now try to slide off the IM. but wait it wont. if you notice HONDA did a dumbass part on their end. instead of just shaving the power steering pump a couple more millimeters so the IM can come off but nooooooo they wanted to make it difficult so you must remove the alternator, water pump, power steering, etc.

Actually, you don't have to remove the alternator, water pump, or power steering assembly to remove the IM! Honda actually did make the IM EASY to remove!!! Honda engineers are no idiots; I mean, they are the ones who provided us with this awesome 100+hp/liter engine right?

The reason your IM didn't slide off was because you only removed the nuts securing the IM and not the studs as well, shown in your picture here:

Once you have the 5 bolts off of the IM and the 2 nuts that mounted here removed, you can either double nut the studs to remove them, or just slide the IM out as much as possible to allow clearance to insert some needle nose pliers or thin vice grips where you can grab onto the unthreaded portion of the stud (so as not to mar any threads) and unscrew it from the block of the engine. Once you get these out, the IM will slide right out without having to go through all the trouble you had to do with the ALT, WP, and PS removal...

...just a hint for future reference...

 

Sim, great documentation; however, there is a easier way.

Simply remove all the bolts for the IM, then remove the studs in the cylinder head using the double nut technique (basically lock two nut on the stud and then unscrew the stud), then the IM comes right off.

No need to remove P/S pump, Alternator, or A/C compressor.

 

wawww... Karcepts beat me to it by 3 mins...:up: :up:

 

ahhhhhh thanks dale and karcepts. i didnt mean honda engineers were dumb just they place things in annoying places sometimes. we all know that. lmao but i learned what you just told me. still learning on this motor. :up:

 

ahhhhhh thanks dale and karcepts. i didnt mean honda engineers were dumb just they place things in annoying places sometimes. we all know that. lmao but i learned what you just told me. still learning on this motor. :up:

Ah... I beat Dale! Yes!!!

Well, it is a difficult area... I would like to know why they used a stud instead of a bolt, where there would be no confusion... But, I'm sure there is methodical answer to that question that only they know...

 

I would have to guess that it has somethingn to to with the assembly process. As you all know you can kind of 'hang' the manifold on a stud while you get the nut started, the run in all the other bolts with your hands free. Probably just a small oversight that it makes it a little tricky for removal with all the accessories on the engine.

I'm glad I read this though. I'll be replacing those studs with bolts before the motor goes in the car for sure.

thanks for the lesson.

 

Awesome writeup, and even though you did a good job documenting, other fellow k20a'ers helped out with their experiences to make things a little easier for other potential users in terms of this job.

I think the moderators should create a DIY section on this board for simple to more difficult things and each of us can hopefully contribute and learn from other members.

Here's one of my threads on how to make fuel lines.
http://www.k20a.org/forum/showthread.php?p=292648&posted=1#post292648

We should work on compiling simple DIYs for k-swaps w/ good documentation.

 

Done and done. sspem2 and blue92da I added both of your contributions to the "DIY and FAQ" that is now stickied in the General section. I will be adding more threads to the list when I come around them:up: