Pulling out an OM617
 

I sold the motor out of my parts car and need to pull it for the buyer,
I have never done a complete engine removal before.
Any old hands out there have a breakdown on the order of removal?
Any and all tips are appreciated.
I do have a loader on my tractor so actual lifting it out is no problem

Is is somewhat simple, and can be done in about 4 hours. Disconnect everything. You will need to tilt the motor by 45 degrees or so to get it out so you will need one of those tilt bars. I left the transmission connected. Not sure if one could easily disconnect the transmission before removal. Just systematically remove everything. The tough part for me was the oil pressure line to the oil filter housing. I had to get one of those semi-closed wrenches designed for nuts on lines. The engine and transmission are heavy. I bet the drive train weighs about 1,000 pounds. I suggest you remove the radiator, fan, and whatever you can from the front of the engine to give you room. If you are scrapping the whole car and don't care, then I would just get a saw zall and cut the front radiator support and you will not need to tilt the engine so much. If you did this, you can get that sucker out pretty quick. Also, the A/C will need to be discharged. You will need some huge wrenches or big crescent wrenches to get those lines off also. When I started the actual pulling, I realized I had some of the accelerator linkage / spring down by the oil filter housing still connected, but that was the only thing I missed. There is one or two grounding cables which I almost missed, but caught them at the last minute.

The rest of the car will be scrapped so cutting parts to gain access is not a problem.

If that is the case, then you're looking at about 2 hours max, or maybe an hour depending on how much you cut out of the way. I would zap out the radiator support and if you're just cutting lines, then I would zap them too. You can almost lift the drive train out vertically, without having to tilt the engine 45 degrees or so.

yes rad is already out, I just cut all the hoses and line running to it and drained the fluids into buckets.

Pulling the engine and transmission as a unit is easier than trying to disconnect them in the car. I also pull the oil cooler out still connected to the engine.

I cut the crusty old lines.

Last eng swap I did both the donor & recipient had the bowden cables routed behind the sway bar (between the sway bar & the firewall). If yours is that way you need to disconnect it at the valve cover & get it in front of the sway bar or you'll ruin the cable & still have to remove it to get the eng out.

Correct me if I am wrong: So far from under the car I have removed the trans mount, the driveshaft with flex discs attached, 2 engine shocks, the lower bolt from both motor mounts, speedo cable, lower engine ground, starter leads, all hoses accessible from below cut. Have I missed anything?
I am now under the hood

If the AC is still attached you will need to remove the compressor and the lines attached to the oil pan. There is a little bracket you will see, I believe it's a 10mm nut, in the passenger side of the oil pan. If you cut those lines though, then you're golden.

Also it was mentioned above that the AC needs to be discharged, but I don't think that's correct. You can keep it in tact I believe, but correct me if I'm wrong. (I really hope I'm right, I just rebuilt the damn thing and don't want to again when I do my swap).

I am pretty sure you need to remove or open at least one A/C line unless you leave the A/C compressor behind in the engine bay. Not sure if the lines and hoses permit enough clearance to try that route. I discharged mine. BUT, if your cutting and zapping stuff ... who cares.

^Okay, then you definitely do NOT need to discharge AC. Just unbolt everything attached to the engine and move it out of the way. Compressor detaches, just be careful when dropping the new engine in that you don't pinch anything.

How about the trans cooler lines to radiator, shifter linkage at transmission?

engine and trans are out and on a pallet Took me about 3 hours of actual dismantling although I blew the whole afternoon on it.
Thanks for all the help.
Andrew