Howto: Remove SR20DE

Crim · 10-15-2007, 10:59 AM

B13/B14 Engine Removal Procedure

This document will outline the steps required to remove an engine swap in a NX2000, Sentra SE-R, and 200sx SE-R chasis.
This particular swap was done on a 1993 NX2000. Any special tools required will
be noted at the proper steps, and when possible and alternative method if you do not own the proper tools.

Steps:

1 - Get the Car into the Air

2 - Remove the Battery and Hood

3 - Drain Fluids

4 - Remove the Axles

5 - Remove the Transmission

6 - Remove the Engine

Step 1: Get the Car into the Air

Losen 4x21MM lugnuts on each of your two front wheels. Raise the front end of the car into the air using the proper jack
points, and install jack stands. The rest of the swap will have the car in the air, so its best to play it safe and use real
jack stands.

Step 2: Removing the Battery and Hood

It is important to remove the battery to prevent accidental shorts when removing various sensors and the engine wiring
loom. Plus it frees up a lot of room under the hood.

Detach the positive and negative battery terminals from the battery and pull out of the way. loosen the battery tie down bar,
Two poles are attached to the top bar by 2 10mm bolts, unhook metal rods from the bottom of the tray and remove.

Lift battery out of engine bay. Next remove the battery tray. Approx 4-5 10mm bolts attach the battery tray to engine bay.
2 10mm bolts attach a small fuse box to battery tray, remove them and pull the fusebox out of the way. lift and remove
the battery tray from engine bay.

To remove the hood first remove the windshield washer fluid lines from the hood.
On each side of the hood at the hinges, there will be 2 12mm bolts. When you remove these have a friend
help support the hood so it doesn't fall over potentialy damaging your windshield/fenders/hood/you.

Step 3: Drain Fluids

The first fluid to drain is the main Engine Oil. Place drain pan under the engine's oilpan to catch the oil. Remove 1 14MM
drain bolt on oil pan. Let all Oil drain for 10 min, then replace drain bolt.

Next drain the Coolant. Under the passenger side of radiator there will be a drain plug. The plug pictured uses a philips
screw driver to remove. Place a large catch bucket under the drain, and remove the plug.

Remove the radiator cap to help drain the fluid. Squeeze the lower radiator hose to get as much coolant out of the
engine/radiator as possible. Losen the 2 clamps on the radiator hoses where they attach to the engine.
Remove the radiator hoses from the engine. These hoses are ussualy frozen so will require a twisting
motion to break them loose.

Remove the 2 10mm bolts on radiator support brackets at the top of the radiator.

Unplug wiring harness connectors from the two
radiator fans. Pull directly up on coolant resivor to pop it out of its holder. Lift and remove the radiator, its fans, and resivoir
as one piece. If you do not have enough clearance to pull the radiator with the fans attached, you will need to remove them. Each
fan is held on each corner by 4 10mm bolts.

Next drain the transmission fluid.

On An automatic transmission, there will be 1 19MM bolt on bottom side of transmission that acts as the drain plug.
Place a drain pan under this bolt and remove. The fluid drain for 10 mins, and then replace.

On a Manual Transmission, on the driver side near the bottom of the transmission there will be a drainbolt. Place
a drain pain under the bolt to catch the oil. To remove this plug use a 1/2" drive extension. This will probably
require a breakerbar. Let drain for 10 mins, and then replace the drainbolt. (Not Pictured).

Crim · 10-15-2007, 05:17 PM

Step 4: Remove Axles

Remove all 4 lugnuts from both front wheels, and remove the wheels/tires.

Starting on the driverside, remove the cotter pin from the end of axle. Using 32MM deep
socket, remove the axle hub nut. This Ussualy requires an impact wrench, but it may be possible to remove with
large breakbar and a friend steping on the brakes.

Next remove the 2 17mm (or 18mm depending on year and make) bolts that attach your strut to the hub. Remove the metal clip
that holds your brake line to the strut. This will allow you to get more play with the hub. Pull the hub forward
and towards the back of the car. This should give you enough of an angle to pull the axle out of the hub.

Repeat this process for both sides.

On the driver side, Inspect where the axle enters the transmission. Insert a crowbar inbetween the transmission and axle
and apply force to pop axle out of transmission. You will have to pull the axle the rest of the way out by
hand. Wiggle the axle up and down while pulling. It should pop out fairly easily.

Now move to the Passenger Side, crawl under the engine and notice where the halfshaft is
bolted to the backside of the engine by 3 14mm bolts. These are hard to see, so you might have to feel around to find them.
These are not bolts ALONG the axle/half shaft, but on a metal brace attached to the half shaft and bolted to the engine block BEHIND
the halfshaft. Two of the three bolts are hidden in the picture shown below.
Remove these 3 bolts, and the axle should easily slide out of transmission, no need to use a crowbar on this side.

