Teardown
We'll begin teardown assuming the engine is already out of the vehicle. As a note before disassembly, it’s sometimes a good idea to take pictures during your teardown process to help ensure everything goes back in the correct place. If you haven't already, you'll need to remove the ignition coils before mounting the engine on a stand. Using an engine stand isn’t a requirement, but it helps keep your workspace clean and makes it easier to maneuver the engine. To mount the engine, you'll need an engine stand adapter which you can find on the Links page.
Then you'll want to remove the following parts in order:
- Knock Sensor
- Spark Plugs
- Oil Pressure Sending Unit
- Heater Core Hose
- Upper Intake Manifold
- Oil Filler Neck
- Extension Manifold (connects upper and lower intake manifolds)
- Alternator, Belt Tensioners, Crank Position Sensor, Water Pump Pulley
- Vacuum and Air Hoses
Then stop and label all of the wiring harness connectors. One way of doing this is marking each harness and connector with it’s own sequential number. This will save time and reduce errors when putting the engine back together. I would also recommend doing this with vacuum hoses where possible. If the hose is too small to write a number, you can use counts of lines or dots to differentiate. When you’re confident you’ve got everything documented, unplug the connectors on the main wiring harness and unbolt the harness from the block.
Now to finish, you’ll need to remove
- Fuel line
- Lower intake manifold
- primary fuel rail, lower injectors and vacuum splitter lines
- oil pump stand
- oil metering pump and injectors
Then you’ll be ready to remove the flywheel/flexplate, and pulley
lockbolt. Because the 54mm nut that holds the flywheel to the eccentric
shaft is torqued to 289-361 ft-lbs, you’ll want the flywheel/flexplate
holding tool designed to keep the engine from rotating. You can find
links to several options on the Links
page. Bolt this special tool to
the block. The front crank pulley lockbolt is torqued to 222-250 ft-lbs,
and you’ll need the flywheel held to keep the engine from rotating when
loosening. So loosen the front pulley lockbolt, and then loosen and
remove the flywheel nut. When the nut is loose, you may need to tap
the flywheel with a rubber or plastic mallet to loosen it from the
eccentric shaft. If this is the case, I recommend threading the
flywheel nut a few threads on to the eccentric shaft so the flywheel
doesn’t fall to the floor.
Then continue by removing thermostat housing, water pump and oil pan.
Before removing the pulley lockbolt be prepared to store the bypass
valve and spring that the lockbolt secures inside the eccentric shaft.
Remove the lockbolt and pulley boss. Once the pulley boss is removed,
you can unbolt and remove the front cover. After that, you’ll want to
unbolt the oil pump and remove the oil pump and drive assembly from the
eccentric shaft and engine. It would be best to store these together
as well. Then you can remove the balance weight, thrust plate, spacer,
thrust bearing and eccentric shaft key. These items should also be
stored together. Now you’ve torn the engine down to the short block.
Flip the engine so the rear of the engine is facing upwards. Loosen the tension bolts holding the block together in 2-3 passes. Pull the rear iron off of the rear rotor housing, being careful not to lose any apex or side seals. Get a rubber band (one of the water jacket seals will work) and raise the rotor halfway out of the rotor housing. Wrap the rubber band around the circumference of the rotor to keep apex seals in place. Remove the rotor from it’s housing, being careful to collect any seals that come loose from the rotor assembly. Store rotors facing upright on a soft surface so as not to damage the rotor face. Then remove the tubular dowel pins and lift the rotor housing from the intermediate housing. To remove the intermediate housing, the eccentric shaft will need to be lifted a few inches vertically, allowing the intermediate housing to clear the rotor journal. Be careful not scrape the intermediate housing on the eccentric shaft as this could damage both parts beyond reuse. With the intermediate housing removed, remove the front rotor and rotor housing in the same order as the rear. Remove the front side housing from the engine mount, and disassembly is complete.