First time parting an ix-need advice

[E30andy]

Hi Guys,

Im going to part out my rusty 89ix which has a ton of good mechanical parts that I plan on using on my current or future ix’s as needed.

I’ve never parted any car before so was looking for advice on where to start with an ix? Any particular order to removal of the various parts?
I have a lift so I won’t be on my back thank god.

Also, how does one move the parted shell out of the garage assuming I remove the suspension? The ix I am parting has coilover suspension so I want those parts out of the shell before it goes off to the crusher.

Thanks!!

[E30andy]

Couple of pics….

[AWDBOB]

It all depends on how deep you're trying to go with the part out. I've parted out cars in a weekend, and I've parted cars out over 8mo. It gets pretty time consuming pretty quick.

[e30davie]

Surely its a case of you pull off stuff as it sells?

[roguetoaster]

Get 2-4 furniture dollies, strip the car of whatever you want, dump the car outside, post it as a free shell and someone will pick it up.

[E30andy]

It all depends on how deep you're trying to go with the part out. I've parted out cars in a weekend, and I've parted cars out over 8mo. It gets pretty time consuming pretty quick.

I’m in no rush I will do it in my spare time through the winter. I want too keep everything I can in the space that I have (which is limited).

[E30andy]

Surely its a case of you pull off stuff as it sells?

Not planning on selling much. I plan on driving ix’s for the foreseeable future and want to have as many spares on hand as possible within the space I have.

[E30andy]

So any particular order to pull the big stuff? For example should I drain all the fluids (coolant, gas, trans, etc) first? Can I pull the transfer case before removing the tranny? Should I leave the engine for last?

I guess I am trying to avoid blind alleys and wasted time and effort by removing something in the wrong order if that makes sense?

If you guys have any parts requests let me know if I’m not keeping it I’m happy to let it go.

[packratbimmer]

I would pull all of the stuff that mice will destroy first. Pull the carpet, console, heater box, dash and interior and get it stored in a dry secure area. Pull all good leather and vinyl panels - they will get moldy. Also think about sucking some Seafoam through a vacuum hose until the engine stalls and maybe inject a bit of Marvel Mystery oil into the cylinders before disabling the engine (crank the engine over several revs to get the storage oil into the rings). There are foaming storage oils out there too that I have no experience with. There is no need to store an engine only to find the cylinders destroyed by rust later. If its a good engine, I would also do an oil change before storing so crud and/or acidic oil is not working away on the stored engine.

[E30andy]

I would pull all of the stuff that mice will destroy first. Pull the carpet, console, heater box, dash and interior and get it stored in a dry secure area. Pull all good leather and vinyl panels - they will get moldy. Also think about sucking some Seafoam through a vacuum hose until the engine stalls and maybe inject a bit of Marvel Mystery oil into the cylinders before disabling the engine (crank the engine over several revs to get the storage oil into the rings). There are foaming storage oils out there too that I have no experience with. There is no need to store an engine only to find the cylinders destroyed by rust later. If its a good engine, I would also do an oil change before storing so crud and/or acidic oil is not working away on the stored engine.

Thanks for the helpful info! Interior was not the strong suit of this car. Dash is a mess, carpet is bad too so I probably wont bother to pull those items. Seats are heated black sports, and are decent so I will store them.
Mechanically is where this care shines, so I will pull and save as much as I can. Good ideas on storing the motor!

[packratbimmer]

Yes, I would drain all oils and note the condition. I would actually refill the units and turn them (units) over once in a while in storage - two diffs., transfer case and manual tranny. Get some rust prevention spray and coat things you don't want to rust (eg. : tranny splines, tranny input shaft where it goes into the pilot bearing. Also, If you are wanting to store the tank, fuel pump and injectors long term, think about pumping all of the fuel out by jumping the relay. You could run a little ethanol free gas (recreation fuel or airplane fuel) through the system so the moisture does not destroy everything long-term. Buy a gallon of that premixed two-sroke power equipment fuel and just run the car for a few minutes enough to flush the moisture. Sounds like a lot, but all important. I have drained oil out of differentials that were stored a while only to find water and yes, rust! I have also pitched many engines that were put away fine, only to have rusted, non-sealing cylinders years later. Injectors do not store well, nor tanks, fuel pumps and fuel senders - rust/rust/rust ---arrrrgggg!!!

[E30andy]

Started doing some dismantling today. Figured I would start with the transfer case but need some advice.

Looks like I will need a transmission jack to support the tranny while removing the transfer case. My issue is I park my other ix under the one I’m parting out. So after the transfer case is out can I remove the transmission jack from under the tranny and just let it hang? I obviously can’t park under the parts car if the transmission jack is still there supporting the tranny but don’t want to just let the tranny hang if it’s not safe.

I wasn’t planning on removing the tranny yet but if I have to I will.

Thanks!!

[AWDBOB]

Don't mess with trying to remove tcase separate from trans, it's a huge PITA and would only recommend it if absolutely required.

[E30andy]

Don't mess with trying to remove tcase separate from trans, it's a huge PITA and would only recommend it if absolutely required.

My understanding is that the transmission is a huge PITA to remove? The top bolts and the starter bolts are crazy hard to get to?

I have everything undone but the last 2 top bolts (that attach the transfer case to the tranny) to remove the transfer case. I read that these 2 bolts are a bitch but doable.

So do you still think I should just take the tranny and transfer case out as one?

[AWDBOB]

My understanding is that the transmission is a huge PITA to remove? The top bolts and the starter bolts are crazy hard to get to?

I have everything undone but the last 2 top bolts (that attach the transfer case to the tranny) to remove the transfer case. I read that these 2 bolts are a bitch but doable.

So do you still think I should just take the tranny and transfer case out as one?

I have removed/installed 10ish iX trans/tcase combos and only had an issue with upper bell housing bolt clearance on an automatic car. The manuals were always a non-issue.

The only time I’ve wanted to cut the tub out w a sawzall was when I tried removing a tcase from a trans in the car. The top two tcase bolts were so difficult to remove that I dropped the front subframe down to finally get them off.

I’m sure others may have different experiences, but I’ve never had any issues removing/installing a manual iX trans