i know theres half a dozen guys on this forum who have done it more than once. Whats the best process for removing the V12?

things ive gathered so far:

The tranny mount can kill
Cant reach Exhaust man bolts
Bonnet needs to come off
Shroud needs to come off (or maybe just the fan?)
Rad hoses and pipes come off
front U joint
Alternator wire needs snipped.
Starter wires need removed, etc.


Things i dont understand:

I cant fathom how the V12 ever got there in the first place, let alone how it can be wiggled out!
and looking for a good place to chain the hoist to the V12 = Failing.


And about how much is this motor/trans gonna weigh?


on another note, i picked up an L67 (3800 Series II supercharged) for $300. gonna pick up a T350 for simplicity. found a company to make me a 90*/60* V6 to SBC bellhouse pattern adapter and spacer. Johnscars is gonna be making me a longer driveshaft than standard SBC swap.

Then its just up to me to fab the motor mounts.

 

I don't have any technical advice, but wouldn't it even have been cheaper to flat bed your car to a proper Jag mechanic and have them fix whatever is wrong with yours?

Either way, good luck on the project, and post pics.

I wish you could have sorted the 12 cylinder; you're missing out on one of the best automotive experiences.

 

been said 100x.

i wish i couldve got the V12 sorted out. im pretty sure it was way out of time or something. it lurched at idle unlike anything ive ever seen.

The only thing that V12 has got over a built 3.8 is epic sound but i wont miss it since because blower whine.

 

I can't answer just this moment, I'm working with a patient, but as soon as I get done I'll type up a response. Probably an hour or so.

 

Okay, here's what I remember.
Pull off the hood, grill, radiator support, radiator, A/C cooler and the structural support bar.
Remove exhaust pipes to Cats and all the shields.
Put a floorjack under the tranny mount so when you unscrew the large nut it doesn't pop out. Then jack up the tranny and undo the bolts that mount it to the body.
Undo the driveshaft to the rear end and you can pull the driveshaft out of the tranny.
Let the jack down so the tranny drops and you'll be able to get to the exhaust where it bolts to the manifolds.
Once the exhaust is out, you can see the starter bolts and bellhousing bolts, as well as the engine mounts (pull airboxes off too.)
The engine has, or should have, the factory engine hangers or whatever you wish to call them. They're basically just a piece of steel with a hole in it for the chain hooks and is bolted to the back of the motor on each side and in the front on each side.
Getting the motor out is a challenge. You have to raise the front up quite a bit to get the oilpan to clear the rack and pinion assembly.

Thats about all I can remember off the top of my head. Hope it helps?

 

Wow, I disliked GM V8 swaps...now we're down to GM V6s.

Another one bites the dust, and this one for a problem that doesn't have anything to do with the engine.

Why not just fix the timing? I can't imagine this project is going to be any less work than what you've already got into it.

 

Oh yeah, the engine weighs 750 lbs. The TH400 is in the 125-150 range. If you use an engine hoist, make sure it's rated for at least 1000 lbs.

 

u selling any of the old engine parts?

btw you should bother removing the shroud if you want the room to get it out. however...if you plan on keeping the radiator i would recomend leaving it on as protection. honestly....remove the shroud and pull the radiator. You already are disconnecting all the hoses and you get a ton of room.

 

Does the trans come out with the engine???

 

I took the engine and tranny out as one unit. You have to be a contortionist to get to the bell housing bolts and I'm not exactly a little guy nor am I as flexible as I was at M90's age. So for me, it was easier to pull the whole thing out in one shot.

 

M90, this is the procedure to remove engine and tranny as a unit:

