Hi guys,

I'm gonna purchase a GD Honda Fit with a blown engine, but a good body. I"m planning on buying a used engine and swapping it into this good shell for my cheap daily driver.

The Factory service manual procedure lists removing the engine from the bottom of the car (disconnecting the subframe and raising the car body on a vehicle hoist).

Obviously, i don't have a vehicle hoist at my home, nor am i getting one. I"ve also never done an engine swap before (I've done lots of clutches and removed transmissions, but never an engine swap), so i don't have the experience to know whether its better to lift an engine out from above with an engine Crane, or if its possible to remove from below without a hoist (using regular floor jacks and creativity)? I'm particularly concerned if i remove from the bottom, whether i can lift the body of the car high enough to clear the engine from below.



Any tips you may also have (not in the service manual) are also appreciated!

For anybody who's actually done an engine swap on a GD, can you advise whats the best option to remove an engine for someone at home without a Car Hoist, but able to get an engine crane, or engine support bar/cherry picker etc..

Thanks a million!

 

I'm sure it easier to remove from the bottom because of how the wiper cowl goes above the engine.

Removing it from above will be challenging because the alternator will hit the radiator and the exhaust manifold will hit the cowl. You'd need to remove many extra parts compared to the removal from the bottom method.

I think it's really possible to remove it with an engine crane. Maybe you will need to remove the alternator, and A/C compressor, remove the top part of the intake manifold and exhaust manifold.

The transmission might also be in the way because you will probably have to tilt the engine some. At that point, the transmission is easy to remove from the engine.

 

Thanks Carotman, Just wondering if you've actuallly removed the engine from the bottom before (without a hoist) and hit any snags i may not have though of? If i had a hoist, i would definitely agree with you (even the Factory manual says to remove from below, but using a hoist) but i don't have access to one.

I've found a Youtube Video showing the L15A actually being removed from the top with an engine crane:
The way i see it, i think its better to lift it from the top with a crane. Remember i don't have a hoist like a shop, so i'll have to jack up the frame/body high enough to clear the engine/transmission and roll it out from below, if possible. Also, aligning the new engine into the frame mounts from the body might be difficult, as i'll need to lower the frame precisely onto the engine, or jack up the engine precisely to the frame etc.. i'll also have to remove the sub-frame and steering rack. With a crane from above, i can slowly lower the engine/transmission as a single piece onto the frame mounting points. Removing the intake/exhaust manifolds are no big deal,

There are pros/cons for each way of removing from top/bottom, but to me it seems there are less cons from above (especially when installing the new engine). Any other thoughts?

 

I've never actually done it on a Fit. I just made some assumptions from experience and the fact that the engine opening is small.

In the video, you can see that that engine has no alternator, no intake and no exhaust manifold Just like I thought I would do it.

 

The factory service manual calls for removal from the top for the GD. No interference with the cowl like on the GE Fit.

My recommendation would be to rent an engine hoist like used in the video above or buy one from Harbor Freight. When on their biggest sale, they are $99.

 

Actually, the manual itself shown below, calls for raising the entire vehicle on a hoist, and removing the engine/transmission from underneath it.

I also think you are confusing a hoist with an engine crane. A hoist is what shops use to lift an entire vehicle. An engine crane is shown in the video and used just for engine. Unfortunately, Hoists aren't available at Harbour Freight and don't cost $99