Plan is to open the old motor and hopefully rebuild it over time. Possibly a bit upgraded then sell the stock engine. But I have a full LSJ "pull out" on the way. Engine, IM, SC, ECU, all the sensors, accessories, etc. I plan to sell some of that off to recoup some funds.

 

At a minimum, the ECU is worth a $100 credit at ZZPerformance, iirc.

SC, IM, tensioner, idler should all fetch a decent chunk of change to someone wanting to S/C their 2.2/2.4.

If there's another throttle body included, I'd probably keep it. Don't move the butterfly by hand and I probably wouldn't even spray it with any kind of cleaner, either - the TPS is super sensitive/temperamental and they die fairly easily.

 

Got the "new" engine in and have started tearing it down to give the seals a refresh.
I now need to pull the old engine. I e read conflicting options on the best way to so this. Top or bottom. My previous experience has always been pull from the top. But I understand there are space limits at play and that may not be the best route.
If going out the bottom how high does the car need to be off the ground? I'm afraid I won't be able to get it high enough with my jack stands.
I've read there is more to take apart going from the top but honestly that isn't as much of a concern as getting stuck with the subframe on the ground stuck under a car I can't lift any higher.

 

Bottom by far.

I used to have a step by step walkthrough on how to do it... I'll have to see if I can find it. It's an old GM Performance Division manual that walked you through the best way to change the clutch. It was available for free on the internet about a decade ago... but a lot of the link are deadends now. You can buy it, but screw that... there are free copies available somewhere. I know I had all three sections saved at one point.

http://www.crateenginedepot.com/Ecot...86-P10486.aspx

Essentially, remove the fuse box and disconnect everything electrical on the engine/trans. Drain and disconnect the coolant. Unhook the left and right engine/trans mounts (leave the front and rears attached). Unbolt struts from the top. Unbolt and hang your brake calipers. Drop subframe. I think that's about it.

I put mine in while on jack stands with a little help from the jack. I had everything torn off the front of the car though. Depending on jack stand placement and how you're moving the engine/trans/cradle around, you might be able to slide it in from the side through the wheel well.

 

Put the jack as far aft as possible so that your fulcrum (the jack) sends the front of the lever (the car body) as high as possible. It also helps to start with the rear up. I used two other wheels under the rear tires to do this, and a long bar under the middle of the car as a jacking surface.

 

Yeah i found lots and lots of dead links searching. I ended up ordering that book early this morning, lol.
Under it is. I am lucky enough to have access to an engine hoist.

 

Honestly not a bad investment. Chapters 1 and 2 show you how to pull the engine/trans/cradle to change the clutch... and Chapters 3 and 4 show you how to assemble an engine - I reference those chapters almost every time I put an engine together. There are a few mistakes here and there, but they're mostly simple ones. The one that I remember the most is that they tell you to put the cam gears on and in the next step put a chain guide rail in... but you can't have the exhaust cam gear on when you install that chain guide.

 

Update: Got new engine. New engine was sealed and did the timing and balance shaft chains.

Engine is in the car but will not start. Engine is getting fuel and spark. Engine just spins and spins with no sputtering.

Ideas?

It is at a mechanic currently and we are trying to go through what may be causing this issue.

 

Is the cam position sensor installed correctly? Was it removed from the housing? Doubly sure that timing was performed correctly?

 

Cam Position wasn't removed.
I am having them check both the Cam and Crank position sensors. After that move to the timing since it is the largest job. But sadly my guess is I did the timing incorrect.

 

I'd start with timing as it's actually quite simple to check - align the crank pulley mark and pull off the valve cover. If you followed the build book and aligned the crank pulley mark, aligned all the painted chain marks, etc, then you should be timed correctly.

Cam position is used to start the car - if you didn't remove it and assuming no one prior to you removed it, there's no reason to suspect that it is the issue. Even with the hex key installed 180° out of time, the car will still crank eventually, it'll just take a bit longer. With that said, it's not a TON of trouble to set timing, pull it out, and make sure it's installed correctly... it's also not simple, it's a bit of a PITA to do the first couple times. AAAAAND, if you definitely have fuel and spark... there's really not much else at which to look - without a crank signal, I don't think the car will even spray fuel.

Didn't have any codes? Did you check compression before install? Some '06 and '07 cars are picky about needing a "Case Relearn"... but again, if you have fuel and spark, wouldn't think that's the issue.

 

After 3 long months I finally have the car back and driving at 100%.

I screwed up the timing when I redid it, the shop fixed it for me. Then it had a misfire which was a bad coil on #4 but I had an extra set so no problem.

Now I look forward to finally getting some seat time in this thing. A few autocrosses and track days are hopefully in my future.

Thanks to all the help here, especially USMCFieldMP.

 

Glad you were able to at least get things fixed and start driving it again, bummer it was incorrect timing and a bad coil pack.