How do you remove your engine?

[Lyn Labahn UW-Madison]

This year we are returning to removable rollhoop braces so that we can remove our engine. I remember being at competition the last couple of years and being dumbfounded at how most teams remove the engine(Wollongong comes to mind). Does anyone remove it through the cockpit? I toyed with the idea this year, but it would have required a removable seat belt brace on my frame. I think the easiest way would be to have some sytem that allows it to be dropped in and out of the bottom. Just curious as to see if any of you have some slick sytem.

[Lyn Labahn UW-Madison]

This year we are returning to removable rollhoop braces so that we can remove our engine. I remember being at competition the last couple of years and being dumbfounded at how most teams remove the engine(Wollongong comes to mind). Does anyone remove it through the cockpit? I toyed with the idea this year, but it would have required a removable seat belt brace on my frame. I think the easiest way would be to have some sytem that allows it to be dropped in and out of the bottom. Just curious as to see if any of you have some slick sytem.

[Brent Howard]

Jack the car up, or hang it off a crane, and then remove te engine through the bottom of teh chassis. It requires a little bit of finesse and more than one preson, but it works nicely.

Brent

www.ucalgary.ca/fsae (http://www.ucalgary.ca/fsae)

[Charlie]

Out the bottom. We had to do it at competition the night before the endurance race, and it was pretty painless.

-Charlie Ping
Auburn University FSAE (http://eng.auburn.edu/organizations/SAE/AUFSAE)
5th Overall Detroit 2003
? Overall Aussie 2003. http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[gus]

we usually go out the cockpit actually. Under the seatbelt mount, but there's also a removable seat mounting bar that comes out for this. It involves removing all intake/exhaust as well, then the firewall and seat, and having 2 guys hug around the chassis while one guy stradles the chassis and pulls out a zx-6r. Are we the only team here that looks like a drunken ballet whenever we do this?

Gus Aramayo II
Iowa State Cyclone Racing
Engine Team Co-Captain

[bigtoyota9]

yeah we remove ours from the bottom also, but our rear chassis also detaches from our tub, and getting the engine out is extremely easy at that point. The handful of times we have had to do so we have just split the chassis.

[Sam]

Out of the bottom

Sam Graham
Engine Group Leader 2003
UQ Racing

[A Reinke]

through the top...we actually pulled ours out friday afternoon in 1 hour with 3 of us.

http://aod.no-ip.com/images/fsae/img%20003.jpg

if you remove the main hoop supports, and the rear shocks from the frame mounts, you can pick the engine up with two guys...although awkward, it comes out.

~Adam

[LukeT]

Wow Adam, I'm amazed how nice your floor looks! Ours has all sorts of random marks from fluids soaking in, solvents removing the paint, etc... http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif


-Luke Thompson
Vandals Racing 2003-04
University of Idaho

[EliseS2]

We disconect rear brake line, oil line, fuel line, some quick diconect electronic connections, disconnect dry water connections, throttle cable, then the front connections to the rear a-arms, then a total of 8 main bolts that connect our rear structure to the front frame, and the engine are entire rear structure will drop straight down. This can even be done a table you just lift the front frame up and pull the engine out.

Our quickest time was twenty minutes and that does not include oil and brake lines. It did include only one allen wrench set, not even an allen socket set. So I estimate a sub 40 minute job with two people and two allen socket sets.

[A Reinke]

Luke, that floor is in the machine shop...we pretty much would get yelled at by the machinists if we left a mess there. we had a pile of oil dry on the floor soaking up the diff fluid that kept leaking...

i stained the other part of the room with gas on the floor last year. http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

[DoItDoug]

Our driver seat/tub pops out in about 4 seconds, then we pull the engine out where the seat back was. Extremely easy...

Doug Temple
'02 VT FSAE
www.vtmotorsports.com (http://www.vtmotorsports.com)

[Angry Joe]

Out the bottom. We usually let the engine sit and pick the car up around it http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif



Lehigh Formula SAE Alumni
Team Captain 2002-2003

www.lehigh.edu/~insae/formula (http://www.lehigh.edu/~insae/formula)

[RFR Joe]

Straight out the bottom...... It takes like 2 or 3 guys.... disconnect exhaust and intake, and all electrical and fuel connections. Take out 4 bolts and let the engine sit on the ground. Then lift the rear of the chassis up... thats it. We've done it in around 20min.


Rutgers Formula Racing (http://www.rfr.rutgers.edu)

[A Reinke]

we got ours out with the exhaust header on. http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[Frank]

you'd have to mad not to design it so headers come out wif the engine

[Tim]

Our engine (wollongong) has always come out though the bottom. This has been the case on both the 2001 and the 2002 car. It isnt a hard task. You just have to know what you are doing

[Colin]

we run the engine as a stressed member so the rear and front can be removed seperatly, it makes removal really easy

Full Boar Racing

[jerktaculus]

i'm with you colin .. front rear detach is the way to go. Making the electrical connections at the firewall and ensuring that engine subgroups remain attached with the rear subframe will make engine fixes a snap .. we recently parted the frame to check the head journals for wear - 45 minutes apart - a little longer back together. No engine subcomponent reassembly/bleeding etc .. it's a nice system.