Misc work to Prepare for Engine Install
TLDR
- Rebuilt the grounding stub for battery
- Replaced coolant flange per Sling instruction
- Installed the 4 sets of Lord rubber mounts
- Stared at the lower right engine mount nut for a long time
Details
Grounding Stub
My battery’s grounding stub was just a short AN4 bolt.
I need to connect at least one more big lug to it (the engine ground), and the length of the bolt will be really questionable to hold both lugs securely.
So I took the bolt off and replace it with a brass full thread 1/4” bolt.
A benefit is that I won’t need to get under the dashboard to attach/detach things from this lug any more, as it’s securely installed with a backing nut.
Coolant Flange
Per Sling instruction FF-ASS-S06-C-F-0-A-2, the OEM 90 degree angled coolant flange needs to be replaced by a straight fitting. This looks much easier to do when the engine is not attached. So I just did it.
Removing the 2 hex bolts was trivial. I swapped the flange with the new one provided by Sling, then put the bolts back at 10 nm torque. Easy.
Engine Rubber Mount
Someone on Facebook said it’s better to fit the rubber mounts first before trying to attach the engine.
The Sling requires 4 bolts to mount the engine, each location requires 2 pieces of rubber mounts. Interestingly, the softness of the front/back side of each set was different. The two top mounts needs to have the soft half in front, and the harder ones on the back. The bottom mounts are exactly the opposite though - hard ones in front and soft ones on the back.
For each mounting location, I used my hand muscle to put the rubber mounts in the right location, then used a clamp to really push them in.
Engine Mount Nut Plate
This is a nut plate secured by a rivet on the lower right side of the engine. This nut has to go. I tried a few different things to get it off, but all failed.
I know taking the turbo off will definitely get the nutplate out, but I am really not sure I want to take apart the turbo right now. So I asked around on Facebook. Apparently once the engine is suspended, there will be enough space to drill it out. That’s making me pretty happy. I will give it a try when I hang the engine.