Retrieving gearbox and/or engine...

[lando1]

Hi. I haven't visited this site for a while and maybe what follows should be under the 'Questions you think are too stupid to ask' thread. Still...

This is the question. I've been keeping my old 1985 c900 for spares for some years. The wheels were recycled a long time ago, so it's been left standing on thick pine logs. The location being the wet and windy wild hills of North Wales, the pine logs have rotted away and collapsed under the weight of the car, which now sits on soft muddy soil. To raise it up again with jacks etc. in order to access it from beneath could probably be done, but, given the car's muddy location, be quite time consuming, and now I'd like to get hold of the old girl's gearbox. So I wonder, is there a practical quick or lazy way around this? Does anyone know whether it is feasible to attempt retrieving the gearbox and/or engine with top engine bay access only?
I don't think it possible, but thought I'd ask just in case... Thank you.

[TooMany2cvs]

Originally Posted by lando1

This is the question. I've been keeping my old 1985 c900 for spares for some years. The wheels were recycled a long time ago, so it's been left standing on thick pine logs. The location being the wet and windy wild hills of North Wales, the pine logs have rotted away and collapsed under the weight of the car, which now sits on soft muddy soil. To raise it up again with jacks etc. in order to access it from beneath could probably be done, but, given the car's muddy location, be quite time consuming, and now I'd like to get hold of the old girl's gearbox. So I wonder, is there a practical quick or lazy way around this? Does anyone know whether it is feasible to attempt retrieving the gearbox and/or engine with top engine bay access only?

I've not actually remove an engine before, but all the mounts and ancillaries are accessible from the top, so can't see why it'd be an issue. I don't think I've found _anything_ on the c900 engine/box that's not top-accessible...

One question, though - how you planning to lift the engine & box out? An engine crane is just going to sink straight into that ground. If you've got a forklift or something handy, why not just use that to shift the car...?

[lando1]

Thank you for your thoughts, TooMany2cvs. Sounds good. Hope you're right.

About lifting the engine/box out, no crane or forklift. The car is lying near a ash tree, with a solid-looking branch stretching not too high above the engine bay. The idea is to rig a pulley to that branch -- which I'm quite confident can take the weight -- and use a rope and muscles for the rest...

[900t]

The only thing you'd like to remove from under is the coupler for the shifter

[JKlaveness]

Originally Posted by 900t

The only thing you'd like to remove from under is the coupler for the shifter

... apart from needing to pull out a drive axle (usually the right hand side). You might be able to cut it [I mean the gear linkage] from above.

However, it shouldn't be too difficult to raise the car. Dig a ditch from the side in under the car where the jack needs to go, put in a concrete tile or something that can take the load from the jack, and start lifting.

:-J

[Turbo9k]

Keep us posted, this sounds really interesting. I'd love to see where this is going.

[Dr Rock]

Angle grinder & cutting disc: cut the car away from the 'box.

[lando1]

" ... Angle grinder & cutting disc: cut the car away from the 'box... "

Could do. But too far from a convenient electricity source. Then again, could get a generator...


"... it shouldn't be too difficult to raise the car. Dig a ditch from the side in under the car where the jack needs to go, put in a concrete tile or something that can take the load from the jack, and start lifting..."

Yes. I can think of several ways to get her back up. But as as I wrote in my original message, all very time-consuming and, if it has to come to that, I would rather wait until spring, less mud and more pleasant weather. Or I could wait till the next big freeze perhaps, with the ground frozen hard, but in my experience major outdoor car work and freezing fingers definitely don't go together...

Anyway, as the consensus is that it is possible, I guess I'll have a go at it from the top. It's probably going to be a lot of fun.

[TooMany2cvs]

Originally Posted by lando1

About lifting the engine/box out, no crane or forklift. The car is lying near a ash tree, with a solid-looking branch stretching not too high above the engine bay. The idea is to rig a pulley to that branch -- which I'm quite confident can take the weight -- and use a rope and muscles for the rest...

You could do that with the front of the car, too...?

[lando1]

"... You could do that with the front of the car, too...?"

Possibly. But with the extra weight this would involve, I wouldn't be that confident the branch would handle it, however solid it may look. It would be a shame to cause it to snap/break now that I know it may be of use in extracting the engine/box out of the car in its current situation.

[crwchf01]

Rent a battery powered Sawsall and cut the axle and the coupling. Won't have to jack the car in any way, and will let you salvage the shifter also.