So.. My 05 r/a developed a rod knock a few weeks ago, and I've decided to do a swap. I have the old engine almost ready to come out but this being my first ever swap I am unsure of some things.
First of all I've searched for an answer to this question and I'm getting conflicting answers. Is it possible to pull the 4g69 out with the transmission still attached or do they need to be pulled separately?
Secondly, concerning the driveshafts, do they need to be pulled out of the driveshaft assembly or can I simply unbolt the assembly from the tranny? Sorry if that is a dumb question but I am a total newbie at this. Any help is appreciated, thanks all for your time,
Matt

 

You should be able to pull it out with the trans attached, however, you'll make life easier for yourself if you detach the trans before pulling the engine. Not hard to do as it's only a few extra bolts.

As for the axles, you need to disconnect them from the trans before pulling everything out.

 

the question is. is it absolutely necessary to even take the trans out? if its rod knock all that needs to be replaced is the engine.

unless the trans you're getting is lower miles than the one you have now or you're beginning to have trans problem i dont see any point in swapping that out

 

Yeah the new trans has 33k miles vs 87k on my old one.

 

Damn wish u were pulling ur stuff earlier I woulda bought ur old tranny

 

I don't think there's enough clearance to remove the engine without either removing the trans first or taking them out as one piece. I may very well be wrong about that as I'm just picturing it in my head and there's very little room to shift the engine towards the passenger size so the clutch/flywheel can clear the trans housing.

 

i took my engine out w/o removing my trans. same with putting it back in

 

So My engine came today and the yard is claiming that it was never going to come with a tranny when they originally told me it would.. So I'm pretty pissed off about that, but I guess I'm using my old tranny.. No big deal.
I got the engine out without pulling the tranny but it was a pain in the ***. I think I will end up having to pull the tranny anyway to install the new engine. I wish I had pulled the tranny first.. That would have saved me a ton of trouble. Is there a way to remove the a/c condenser without losing the freon? Because those lines kept being a pain in the *** and getting in the way.

 

you can always recharge the a/c, i don't even know if they still use freon...but it can be replenished like everything else...pulling engines is easier with 3 people i find, we pulled the engine and tranny out of our impreza in one piece that was a hassle cause the way the transmission is mounted, much like a RWD V configuration...getting the front axles plus rear shaft out involved taking the knuckles right off the lower control arms...haven't had to do it to my lancers yet...

 

hmm.. i probably should've mentioned that i had a cherry picker to help get the engine out of the bay

 

You can't get it out without losing the refrigerant (car uses R132a, freon (r-12) is no longer legal to use in cars made after 1994). I would not recommend draining the refrigerant, though. Getting the trans out should make it a bit easier to clear the lines. A/Cs can be finicky, better to leave them alone IMO.

 

lol i wouldn't even try to pull a motor without cherry picker...unless you garage has some beefy rafters, then you could chain jack it and move the car once it's up... i don't know anything about a/c we just disconnected the lines, but if you don't have to take it out to move the engine otter is probably right...

 

Ok I pulled the trans today and I went to bolt it up to the new engine and I noticed that the engine was missing one of the little cylindrical tabs that lock the two together not sure what they are called?? I tried to pull one off my old engine but just managed to scrape it up.. Anyone know what those things are called and where I can get one?

 

Also I noticed my front and back mounts were bad so I ordered the rrm ones.. Anyone had experience with them? I've had pretty bad wheel hop in the past from my drivers side wheel.. Hoping they will also help with that..

 

Yeah, thanks I'm going to just leave it in.. It should be easier with the trans out.