Crim · 10-15-2007, 05:18 PM

Step 5: Remove Transmission

First we need to be able to get to the transmission, this requires removing various parts that are in our way.

We'll start by removing the exhuast. I found its easiest to just remove the secondaries from the exhuast manfiold.
Using a large wrench unbolt the AIV Tube from the secondaries. There will be a 10mm bolt that holds a bracket to support
the AIV tube. Locate it and remove it. Follow the tube up away from the secondaries where it connects to a rubber hose.
Losen the clamp on the rubber hose and pull the hose loose.

Then remove the 3 14mm bolts that connect the secondaries to the exhuastmanifold. Use a deep 14mm socket.
Once they are loose, pull the secondaries down and out of the way as much as possible.

Remove the AIV hose from air box. then Release the 4 clamps on the air box and lift it up. Remove air filter.
Under the airfilter, the bottom half of the airbox has 3 10mm bolts that hold it to the engine bay, remove these.

Next remove the 2 10mm bolts holding the intake resinator box to engine bay. Using flat head screwdriver remove MAF sensor plug and unhook 2 other wiring connectors that are attached
to intake tube.

Remove 1 small vacuum line from the intake pipe, and one large vac line that is secured with a push clamp. Remove the large breather
hose that runs from the valve cover to the intake pipe.

Unscrew the clamp that attaches your intake pipe to the throttle body. After losened, you can remove the intake pipe/MAF/resonator/airbox as
one piece.

Next we need to remove the starter. Go underneath the car, look on the backside of the engine near where the transmission mates to the block.
Once you've located the starter, remove one signal connector from it. There is also a power wire running to the starter attached
by a 10mm bolt, remove it. Now from above the engine, along the top of the transmission towards the firewall, there are 2 14mm bolts that attach the starter to the bellhousing.
Remove these, however it is best to have a helper holding/supporting the starter from below. This prevents the threads in the starter
from stripping out when you have all the weight resting on the last few threads.

From above the engine bay, remove wiring harness connectors as required along top of transmission and along driver side frame rail.
You will eventually remove all of these, so don't be picky. Just try to remember what goes where. Inspect the transmission for
wiring connectors that you need to remove. If your car is a 1992 or newer, you will have a speedometer cable coming out of the firewall
and running down into top of the transmission. Unscrew it from the transmission, and push out of the way. If you're car is a 5spd,
you will also see a clutch cable. Using the adjustment screws along the cable, make slack in the cable, and unhook the
cable from the shift fork. You want to clear enough room to be able to get to the transmission bolts along the top of the transmission.

If you have a 5spd transmission, there will be a front "dogbone" mount that attaches from the block to the cross member. You need to
remove the 2 12mm bolts that run through this mount. (Not pictured)

Support transmission underneath with a jack, if you have access to a transmission jack then use it.
Along the top of the transmission, Remove 2 17mm bolts from the bellhousing. Then Remove 3 17mm bolts down the front side of
the bellhousing.

If its an Automatic, Remove the shifter cable from front of transmission, there are 3 12mm bolts on the transmission, and one 12mm bolt on the block.
Remove and drain the transmission cooler lines.

Next you need to unbolt the rear motor mount bracket. It is located under the intake manifold, and most easily accessed from
underneath the car. There are 3 17mm bolts and 3 14mm bolts in total that attach
the rear motor mount bracket to the block and transmission. This does not include the bolt that goes through the actaul
rubber mount, this one you do not need to remove. Remove these 6 bolts and the rear mount bracket should be lose enough
for you to move up and down/side to side by hand. It might take you awhile to find all of these bolts are they are hidden in
pockets of the rear bracket. Take your time and locate them all before continuing.

Using the jack, raise the transmission up slightly enough to be able to reach the bottom 2 14mm bolts by using an extension
and a swivl over the crossmember.

If you have an automatic transmission, you need to unbolt the torque converter from the flex plate. If you get under the engine
and look towards the transmission right next to the cross member on the driver side you will see an access plate.
Remove the 2 10mm access plate bolts. By rotating the crank with a 27mm socket, you now have access to the 4 14mm flex plate
bolts thru this access panel. Removing them can be a bit tricky. I ended up using 2 extensions and a swivel. You might need
a friend to hold the crank from rotating when you loosen these bolts.

Next you need to remove the driverside transmission mount. There is 1 14mm bolt that attaches the mount through a bracket into the
frame rail. Remove this. Then you need to remove this mount bracket that is attached to the frame rail by 2 12mm bolts.

