B3 1.3 liter engine replacement

[rret]

i need to replace the engine in my son's festiva.

i see some threads saying it's possible to just remove the engine (and leave the tranny alone). any DIY on that method?

the other way is to remove the engine and tranny as one unit - my question is why does the cradle underneath need to be removed? can't it just sit there after you remove the mounts to the tranny?

[ejp2fast]

rret, is this an automatic or manual car? the biggest issue you will have is distance of separating the engine from the trans. I really think either way, you'll have to remove the transmission... there isn't enough clearance on the passenger side engine bay (by the timing belt) between the engine and frame for engine to move all the way over (if the tranny is stationary) and then up... it just won't work... tranny isn't too hard to remove... especially if its an automatic. also, what year is the car? do you have a cherry picker or equivalent?

[htchbck]

been there done that... both ways, with leaving that trans and pulling them together. Its a lot easier to get the engine/trans out together, and a whooole lot easier getting them stuck back together out of the vehicle. That said, one time I had just done my front suspension and didn't feel like taking it back out again to remove the axles so I just went ahead and pulled the motor and left the trans... with a B3 or B6 its not hard, the main hard part is aligning the engine with the trans in the engine bay when its going back in With a B8 or BP you won't have room the motor is too long, they have to come out together. Hope that helps/makes sense

[htchbck]

oh, almost forgot, with all the swaps and engine/trans replacements I've done on these cars, I've never, NEVER removed the crossmember (which I'm guessing is the part you are calling the cradle). Its just simply not necessary, its to much easier to pull everything out the top

[Levitan]

Only reason I see to remove the cradle is if you didn't have a cherry picker and were going to remove it out the bottom.

[hawkdoc60]

I definitely recommend removing both as a single unit. I found it easy to yank them out through the top as opposed to through the bottom as stated in the manuals.

[SIBladerunner]

I'm with these guys, removing the craddle underneath and pulling it as one unit is very easy. My engine came out in a good hour when I did my swap.

[htchbck]

If you don't have a cherry picker rent one! It makes everything soooo much easier! And if you plan on doing this more than twice, buy one, they cost about $50 to rent for a couple days and only about $100 to buy one, and you can keep it for as long as you like and never worry about paying more, plus its already there when you need it, you don't have to go pick it up. For festivas and similar cars just a cheap mcautoparts one is fine, if you're pulling 350s and big stuff you might want a bigger one, though I took the 5.0 out of my LTD with my $120 2 ton advance auto crane with no problems.

[rret]

will pull both at once

thanks to all who replied - i have a cherry picker (chinese performance tools brand). i used it once to pull a VR6 and tranny out of my daughter's jetta. i'll pull the festy's engine/tranny combo from the top.