Morris Minor Owners Club

Having spoken to a couple of people who have done engine swaps recently, I was surprised that both of them removed the bumper assembly, fromt panel and radiator panel. None of this is necessary. All I do is remove the radiator. With the weight of the engine taken by the hoist I then remove the nearside engine mounting tower. With everything disconnected and the engine to gearbox bolts removed, support the box with a trolley jack to prevent it dropping and possible damage. Lift the engine slightly and remove the offside engine mounting nut, lift the engine clear of the mounting and pull it apart from the gearbox. You may be thinking that there is not enough space to move the engine clear of the box with front panels in place, the trick is to rotate the engine 90 degrees as soon as the input shaft is out of the clutch. Your moggie engine bay now looks like a mini's! With the engine across the bay there is plenty of room to lift it out.

Replacement of the engine is just as easy, drop it in across the bay and rotate into place.

This works every time and is far easier than disturbing all the front panels!

Thanks 'StaffsMoggie'

Did think about this but didnt think there was enough room. Next time maybe I can miss out all this mess then

Great looking Minor there, I forgot to mention remove the bonnet. I just find this method easier when taking an engine out of one of mine, with a car in the condition yours is in the front panels would come off far easier than mine would.

Yes - this is the standard way to remove the engine - and no need to remove bonnet just take the prop pin out and swing it upright and tie with rope to the boot handle - it's ok - the hinges can take it! Engine to box bolts are easy enough - there's very much more difficult parts to get at on a Mini - be glad it's a Minor.
Although the front panel is off here - you can see the bonnet is tied up vertically and the engine could have come straight up and out.
Thanks to badfelafel for the pic - and for letting me play with his engine!

I am looking to take my engine out for the first time (for me that is) . i am going down the remove the front of the car line but i have seen it suggested that it is easier to take out the engine and gearbox at the same time rather than to split the two in the engine compartment. Your thoughts would be appreciated

I found it much easier. To take the gearbox out aswell it is very easy, You simply need to drop the cross member by un-bolting the 4 bolts holding it on, Make sure you have supported the gearbox from dropping down, unscrew the gearbox from the cross member, undo the clutch lever from the side of the gearbox and then un-screw the speedo cable.

beware! When you take the engine out you need to drop the back end of the gearbox so you can lift the engine high (To clear the sump) At this angle all the gearbox oil can run out of the end (Propshaft end). It makes a terrible mess of your drive and if you have parents they dont like it

Ok prop the car up safe and dont forget that putting it in gear will do nothing!


Ok like said below you may be able to just un-bolt the gearbox and move the engine etc forwards without having to take out the cross member. The bolts are accesible from the top;


This is the point in which if you havent taken out the oil its goes everywhere and you get a good telling off


Now its ready to take the grubby thing out. Just double check everything is disconnected as you dont want to rip things out.


Engine should lift up and out



Then all you need to do is make it all shinny and its ready for the fun to start all over again putting it back in!
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Taking the front panel off makes the job so much nicer though - even if it is a ball-ache removing all those nuts and silly hockey sticks.

Its lovely being able to sit down on the floor whilst re-attaching your exhaust manifold.

Fair enough to remove the front if you have the time, but for a quick engine swap I leave it all in place and split the engine from the box. Far easier than taking the box out with the engine, those gearbox crossmember bolts can be a headache if they snap off....

ressurecting this thread, i've always taken the front end off, as i've never used an engine hoist. lifting out by hand is frankly impossible with the front insitue. however rather easy with the front off.

To stop gear oil messing up yer drive just put a rubber glove on the end and tape round it with insulting tape

I did that with a gearbox (Ford) I was moving in the back of my car...

The gear oil ate the glove... and spread oil around in the boot of the car!

Yes but it won't in 10 mins while you get the unit out. Just to give an idea, a good polythene bag gaffa taped on will do

Matt stop buying cheap gloves nitrile ones . industrial cling film always works and cheap in a roll for other jobs

I preferr front panel off if it looks like the bolts will undo easily and leave the gearbox in place.

cheers John

Indeed, it is a boon that the front panel does unbolt, as you can then just wheel the engine away from the gearbox on a trolley jack, as I had to this summer when the clutch release bearing wore down to the metal, leaving me with no clutch:



Working on my own, in intense heat in July, I was able to get the car fixed again in a weekend.

If the engine is detached from the gearbox for removal is there anything to undo at the gearbox end other than the engine to gearbox bolts?

For removal of the engine, no, there is no need to undo anything else at the gearbox; once the engine has been pulled away from the input shaft, it will lift away quite easily.

My gearbox support member had been welded in place and had to be ground off when the garage fitted my new clutch.
Looks like it would have been easier to take the engine out with the front panel removed rather than faff about with the cross member?

Peted7202 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 08, 2022 5:27 pm If the engine is detached from the gearbox for removal is there anything to undo at the gearbox end other than the engine to gearbox bolts?

Yes, the clutch pedal return spring, ask me how I know

I did it with the front end in place and it wasn't difficult, best to remove the radiator though, it does come out with it in place but can make a mess when the engine suddenly comes free from the box and swings forward (found out the hard way!).