LS Miata Dry Sump Install - Day 2

Mar 27

The story continues. Today is the day! Getting this LS3 out of the miata with elegance and ease.

Starting from yesterday, now I have daylight again and can open the shop door to use the hoist. ;-)

Checklist

Today is the easier task, double check all wiring is disconnected before starting to lower the assembly. Forget something and wonder why it won’t drop down. Look around only to find you forgot a pair of 14mm bolts holding everything. Remove then remember to always check everything twice.

Few things to remember:

Remove Shift Boot and Shifter
- It is easy to leave the boot on shifter and just pull up to access the pair of 14mm bolts
Front Brake Lines will need to be disconnected from chassis
- don’t loose the retainer clips and wipe up all the fluid with plenty of brake clean and rags.
Clutch Lines (bleed and clutch) will stay with transmission
- Need to remove the grommet holding the breather
Transmission breather line (attached to firewall)
Steering Rod; I wasn’t sure which side would come out so I removed the pin bolt on rack side
Various electrical connections at back of block
- pair of grounds [photo below]
- O2 sensors to each header
- Starter [special approach mid drop - i.e wait]
Remote Oil Filter Lines (this won’t be a concern in future)

Rear Grounds

One is easily removable (13mm bolt), but there is a hidden second one on the drivers side of block.
It is best to wait until the engine is dropped a few inches to get a ratchet in on the 17mm bolt. the wiring harness has enough slack to accommodate this approach.
Exact same for the O2 plugs which are tucked (zip tied up snug) between the firewall and heads.

Remote Clutch Bleed

This little guy is a lifesaver when it comes time to bleed the clutch. Watch your fluid levels and it almost bleeds itself via gravity.
Best thing ever.
Before pulling the engine I just needed to remember to remove it and the line to the clutch. Tip to future self…. drain the reservoir via the Mityvac tool. (Same goes for the front brake fluid)

Getting rid of the brake and clutch fluids.

Angle of the Dangle

About 15” of extensions will get you access to the steering shaft bolt connecting it the steering rack. It took me awhile to realize this after trying to stuff my hand and a wrench up from the front. Save the time and do this…
WARNING - only applies to an LS3 powered Miata

My Final Trick

This was actually an accidental find. One of those why isn’t it moving anymore questions….
Turns out I planned it this way and left enough slack in the battery-to-start cable.
Dropping the subframe/engine/transmission as one piece by a few inches magically gives access to these connectors.
Another note for future me. I don’t need to disconnect the knock sensors, the have a plug on the back of block.
DO disconnect the crank sensor hiding behind the starter.

Escalator Down One Floor

Slow gentle stop one. At this point you can access all the rear plugs, double check everything else and disconnect the starter.

Going Down

Final slow lowering

Dropped

The subframe ultimately will come to rest on the legs of the hoist. This is perfectly fine!

Will give just enough clearance to slide out.

Smooth as butter

With a bit of wiggling and careful eyeballing it came out so nice. May help to lightly jack up the chassis for better struct top clearance under fenders. Notice the HF jack position on passenger side.

The rest as they say is easy

At this point the engine is attached to both the transmission and the front subframe. Pretty straightforward to deal with the transmission however the subframe requires a bit more thought.