolts above and below the cylinder. You need to hold the bolts while loosening the nuts. This wasn't a huge deal for me with the absent windscreen, as I could straddle the firewall with my arms to reach each side. I'll add that the lower bolt head is very difficult to get a grasp on. A thin walled socket may do the trick, or holding the nut with the open end of your wrench positioned vertically over the bolt.

An interior view of the two slave cylinder nuts, above and below the rubber accordion

I also took a moment to pull the reverse switch leads and disconnect the rear braided ground strap found near the engine VIN stamp...

I really wanted to limit the amount of wrenching that has to happen under the car or in the engine bay. It was my hope that I could disconnect the driveshaft, wheel the motor out, use the transmission as leverage to flip the motor on the crate, then remove. For the most part the plan is working as described. I figured that life would be easy if I could drop the driveshaft support and slide the front driveshaft yoke right out of the rear driveshaft.

I chalked the rear wheels on both sides, then jacked the car up at the subframe. After getting the car nice and high, I placed jack stands under the frame rails just aft of where the frame curves up into the bay. If lowered the jack slightly and tested the stability of the jack stands. Once stability was confirmed I once again raised the jack until slight pressure was on the subframe. Unsure how far the transmission would drop with the crossmember removed, I stuck another jackstand under the trans. I then removed the two 13mm nuts that hold the crossmember to the car. I left the crossmember bolted to the trans though:

Extra crossmember, undercarriage is clean enough to eat off of...

Removing the driveshaft support, two 13mm nuts - no fussing with the guibo. This photo almost looks upside down but it is not. My exhaust is dropped due to the manifold removal. Note the extension on the yoke:

Next I dropped the strut tops by removing the three 19mm acorn nuts that secure the strut assembly to the inner fender. I also remembered to cut the brake lines right around this time after seeing the hard line mounts pull away from the inner fender. At this time I placed a wheel dolly under the transmission to aid the rolling process later.

Finally, I removed the four bolts holding the subframe in place. I started with the rearmost on each side. I wasn't positive about what to expect when I removed the last bolt. The subframe (and my jack) sits under cylinder number four. If the transmission wasn't attached, the engine would fall forward. I suspected that the extra 60+ lbs of the transmission and driveshaft would keep the motor from tipping. My assumption was correct and the last subframe bolt removal was uneventful.

Riding low...

This is where I called it quits. I tried pulling on the jack to separate the yoke on the driveshaft. The jack slipped off the crossmember and is now sitting under the oil pan. I tried pulling from the engine, but I'm hesitant to wiggle the car too much with the jack stands underneath.

The yoke is very close to separating. Any insight on this would be appreciated!