Engine removal

Are you taking the engine and gearbox out in the cradle as one big lump? If so.......don't forget to remove the stand spring.

You will probably need some help as all of that chunk weighs over 100lb. If you are just lifting the engine out of its cradle then you will have to free it from the 5/16" gearbox plates stud next to the sump plug. To do this you will have undo the front engine mounts in order to be able to jack up the engine so the stud nuts are clear of the bottom rails. I have a feeling that with a 99 engine the cylinder head fouls the top rails if left of the barrels. This is a game and a half to get off if you are working alone thanks to the pushrods. The smart people rig up a pulley hoist to take the weight of the various bits as they are removed. This leaves more hands free to tilt, turn, twist and lug. See attachment. Have fun!!!

Although the engine and gearbox will come out as one unit, ideally from the left hand side, especially if you are working alone,it would be a good idea to remove the cylinder head. This will save a good bit of weight.

For ease, remove the battery box and oil tank.

Put a car jack under the sump on a flat bit if wood, just to the rear of the sump and then remove the rear engine plate bolts (X4) from the frame and spacer bar. Remove all but two front engine mounting bolts and loosen the remaining two (one each side) This so the engine can pivot up at the rear.

Now jack up the engine and gearbox until the gearbox bottom bolt can be removed. Remove the gearbox.

Remove the remaining two front engine mounting bolts connecting to the frame and there you have it. Still a heavy lump!

Previously Phil Hannam wrote:

Are you taking the engine and gearbox out in the cradle as one big lump? If so.......don't forget to remove the stand spring.

You will probably need some help as all of that chunk weighs over 100lb. If you are just lifting the engine out of its cradle then you will have to free it from the 5/16" gearbox plates stud next to the sump plug. To do this you will have undo the front engine mounts in order to be able to jack up the engine so the stud nuts are clear of the bottom rails. I have a feeling that with a 99 engine the cylinder head fouls the top rails if left of the barrels. This is a game and a half to get off if you are working alone thanks to the pushrods. The smart people rig up a pulley hoist to take the weight of the various bits as they are removed. This leaves more hands free to tilt, turn, twist and lug. See attachment. Have fun!!!

Good points Phil, I took removing the centre stand spring as a no brainer.But of course, empty the sump first.

I always dealt with the cylinder head on my 99 and 650 while the engine was in the frame.

There is a lot to be said for singles, on a health and safety srandpoint!

Previously Bruce Mitchell wrote:

I'm about to remove the engine/gear box from my 99, I've never done this before and as I'll be working in a bit of isolation, would anyone have any suggestions as to the easiest way to go about this. Everything is disconnected, it's ready to come out. I suspect this would be a two person job...

thanks, Bruce

Well you need to think like a woman dose now she would remove the wheels and mudguards, and have a cusion ready and with the tank and seat off she would then lay the bike on the timing side, and then alows you to sort out the drive side and clutch removel and remove primary chain and dive chain ,and clutch and inner cover, altenator and drive sprocket to remove once these are out of the way you can get at the engine plates front and rear, now you have a engine and box free in the frame just lay it on its timing side too remove engine and gearbox its easier on its side, and being on the gound or pallet

there is less chance of brecking any fins,so there is no need to remove cylinder head I remove gearbox first then you have room to tilt the engine forward it then comes out easy on its side, a ply wood sheet is good to work on as plywood is soft and its kinder to fins and other engine part do have good dumping bins for all your nuts and bolts ,washers and small parts an larger one for large part next clean every thing and work clean and tidy, so be a tidy guy and take lots of photos in the stipping down stages, then you can go back and see where thing where , when it comes too the rebuild, hope this helps yours Anna J

Previously Neil Wyatt wrote:

Although the engine and gearbox will come out as one unit, ideally from the left hand side, especially if you are working alone,it would be a good idea to remove the cylinder head. This will save a good bit of weight.

For ease, remove the battery box and oil tank.

Put a car jack under the sump on a flat bit if wood, just to the rear of the sump and then remove the rear engine plate bolts (X4) from the frame and spacer bar. Remove all but two front engine mounting bolts and loosen the remaining two (one each side) This so the engine can pivot up at the rear.

Now jack up the engine and gearbox until the gearbox bottom bolt can be removed. Remove the gearbox.

Remove the remaining two front engine mounting bolts connecting to the frame and there you have it. Still a heavy lump!

Phil thats the hard way mate, once you have oiltank battery box and tray out of the way and then the out primary case then clutch then altenator then engine sprocket the inner case the the gearbox bolts and rear engine plates out then front two engine plate and top mount, lay motor on its timing side and it just rolls out easy less chance of breaking anything,

no jacks or cylinder head removal , a skate borad comes in handy as you can lay the bike over on its side onto the skate board and use the skate board to move the engine out of the way later, make thing easy by thinking it all over first, and take lots of photos, and use your brains not brawn ! yours anna J

Whilest the engine is out, modify the rear engine plates as follows. Using a hacksaw (yes, really) turn the bottom holes in the rear engine platesinto upwards-facing slots. Next time you have to lift the engine out, undo all the usual bolts and loosen the nut on the 5/16" through bolt which fits into the now slotted bottom rear engine plates and behold,you can lift the engine out without disturbing the gearbox. It's one of Norton's curiosities that they had this one bolt sitting between the lower frame rails where it couldn't be extracted allowing easy engine removal.

Some good ideas here, thanks so much. All of the items people said to disconnect have been, primary case, clutch, alternator, center stand... the only thing holding the engine/gear box in place is a bike stand holding the rear of the engine and frame and a bolt to keep the front in place - the engine is higher than the frame, the head is still attached. The frame and cycle parts are going out for painting, the engine started and ran nicely so I have no need to touch it.

Bruce

well all you need now is too remove gearbox bolts , and nuts and bolts to rear of frame remove left rear plate first then the right hand side one take gear box out , then remove top engine mount , and two engine plate at the front , then carfully slid back the engine so it then clear the top tubes of the frame and lay the engine on its timing side, on a cusion or sponge or something soft , but not your hands, then you have it in one , yours anna J

I have heard that slotted plates can cause breakages with the higher power motors if used hard.Not happened yet to our Atlas.

I have slotted the engine plates on every Norton I have had the pleasure to work on. No breakages reported, not even on my Atlas which does get used hard.

The engine is out. Thanks for the suggestions, the most helpful one was to lay it on it's side - "Think like a woman"! Thanks Anna. That comment encouraged me to rope in my wife's assistance, it worked!

well that would be a positive thing too do she may become a enthuisiast and learn some new, in one way or another , you have then treat her to a nice day outing on the back of your Norton, there be lots of cafebars or country pubs to have a drink and something to eat in the warm sunhine, take the back country roads at your leisuerley speed, have a nice one, yours anna j

Previously anna jeannette Dixon wrote:

Previously Bruce Mitchell wrote:

The engine is out. Thanks for the suggestions, the most helpful one was to lay it on it's side - "Think like a woman"! Thanks Anna. That comment encouraged me to rope in my wife's assistance, it worked!

well that would be a positive thing too do she may become a enthuisiast and learn some new, in one way or another , you have then treat her to a nice day outing on the back of your Norton, there be lots of cafebars or country pubs to have a drink and something to eat in the warm sunhine, take the back country roads at your leisuerley speed, have a nice one, yours anna j

Thank you Anna, but I think I'll pass on that suggestion. She seems to have absolutely no interest and I like it that way. If she did... well if she rode a bike like she drives a car she'd be dead. And she'd want to ride too, not sit on the back.

cheers! Rrrr! well you have to be open minded and give them some breathing space, and you can get snuffed out at any time if your not watching what your doing , I always say you need to learn to ride an motorcycle before you even get in a car, I was riding a kids bike at the tender age of 3 years old and is was not long when my father took the stablizers off,

so now and then you have to let then find out the hard way and let them swim, in the deep end, we all have to learn from experance, something that Text books cannot do, Yours Anna J

Previously Bruce Mitchell wrote:

...But if she chooses I won't stand in her way.

From your description of her driving style, it does seem that might be a wise decision...

Is it possible to tilt the cradle forward so that all the gearbox mounting bolts can be removed to take out the gearbox only?The reason for this: I should ?Helicoil? the bolt for the oil pipe junction block.

Fritz

To the best of my knowledge, to remove the gearbox you must first remove the engine. Norton originally intended that the engine and gearbox be removed as a unit - they must have over-estimated the strength of the average home mechanic. Life is easier with the slottedengine plates. Probably easier with a dealer-serviced modern bike too!

Not so Gordon, with due respect.

With regard to my 650 engine (Which has to come apart again, but I didn't know it a the time) I gave my son the task of putting the studs in. He missed the thin one at the bottom, of all studs and as it runs close to the bottom frame rails, the engine needed to be raised to fit the stud.

It was our Commando expert, John Dunn who suggested putting a jack to the back of the engine, undoing the rear engine plate bolts and just leaving a pair of front mounting bolts loosened. (To pivot on)

I jacked up enough to reinstate the missing stud and found that I could have removed the gearbox if I needed to. However, when it comes to fitting the engine I would suggest this is best done as a unit with the gearbox.

The answer is yes, Fritz, been there and done it!

Previously Neil Wyatt wrote:

I jacked up enough to reinstate the missing stud and found that I could have removed the gearbox if I needed to. However, when it comes to fitting the engine I would suggest this is best done as a unit with the gearbox.

The answer is yes, Fritz, been there and done it!

Thank you Neil for the brief explanation.

Regards,Fritz