1. Remove hood
2. drain coolant and oil and tranny
3. remove radiator and aircon stuff at the front and unbolt the tubular cross braces at the front.
4. unplug the engine harnesses
5. undo the fuel pipes at the engine
6. undo the earth strap under the LHS attached to the sandwich plate in front of the sump
7. undo the heater pipes and aircon pipes at the firewall, undo the brake booster pipe from the intake manifold. Undo the pipe between the engine and the header tank
8. remove the exhaust from the downpipes
9. unbolt the positive lead to the starter from the RHS firewall stud
10. undo the tranny selector from the GM 400 (not easy to get to the rearmost clamp bolt which for some reason goes in from the top. A 1/4 inch small ratchet and socket willl JUST do it)
11. the tranny effectively rests on a shelf bolted to the chassis rails, and on this shelf sits a spring the tranny rests on to damp the vibrations. Support the engine with a beam across the top resting its feet in the gutters. There are 4 lifting eyes on the engine, one each end of the V, use the two at the firewall end to support the unit
12. put a jack under the tranny sump for extra safety and undo the big nut at the centre rear of the tranny, this is the nut that goes through the steel bar the other end of which is bolted to the tranny sump.
13. Now undo the many bolts that hold the 'shelf' the tranny and spring sit on, and carefully lower the tail of the unit by lowering the jack/releasing the chains from the beam slightly, to allow the spring at the tranny tail to decompress. Then remove all the bits at the tail of the tranny and undo another bit of steel there to access the proshaft/tranny join and undo that.
14. If all has gone well, the unit should now be attached to the car only by the tranny jack and the beam chains. Support the engine underneath and attach the crane/hoist to the four lifting eyes, having removed the beam.
15. REMOVING THE UNIT: If like me, you have an engine crane rather than a hoist, this has to be rolled in from the front. The problem is that the arm needs to be quite long to get the engine out, as the engine has to be first tilted front up at about 45° to be removed, and then lifted vertically at that angle for about 6 inches if the front subframe is still in place, as the sump has to clear the subframe. Also the whole car has to be far enough off the ground so the tail of the unit does not foul the floor when tilted at 45° to begin with. Removing the front bumper helps if you are using a crane.
16. The exhaust downpipes can also foul the subframe rear if the angle is not corrrect, or if the engine is by this stage too far forward. The quick way is to cut them off if they do get stuck. If you have a hoist all this is much easier, because with a crane, as the arm lifts, it also effectively pulls the engine towards the front.

 

Or you could drop it out the bottom subframe and all. That's how they went in at the factory

 

I don't know if this is merely lore, or if it's truth, but it's a colorful story either way. I heard the reason the XJS has such little room under the hood was actually a purposeful design by the engineers.
When British Leyland owned Jaguar and all the other British vehicles, they wanted to use the Landrover V8 in the Jag, thus saving money by using one engine rather than two.

The engineers got wind of it as the XJS was being designed, and they made the engine compartment as narrow as possible, allowing just enough room for the V12, but not wider Landrover V8.

I'm sure someone here has heard this, or can refute it if it is just a story.

 

bam, thread explosion. awesome. thanks for all the responses.

I will be selling engine parts, yes.

ive got modified EFI intakes, a single coil setup brand new, SU carbs, E type manifolds, fuel rail, etc etc.

Technically its a holden motor adapted for the W body. ive got a crap ton of go fast parts laying around for these motors.

 

Someone beat you to it

Jaguar XJS H.E. (1985) 2D Coupe 3 SP Automatic (5.3L - Multi Point F/INJ) | eBay

 

Quite untrue. On the XJS the V12 engine is too wide to go or out in from below. The factory dropped them in at 45° or more from the top to get the sump past the subframe, and then levelled them out. I have a very interesting book now out of print, written by one Rivers Fletcher at the behest of Chairman Egan who wrote the Foreword, that includes loads of pictures of the assembly line, including ones of the engine going into the shell.

On the XJ V12 saloon, I have heard it is possible to lift the shell off the engine and subframe, but I have no idea if it is true or not.

 

It is tru-ish, but not of the XJS. It allegedly is true of the XJ40, the XJ6 replacement, which was first thought of under the BL regime in the late '70s. The V8 in question was the very popular in the UK originally BUICK 3.5 litre all aluminium V8 used at that time in a number of Rover saloon cars, and most famously in the Range Rover.

But as they got the V12 into the XJ40 shell, and into the first XJ saloon, I really do not know if any of this is true! I would not have thought the V8 is any wider than the V12, but maybe it is?

Greg

 

Not sure if im dissapointed or excited to see this. at least now i know it can be done.

 

Yeah your right it is the 6 that will go in and out from the bottom.

Although from my measurements I think without the inlet manifolds it would be close.

 

you could probably drop it out easily with no cylinder heads.