I'm really not sure why you're having this problem. I'm guessing it's because you're using an overhead hoist instead of a cherrypicker with a leveler bar. If you already have the trans unbolted from its mounts you might as well pull the axles and move the trans out towards the driver side wheel well. Then you'll have tons of room.

 

about 2 years ago i was hit in the passenger's side right about where the head-light is. he was going about 35-40mph when he collided with me. so i assume that MAY have something to do with it.

 

Hmmm....how far are you from Orlando dude?

 

i'm in the very very north-west tip of florida... i'm not sure exactly how many miles or hours though. i think about 8?

eh finally got the engine out. it slipped right out the bottom with no problems, hang-ups, or head-aches. don't ask how i accomplished that with the tools i have at my disposal, just know that it happened. :-D

found out i slung a rod. there's a hole right above my oil pan... hah!

 

so now that i'm in the process of putting the new engine in, i am again running into problems...









is there any certain way to twist, turn, augment, or any other thing that will give clearance... something that's simple? am i overlooking something?

 

Did you try going in the same way you came out? lol

 

Take the oil filter and crank pulley off and see if that gives you enough room. I seriously have NO idea why you don't have enough room. Like you said, it must be the accident damage.

Since everything else is apart, you might as well just lower the trans out of the way instead of fighting with it. It's only another couple of minutes to do.

 

thank you guys for your help!

and mcgarvey... i finally took your advice and unbolted the last tranny mount and pushed the whole thing towards the driver's side.. i didn't undo the driveshaft, but it still gave me JUST enough clearance to fit the flywheel into the bellhousing. from there, i was able to attach the clutch assembly.

the rest should be fairly easy. thank you guys again!

 

oh, one other thing... i've already stuck all the bolts from the block to the bellhousing, and wiggled it in as far as i can but there is still a little less than 1/4" to go. it will not wiggle any further. when i turn the crank pulley with the car in gear, it gets to a certain point and thens starts to turn the wheels. so i'm assuminjg that the clutch disc has in fact slid onto the shaft inside the tranny.. because it won't wiggle any further, would it hurt anything to begin tightening the bolts evenly and let them suck it all together?

 

the motor and bellhousing are fully together now and all the bolts are tight. one problem i think is that my clutch pedal is WAAAY soft. should i bleed the lines before i continue any farther? or is it even possible that i could have gotten air in the line?

 

If you disconnected the clutch line you will need to bleed it, yes. I'm assuming yours is an 02-03?

2004 and up used an external slave cylinder and no hydraulic lines need to be disconnected.

 

so i've bled my clutch line... there was somehow air in the line. anyway, that problem is gone, i have a clutch again. i've put my ac compressor, power steering pump, my accessory belt, alternator & belt, and my starter on. also reconnected my exhaust to my exhaust manifold. all that is left is to reconnect my vacuum hoses and all the electrical connections and i'll be ready to start her up tomorrow! wish me luck!

 

update!!!

everything is together and looks great. checked the oil, it is up to acceptable level and is colored fine.

upon start-up, the engine did nothing but spin. it tries to start, then all i hear is the starter spinning. here and there, i hear a loud grinding noise which i am assuming is the starter grinding against the flywheel. i am thinking the bendix is going out on the starter because it only turns the motor over maybe once. after that, all i hear is what i believe to be the starter spinning.

with the help of my father, we push started the car. it relucantly fired up. that aspect alone points to a faulty starter imo.

while running, there was a lot of valve chatter and the motor sounded more like a john deere instead of a mitsubishi. my check engine light never popped on. i put the car in gear and drove it maybe a total of 20-30 feet. it drove fine, just sounded like crap.

now here are my questions... am i safe to assume that i need a new(er than mine) starter? the flywheel had a little shine on a few of the teeth, but otherwise looked A-OK.

what would cause all the valve chatter? maybe the fact that the motor hasn't been cranked up for AT LEAST 3 months? (i have no clue how long it had been in the junkyard before i got it)

why would it sound like a diesel engine? should i check my timing? would that have any affect on the sound?


again, thank you everyone for all the help!

 

I like how you put up your lancer now that it's working to be honest I'm going to have to assume that since it's been down for a long time that would explain some noise, not everything has been greased up yet. Maybe Mcgarvey can shed some light ont hat thought, because he is smart as hell with pretty much everything engine wise

 

Sounds like the top of the engine is dry. If you say it's been sitting in the yard for a while.