MGA Forum

I need to have my transmission serviced. After reding tons of posts I decided to remove the engine separately from transmission. I've unbolted everyone I can see. Transmission, engine mounts , starter motor and all cables and hoses. I can't see anything that ould hold it in place. as I jacked to lift th engine it won't budge. Even lifted the front of th car off the ground.
Any ideas what I'm doing wrong.

If anybody is in the southern Maine area I sure could use the help. British car mechanic Eric Van Sickle was my go to guy. Sadly, he recently passed away.

Thanks,

Larry

Double check that all bolts from the engine to transmission are removed. Moss lists 7 bolts. Plus the one for the starter.

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1978 MGB
When diagnosing issues related to running and stalling, always check to see if you have gas in the tank first.

Thanks for the reply.

Just checked again. All fasteners removed. Do I need to remove the large bolt at the rear of the transmission to remove just the engine?

I thought I could use it as an anchor to remove the engine by sliding it forward. As you can guess this is first time removing the engine. Sure was a whole lot easier to work on with the body off.

Cheers.

Larry

The front part of the gearbox needs to be supported while you try to pull the motor forward. Otherwise the input shaft will drag on the clutch and crankshaft end bush.

Even when the motor and gearbox are pulled as a unit, it usually takes some jogging to separate the gearbox from the engine.

Now you attempting to jog 400 pounds of engine vs 80 pounds it thereabouts of gearbox! Not fun at all!! ;(



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2024-04-14 04:48 PM by MG14611.

Sometimes they kind of stick together. In fact sometimes the clutch will stick to the flywheel.

Lift the engine as high as it will go again, then put a 2x4 between the transmission and the frame crossover tube (should fit nicely) then let the engine down again . This might crack loose the stuck parts so you get a small gap between the engine rear plate and the transmission bell. Then you can use a wood or plastic wedge in and work the crack open. You can use a prybar if you are careful. Lift the engine to the correct angle again to remove.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-04-14 04:53 PM by szpcn0.

You can't just lift the engine. You need to support its weight then slide the engine forwards off the transmission first motion shaft.

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Eric Russell ~ Mebane, NC
1961 MGA #61, 1981 Alfa Romeo GTV6, 1984 Alfa Romeo Spider, 1991 Honda ST1100

That and you have to clear the cross member as well. Easier if you slide the transmission back a bit.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-04-14 09:01 PM by tdgray.

Larry
Not sure what you mean by service the transmission, please clarify.
Ron

Hi Ron,
For some reason I can’t shift into gear. Came on instantly.
Needs to come out for rebuilding.

I've done this a lot with my 1500 low-starter over the past half million miles. Leave the gearbox anchored at the rear. Remove the peripheral parts. Remove 8 bolts from bottom of engine mounts. Remove starter motor. Just 6 more bolts in the bellhousing to engine rear plate, 2 bottom, 2 left side, 2 top. A late 1500 (early 1959) or later MGA or MGB high-starter gearbox would have one more bolt a few inches below the starter motor.

Lift engine until the bellhousing touches top of tunnel. Insert a short piece of 2x4 board (1-1/2-in thick) between frame round tube and bellhousing to support the gearbox in this full-up position. Pull engine forward, and it should slide right out. The crank pulley will just touch on the steering rack, might scratch a little paint there on the way over.

Once all the bolts are out, the only thing still interfacing between gearbox and engine is the gearbox input shaft. If the engine has been running any time in the past 10 years, the splines between shaft and clutch disc hub will be loose an free. No way those could be stuck unless it had been sitting a long time in enough humidity to be heavily rusted.

The clutch disc might be fused to flywheel and pressure plate, but they are captured anyway and do not need to move during engine separation, so not a factor here.

That leaves the spigot nose of the gearbox input shaft engaged in the spigot bushing in the crankshaft. If the spigot bushing was badly worn and failed, it could split into two pieces with one piece orbiting around to jam between the other half of the bushing and the shaft. That could account for both non-release of the clutch (can't shift into gear) and a jam to prevent pulling the crankshaft away from the input shaft.

Solution then would be brute force. Wiggle engine around to get a slight crack between rear plate and bellhousing. Slip in a knife blade or putty knife,and wiggle some more. As the crack begins to open uop, progress to a thin screwdriver, then thicker instruments, even a pair of pry bars. Do keep the engine back plate and bellhousing close to parallel to avoid stressing the input shaft alignment. Ultimately you need to apply enough separation force to pull the shaft spigot out of the jammed up bushing in the crankshaft.

That said, I've never seen one jam like that before, but it could happen. When you get it apart, take some pictures. It would be good to document another "edge case" in the annals of MG maintenance adventures.

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Barney Gaylord - 1958 MGA with an attitude - http://MGAguru.com - barneymg@mgaguru.com - Ph: 630-946-3841
(Please email me direct, do not leave a PM on the public server).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-04-16 09:17 AM by barneymg.

99.9% of the time you are absolutely sure all bolts are out, but one isn’t.
Find the bolt you haven’t removed.