Slowly let down the jack while using a crowbar to separate the transmission from the block. The transmission will need to
pull out towards the driver side of the engine bay, and then down and out. Go slowly and be careful to not drop the transmission
or smash your fingers!

Crim · 10-15-2007, 05:27 PM

Step 6: Removing Engine

Basicly we need to disconnect anything that still attaches the engine to anything in the engine bay. Use your best judgment,
and if you notice something that I missed, go ahead and remove/disconnect it.

Remove the throttle cables, if you have cruise control remove that one first. They are 2 14mm nuts, loosen the adjustment nuts
to create slack and and pull the cables out of the throttle body valve.

Remove the brake booster vac line that runs from the intake manifold to the firewall.

Remove the two fuel lines, remember which goes where for future reference. They are attached to the fuel rail by 2 fuel line
clamps. Use a phillips head screwdriver to loosen. The fuel lines will usually be frozen, so use a wrench to grab and twist them
free. Be careful to not tear the fuel lines!

Along the passenger side of engine bay, there are 2-5 electrical connectors, disconnect them and pull the wires
out of the way.

Underneath throttle body, there are 2 heater hoses for your heater car under the dash. Remove them both, be careful
not to spill coolant. These are often frozen as well. Use a wrench to twist them free, being careful to not tear the rubber.

There is 1 12mm bolt that attaches the battery's ground terminal to the engine. This ground wire attaches next to
the thermostat housing.

Depending on year, and model, if your alternator wiring harness does not unplug from the main engine harness remove the 3
connections at the alternator. There is one 10mm power line, one plug, and one 8mm ground wire on the side of the alternator.

If you have AC, and do not wish to evacuate the gases from the system, you need to pull the AC compressor off of the block.
LOOSEN the tension bolt that attaches to the side of alternator. loosen the long tension bolt along the bracket all the way
out. Push the alternator down to loosen and remove the belt. There are 4 14mm bolts that attach the AC compressor to
the block, one at each corner. Remove these, pull the compressor off of the block and support it.

Remove the power steering reservoir feed tube, This is a hose at back of the reservoir secured with a screw clamp. Remove the
hose from reservoir tank, Be careful to catch the power steering fluid that will drain. Remove the power steering rack line
from the back passenger side of the engine bay. Use a 14mm socket and a plumbers wrench to prevent these hard pipes
from bending/breaking when you remove the bolt. Be careful to not lose the crush washers on this bolt!

From this point you should have just about everything removed from the engine except for the wiring harness. Continue
unplugging all sensors from the wiring harness. There are 3 plugs under the intake manifold you need to be sure to
get, 2 ground wires (one on the intake manifold and one on the passenger side frame rail), among countless others. Once you get them all loose, pull the harness back and out of the way so it doesn't get snagged on the engine when you pull it.

Once you feel comfortable that you got all of the wiring harness clips unplugged, you need to attach chains to hoist the engine
out. For one mounting point I usually wrap a chain through two of the intake manifold runners. For the second point I use one of the transmission
bolts to attach the chain. Having a load leveler is encouraged, as the SR20DE is not balanced front to back. Without a load leveler,
you will notice that the engine will want to roll backwards towards the firewall as thats where most of the weight is.

You will now want to attach your chains/load leveler to your engine hoist and raise the motor up so it is no longer resting on
the cross member. You will want to remove the passenger side motor mount. It is a single 14mm bolt.

With this last bolt removed, simply hoist the engine high enough to clear the radiator support bar, and pull it out! Lift
the engine slowly so you can easily determine if there is a snag or if you missed disconnected a plug or two on the
wiring harness.

Congratulations! You've Pulled your Engine!

Crim · 10-15-2007, 05:28 PM

Additional Tips others have chimed in with

-- 5-speed has a 10mm (or 12mm) nut/bolt on the linkage near the transmission that you'll need to unbolt.
-- Make sure you unplug the PS pressure sensor on the hard line on the back of the engine.
-- Drain plug on radiator can be brittle, just undo the bottom hose if your radiator is old.
-- If no one is around to step on brakes while removing axle nut, just stick a big screwdriver in the venting of the disc brake.
-- Have a block-off handy for when you remove the PS Reservoir hose. If you are fast, you'll keep the ATF shower to a minimum.
-- Tag and bag everything that can't be put back on the car right away.
-- Label everything that might be confusing later on
-- Make a template out of an old pizza box to keep the bellhousing bolts organized, they are varying lengths but go in specific holes.
-- Spray down the exhaust bolts the night before with PB Blaster (or whatever); if they are too far gone, just grind em off.

