Engine and tranny removal advise?
 

Hello to everyone. This is my first attempt to get some advise on a recent purchase on a completed FF cobra so go easy on me.;) I have an oil pressure issue and a few other things I want to check out so I am in the process of removing the engine and tranny. It has a 351Windsor and a tremec 3550 transmission. Can the transmission be removed by itself from underneath the car or does it need to come out with the engine. On the other hand, will the engine and trans even come out together anyway????:CRY: Just some advise on how to go about this venture will be greatly appreciated!

You can do it either way. I prefer to instal/remove engine and trans together, then separate on the floor. In addition to an engine hoist, you'll need an engine tilter.

ENGINE HOIST

ENGINE LEVER JEGS $64.99

TWO PEOPLE

SIX PACK; FOR AFTER THE ENGINE IS ON THE FLOOR

Pull the engine/tranny as one unit. Depending on what type FFR you have MK1 vs MK2 you might have a tranny tunnel support which might make it a tad more difficult but not much. What number FFR do you have? Also check the FAQ at the FF forum. G.

BIRMINGHAM
 

AREOLEAGUE

AS IN ALABAMA?


WE HAVE 10 COBRA IN FLORENCE AND SEVERAL MORE IN DECATUR / HUNTSVILLE AREA.

WE ARE PLANNING A SPRING TRIP TO THE NEW BARBERS RACE TRACK AND MUSEUM.
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DWIGHT FRYE

Wow...thanks to all for such a quick response!! I'm not for sure whether its a MK1 or 2. The Identification number is FFR2879K purchased from FFR in July/01.
It does have the trans. tunnel support that I was worried about but your saying that it still can be removed with engine and trans together? Also, where do I get an engine tilter? Thanks so much for the info!

I would be sure the oil presure problem cant be fixed with the motor in the car.If the oil cooler is hooked up some times that will cause a problem with low oil presure also be sure the oil pickup screen is not to close to the pan. At that time you can take off #5 main cap&#8rod cap& inspect bearings.If they are ok take off pump & put an air line in the main oil feed &presurize to see if any galley plugs have come out. If all this is done take out motor&trans out together.

If your car has a remote oil filter (especially if it has an oil cooler) you might want to check that the oil hose lines have not been reversed. Some oil filters will allow (though not very effeciently) oil to flow backwards through the filter. Most oil filter won't let any oil to flow through them at all if the lines are reversed. It could be possible that they have always been wrong but latter someone changed oil filter brands. May not be the problem but worth an investigation before pulling the motor.

Another thing to consider if your oil pressure is low is that you are using the proper weight of motor oil. too light a weight will cause low oil pressure.

Besides the good advice on checking the filter lines etc you could just drop the oil pan with the engine in the car. The FFR does not have a cross member under the engine so checking the oil pump and even bearings is possible without pulling the motor. You may want to do that before deciding to actually pull the motor. And yes, you can pull the motor and trans together from a FFR but as you have to get under the car anyway to undo the trans mount and the driveshaft you can just as easily undo the 4 bolts holding the trans to the bell housing and leave the trans slid back sideways on the cross member. If you do that you will find that it is much easier to pull the engine without risk to your nice paint job or the aluminum under the hood. Just my .02

Thanks alot for all of the advise on the oil pressure problem and the engine removal.
First ...the engine at this time does not have a oil cooler and does not have a remote oil filter. The guy that built this car told me that it was the only engine he has ever built with low oil pressure. The engine has about 800 miles on it and all the parts are brand new on this engine build. He has already replaced the high volume oil pump with another new unit. He also checked the main bearings but did not check the can bearings. Also he told me to pull the oil pan first(which I'm in the process of) and check the pickup tube clearance to the oil pan and make sure that he installed a gasket on the other end so that the pickup isn't sucking air. As far as what its doing......initially when the motor is cold it runs around 40 psi ( with 50 weight oil) but slowly declines when when it warms up to as low as 15 psi. Sometimes when you are driving along at cruising speed and let of the gas the oil pressure will actually go up rather than go down which doesn't make sense to me. Any other ideas on what can be causing the problem please let me know. My friend that I bought it from has been sick and just didn't feel like troubleshooting it anymore. Ya'll have been very helpfull in helping me with this project and I hope I can return the favor in the future.
Thanks, Mark

Be very, very careful !!

Thanks.....believe me, I will.

Check the oil pressure with another gauge to make sure your oil pressure gauge is working properly. The decide what to do about the problem.

Thanks sharp for that advise. I replaced the electronic oil pressure gauge with a mechanical one and got the same readings. I know sometimes you can overlook the simplest problem and fix what isn't broken.
Thanks again, Mark

The 15 PSI ..... is that at idle? What do you have at cruise? An old rule of thumb is 10 PSI per 1000 RPM.....
I've seen small blocks with very liberal bearing clearance experience "low oil pressure" but stay together for years without a problem. If you can hold something around 35 PSI under normal driving conditions, I wouldn't rip and tear things apart unless you notice other symptoms of low oil pressure that could signal a problem.

Thanks for the info. I was getting around 40 to 45 cold at cruising RPM (2200) but also a fluctuation up and down also . Ounce heated up I get around 15 to 20 at cruise.( and thats with 50 W oil) Anyway I guess it looks like the engine has got to come out for sure now since I removed the oil pan and had a heap of shiny metal shavings and CHUNKS in it. DAMN! The engine ran great and didn't make any funny noises and didn't run hot but I had only driven it maybe 60 miles since I bought it from my friend that is a great engine builder!
Every part in the engine is brand new so what do I do now?????