A1 Engine Pull

I

ITB#32VWGTi

New member
Need to pull the motor out of the 83 GTI.

Bentley Manual refers to dropping the motor out thru bottom, then lifting body, then sliding out motor.

If I pull the tranny from the below, can I just use an engine hoist pull the motor up and out of the body?

Another question, I recall reading in GRM that the A1 car does not like to be rolled around once the motor has been pulled (something about wheel bearing getting trashed), is this true?

If so, how do you guys get around this?

I thought maybe I could use those little wheel dollies.

Ron Vaughn
ITB #32 SWDiv.
 
I can help with the bearing question:

I have an A2 Golf and rolling around a chassis without a cv shaft destroys the bearing. All you have to do is get old cv shafts, hack off the outer knuckle/spline/assembly (whatever you want to call it) and slide it through the bearing, attach nut on other end as normal, and you are all set.

Regards,
Alan
 
drop the trans. out the bottom, remove the hood and pull the engine out the top, much easier and quicker than droping the engine out the bottom. Just how i do it, its about as quick as any engine removal/install gets. if u have a lift u might try dropping the engine out the bottom.
 
It's easier to drop the entire assembly (engine/trans) out the bottom. Then, you can dis-assemble what you need, without having to be Gumby.

Yes, don't move the car around too much with-out the outside 1/2 shafts in the hubs. You will wear out the bearings, since they aren't held tightly together by the axel nut.



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Tim Linerud
San Francisco Region SCCA
#95 ITB GTI, GP for 2002
 
I agree with Tim. Disconnect everything (ie intake, header, rad hoses, electrical connections, axles, etc), and attach engine hoist via chain to the right side of engine and tranny. Loosen all four engine/tranny mounts and lower engine/tranny to the floor. I place an old broom under the oil pan so the combination can slide easier.

Once the entire unit is out, then the engine and tranny can be separate with minimal effort. Removing and installing engine/tranny as one unit is the easiest way. Regards, Ryan.
 
I'm a engine/tranny out the bottom advocate too. Makes for an easy job, and as was said, you can then pull the tranny fairly easily.

And no, don't roll the car around w/o stubs in the wheel bearings, they'll be junk!

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MARRS #25 ITB Rabbit GTI
 
Thanks guys......

I dont have a car lift (working in garage), so how do you guys "lift the car" up to clear the engine/tranny?
Are you just using a floor jack, and just keep adding 'stuff' to block it up?

My reason for attempting the 'out the top' method is...

I need to put my spare GTI in the garage and pull the spare motor.

Then set spare car back down on the ground so I can move it out of the garage.

Then move the race car in the garage, and pull race motor.

Then move the race car back out of the garage. (whew)

About these bearings,....can I just reinstall the half shafts back into the front hubs, tighten the 'big nut', maybe support the inner portion of the 1/2 shaft with a cloths hanger? Then move the cars around, and store in the driveway?

Ron Vaughn
83 VW GTi - ITB
SWDiv
 
Ron,

You can place the half shafts back in the car and hold with hangers/bungees, but I have had two problems with this.

1. It is a pain in the butt and the shafts will sometimes get jammed with the rack or something else in the way, etc.

2. Having the inner joint exposed to the elements would not be smart...no matter how well you cover them with plastic, you are still runnning the risk of getting moisture, etc in there.

My advice is to get some "junk" axles from somewhere, and then knock off the ends to use...this is a much easier method, and then you do not have to worry about ruining your axles.

I would also be careful about continually lifting the car to a good height, you could run into a safety issue. However, you can buy jack stands for trucks (I bought mine new for $99 for all four) that can have the car more than 2 1/2 feet in the air, this may or may not be enough to slide the motor out, I am not 100% sure on that one.

Good Luck,
Alan
 
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