Front Subframe brace
#26
Former Vendor
iTrader: (31)
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
Posts: 15,442
Total Cats: 2,104
Sure, yes. I would never pull the engine for just a subframe swap. I would pull all the control arms and the steering rack first, though - IMO it's easier to swap all that stuff with the subframe bolted down to something large and immobile, like a car
#29
Elite Member
iTrader: (7)
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Statesville, NC
Posts: 2,739
Total Cats: 319
Is there a trick to getting the engine lined back up? Getting mine back in involved pry bars ratchet straps and cursing. Ended up pulling both motor mounts, but it was still a massive pain in the ***.
Would still do it without pulling the motor if I had to do it today though.
Would still do it without pulling the motor if I had to do it today though.
What engine mounts do you have? Ever since I swapped to AWR/SPM mounts it's super easy to line the mounts up. They swivel a bit so you can angle them however is needed.
+1 to swapping subframe while bracing engine with it chained to strut tower brace/homemade brace and jack underneath the trans.
One other tip after you get new subframe in. Torque it all down, drive around a bit, and then double check all bolts BEFORE you go get it aligned.
Last edited by flier129; 12-17-2018 at 10:28 AM.
#32
Former Vendor
iTrader: (31)
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
Posts: 15,442
Total Cats: 2,104
Is there a trick to getting the engine lined back up? Getting mine back in involved pry bars ratchet straps and cursing. Ended up pulling both motor mounts, but it was still a massive pain in the ***.
Would still do it without pulling the motor if I had to do it today though.
Would still do it without pulling the motor if I had to do it today though.
I am doing it that way in a few weeks on a customer's turbo NA, and I'll try to remember to stop back by here and say how it went. My plan is to lower the engine about 2", get it bolted to the new subframe, and then use the hoist to lift the whole mess up into the car, pushing front/back/side-side as needed.
#35
Disclosure, I don't recall ever actually doing it that way. I know we swapped a front subframe one of the years at T25, but I either didn't do the lining-up bit, or it was such a nightmare I pushed the memory out of my mind.
I am doing it that way in a few weeks on a customer's turbo NA, and I'll try to remember to stop back by here and say how it went. My plan is to lower the engine about 2", get it bolted to the new subframe, and then use the hoist to lift the whole mess up into the car, pushing front/back/side-side as needed.
I am doing it that way in a few weeks on a customer's turbo NA, and I'll try to remember to stop back by here and say how it went. My plan is to lower the engine about 2", get it bolted to the new subframe, and then use the hoist to lift the whole mess up into the car, pushing front/back/side-side as needed.
#36
Former Vendor
iTrader: (31)
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
Posts: 15,442
Total Cats: 2,104
The way I do it:
#38
Elite Member
iTrader: (14)
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Birmingham, AL
Posts: 2,101
Total Cats: 180
I was wondering about that Sav - thanks for the input! However, I didn't know orientation so looked at how Emilio had the Mazda logo - inward or outward... he had his inward, yours is outward... not that it matters - I thought inward looked to be more level.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post