Brad Huff

Gentlemen
What is the best method to use to remove the engine and transmission on my 5.0 converted NA Miata? I'm thinking that I want to do this from the bottom as opposed to separating the engine and pulling it from the top. The transmission really doesn't need to come out but it looks to me that it would actually be easier to reinstall everything if it all gets pulled out together. My reason for pulling the assembly is my engine has 30% lower compression in one cylinder that comes up to normal with the introduction of oil into the spark plug hole. One of those risks that you take when you buy a car from across the country without seeing it in person. From what I understand, the body of the Miata somewhat limits the ways that you can raise it. I believe that you can support it from the pinch weld jacking points. Am I correct with this? I don't have a lift so I am going to need to invent some means of doing this. I have heard that you can remove the front bumper cover and put a cherry picker around the bumper and lift from there. Is that a good plan? I really would like to hear from a few of you that have done this before. I am planning on replacing the engine with an upgraded version, probably a 331. I figure that this is as good a time as any, although it will probably end up being a project for next spring. Does anyone know if the McCuly's are still building engines? I am kind of leaning towards somebody that has knowledge of the Miata V8 conversions. As usual I am grateful to any and all recommendations. Thank you in advance.-Brad

cvx_20

Dropping it out the bottom is probably easier once you have it elevated enough. The jacking points are a good location to support the chassis once its up in the air, and an engine lift will do the job. I once had a Miata hanging from 2 engine lifts, one on each end. Not necessarily a recommendation. But you can work back and forth, raising each end as much as you're comfortable with and supporting the other end on jackstands placed on the jacking points of the pinch welds. The stacked wooden block approach works well as a stable support also. Be aware that some Harbor Freight jackstands are not to be trusted. As to your question about Jason McCully, judging from the tone of his last known post back in January of 2019, he may be a little overextended, but he may respond to a PM, and his website is still up with a phone number. Let us know what you find out.

BGordon

Brad,
Presuming you have enough room in your garage, unbolting everything from underneath and then tilting the body up and away from the engine/subframe/transmission is the most efficient method.
The second time I did to my V8 Miata it took me about 3 hours to prepare everything before doing the actual lift.
The third time it took less than 2 hours.
Rather than using jack stands I made a wooden box for each rear tire to raise the rear about 15" higher.
The problems I ran into with jack stands on the body lift points is that as the body rotates those points are no longer level and it really seems like it would be real easy for the body to slip off the jack stands.
I did also try using jack stands on a couple of locations behind the rear axles that were round and appear to allow some rotation of the body but overall I felt much safer using the wooden boxes with a hole for the tire to sit into and also was not comfortable with the jack stands supporting the body that high in the air.

For the front, yes you can remove the front bumper cover and use a strap attached to the cross support to do the lift.
If you do not want to remove the front plastic you could disconnect the front sway bar from the suspension but leave it attached to the body and then use two straps with a wood spacer to make a sort of A to connect the straps to the engine lift.
You will be surprised how light the body is without the drivetrain or subframe. I was able to lift mine by hand by lifting on the front plastic bumper because you are actually cantilevering the front of the car.

When you put it back together it will also go back together by reversing the process.
Make sure you bolt up everything possible to the front subframe and engine to minimize the assembly time after the assemblies are bolted together.
You will thank yourself after the fact if you do because so many things are easy to access with the subframe removed but really difficult with it attached to the car.

The other hint I could give you is to utilize the book to tell you torque specs for the bolting and follow them because some of the chassis attachment bolting gets over 100 ft. lbs.

Brad Huff

CVX 20 Thank you for your response. Is it even necessary to raise the rear of the car? I could raise it temporarily in order to disconnect the driveshaft then lower it back so that it is supported by the rear wheels as long as I have a transmission jack under the transmission. Where would someone attach the engine hoist to the front? I thought about cutting v shaped grooves in some 4x4's and covering them with thin carpet to protect the pinch welds as much as possible. I would then build up some wood blocks to place the 4x4's on. Seem logical or am I overthinking this? It looks like this is going to take up the rest of the summer as my time is somewhat limited. I still need to come up with an engine. Rebuilding the existing one seems foolish considering it's "only" a slightly modified 5.0. A 331 would be in the future anyway, so I might as well do it now and be done with it. Any good recommendations on an engine hoist? That will need to be purchased as well. Harbor Freight has some good stuff but there is a point that you should not cross with cheap Chinese tools. The more that I ponder this the more that I think that this might just be a project for next spring. -Brad

Brad Huff

BGordon Thank you for your suggestions. I was submitting my previous response when I read your response. Great ideas! Thank you both. I like your idea of building elevated boxes to trap the rear wheels and raise the rear of the car. The picture is becoming very clear in my mind. This might not be as difficult a project as I first imagined. My problem is that things seem to take me twice as long to do than anyone else. Maybe I'm too meticulous LOL. I will need to buy an engine hoist. Do you have any recommendations? How about for an engine as long as I'm asking? Thank you again.-Brad