I think that covers it, I'm missing some images for removing a 5spd vs an automatic, maybe someone can email me the proper images and I can link them in.

If you see any errors/issues chime in.

Thanks
Stephen

CovertRussian · 10-15-2007, 09:02 PM

Thanks a lot for taking your time and for posting this writeup!

Thank you for the pictures, they do make it easier to understand things, etc.

This will come in pretty hand

sciamop · 10-15-2007, 10:34 PM

GREAT Write-up! You should provide a link to a nice printable page (Google Docs or PDF)!

How about an addendum covering engine/trans removal from the bottom? I recently pulled (dropped) the engine/trans out of my B13 and was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was: ~6.5 hours start to finish. I think it took me 6 hours to remove the transmission alone when I did the clutch job.

Sentra-specific Notes:
-- 5-speed has a 10mm (or 12mm) nut/bolt on the linkage near the transmission that you'll need to unbolt.
-- Make sure you unplug the PS pressure sensor on the hard line on the back of the engine.
-- Drain plug on radiator can be brittle, just undo the bottom hose if your radiator is old.
-- If no one is around to step on brakes while removing axle nut, just stick a big screwdriver in the venting of the disc brake.
-- Have a block-off handy for when you remove the PS Reservoir hose. If you are fast, you'll keep the ATF shower to a minimum.

General Notes: Tag and bag everything that can't be put back on the car right away. Label everything that might be confusing later on (great tip about the fuel line). I make a template out of an old pizza box to keep the bellhousing bolts organized -- They are varying lengths but go in specific holes. Finally, spray down the exhaust bolts the night before with PB Blaster (or whatever); if they are too far gone, just grind em off.

MR-4Door-SR20DET · 10-15-2007, 10:51 PM

NICE write up...........I have something similar to this printed out.

KdubL · 10-16-2007, 01:05 PM

Excellent write up sir!

ZoliElo · 10-17-2007, 12:18 AM

That was great. Thank you for the write up it is going in my how to folder.

kunkun · 03-13-2008, 01:19 AM

Best write up w/ pics. This is going to help me out in a few weeks.

sr20kid · 03-13-2008, 01:29 AM

great contribution to noobs..excellent job

Canx2k · 03-13-2008, 07:41 PM

one trick I used to help with what goes where when reinstalling stuff: masking tape, crayola markers, and ziploc bags.

masking tape each end of the harnesses and color code (blue/black with blue black) and ziploc bags for the bolts. permanent marker is great for multi-bolt items, so you can know where they go, just go clockwise always, and mark the bolts on the heads with a 1,2,3, etc. then only mark the hole with a 1 on it where the bolt goes, then follow accordingly. also worth mentioning is when switching over parts, to make sure your distributor is clearly marked where it was if switching, and if dropping the engine down instead of pulling up, have a 4 wheel dolly to pull it out from under the car. mine was too low to get on the dolly so i used a carpet and a 2 ton comealong to slide the old n' rusty out from under the car. Also, always having 2 jacks around if you're dropping the engine out as a whole with the tranny is fantastic for a slower, more controlled lowering. Great writeup!

UsaPride · 04-10-2008, 05:48 PM

is it possible to remove the engine without removing the axels/transmission? what if you just undid the transmission bolts and left the axels in? just trying to save myself some time..unless it'll be worse later on.

1SIKB13 · 04-15-2008, 05:34 AM

I removed my Sr20 with the tranny still attached.
Also if you are taking out the harness be very careful on the knock sensor plug. Its hard to get with the motor in the air, i almost smashed my arm

Good write up ***.

erick212 · 04-15-2008, 03:56 PM

Very nice write-up and thank you for taking you time to post this. It will help a lot of people out. I just go the other direction and drop the motor throught the bottom with the trans and harness still attached. I just find it easier and quicker to do..

swishahouse33 · 05-15-2008, 12:10 PM

tired of people asking how to do this! thank you for this writeup.... I will be saving this thing to my computer and giving it to anybody that dosent know how to use the search button

Yellow4g63 · 07-22-2008, 07:08 PM

Quicker way is to leave the axles in the trans and take them out of the hubs. Leave the trans on the motor. Lower the trans and the motor out the bottom with the Xmember attached to the motor and trans. Then just pull it from under the car by the xmember

.

jkutzsch · 09-29-2008, 01:26 PM

I didn't save this to hard drive earlier and now the picture hosting site is down. Anyone got a file with all of the pics in it or a link to another with pics?

Thanks.

jkutzsch · 10-07-2008, 10:09 AM

Still no working pictures! Does anyone have a copy of this or similiar with pics? I have a JDM sr20de waiting to be swapped and would really appreciate finding a copy of this with pics.