np. The search function here is pretty useless. Here's one thread I found but not much information in it. The last post seems to indicate you're on the right track.

Also a thread to ease the smarts your brother/sister-in-law may be feeling...

 

The sticking point was the rear mount and bracket. I found it easier to move the engine and transmission forward, clear the rear subframe, and then lower the assembly. On the 2007, the subframe is to the rear of the engine, not underneath, except for the rear mount and bracket.

The transmission separated from the engine with a bit of effort, so in hindsight, that would have been more difficult to do while still in the engine compartment.

If you want to discuss the process, please feel free to PM your phone number and convenient times that you can be reached, as well as your time zone.

 

Thank you Steve ans Palos.

Steve, that was an interesting read. (the other thread you linked).
That's exactly the same scenario I put together vis-a-vis my Mom's car.

I wonder if there is a TSB or a program on it yet. If it has been documented twice on this forum alone, I wonder how many other Fit's are jamming fans into radiators.

 

I was a Ford line tech for years.
I had a low mileage car come in once with a weird oil leak. You would have to run it for a few miles and put it up in the air.
It would heat soak for about 2-3 min and then....Drip drip drip. 3 drops of oil and it would stop.
I found the leak at the rear main cap and decided that the oil pan gasket was seeping.
I ran the VIN and pulled the history.
The pan gasket had been replaced at my shop by a guy I knew well. I showed him the leak and he didn't know what to make of it. I was totally confident in this guys abilities and was sure that replacing the gasket again wasn't going to fix the leak for long.

I called the tech line and they couldn't tell me anything. They gave me Lima Plant's engineer, who I spoke with.
After hearing my description, he decided to send me a new engine and have me ship him the leaking one.
It took some persuading, but I got the owner of the car to let me install a brand new, 0mile engine in his car.

I sent his engine to Lima and, low and behold, the rear main cap was out of spec. The oil pan fit too tight and was squishing the gasket in one place and was loose in another.
There was a run of these engines, which they traced back to a machine that was set up wrong. No one had caught it.

Ford wound up writing a TSB and replaced any affected engines under a Program.
You had to complain about it though. And the dealer would have to have done their due diligence.

I'm really hoping that my Mom and Sandblasted are not the only two Fit owners who have lost an engine because of a high fan coming off the fan motor and puncturing the radiator.

If Honda knows about this problem, maybe my Mom can have her car fixed under warranty after all.

The saga continues.

 

It's worth talking to them. We used to have some Honda ringers here (service writers, etc) that had access to the TSBs. I'm not sure we do anymore.

 

I had asked my wife to grab an end but she was laughing too hard!
I'll have the car later today.

Yes! I'm a "New Yorker!"
One of the other xx%

 

Did you end up just taking the engine out by itself or with the transmission? Did you drop the engine down or take it out from the top?

Isn't it good to have alot of spare parts that you probably will never use? I tore my engine down completely and it seems to now be taking more space than ever before.

 

Haven't even started yet.
The car will be delivered by AAA in a couple hours.

I have a job to do this afternoon so I'll probably miss it.
I'll give it a good look over later though.

 

Still waiting on the car.
Was supposed to be here before 4:00.

I think I'll probably take it out through the hood. I may even forgo the usual hoisting procedure and yank it out with my bare hands.

This little engine weighs about as much as a stripped 1600 dual port.
I used to be able to swap one of those in about 40 minutes, using my steel toed boot as an engine jack.

Still can't get my head around 12.5hr R&R.
We'll see, I guess.

 

So I got a good look at my Mom's car, finally.



The cause.







Tips of the fan, after chewing a grove in the radiator core.



Where the fan is supposed to go. The hub of the motor with some of the plastic fan still in the splines.



Radiator core. See the nice arc cut into it by the fan.
The cores are so thin, I'm amazed enough coolant passes through them to dissipate engine heat.
They're thin enough that an 8" plastic fan can puncture the them before the fan blades melt or wear off....(fan blade disintegration is what normally happens, but usually only after a white tail dears' ass pushes the radiator into it. Usually, the fan would stop, but even when it doesn't, the radiator core usually chews up the fan. Not vice versa.)

I've never seen an electric fan blade just fall off and cut the radiator through like this.



A couple pics of what's under the valve cover.
Nothing alarming yet.

 

Wow that is the first one like that I have seen on many boards. My fan motor just went and it just stopped working didn't fall apart.

But then again I caught mine by rising engine temps and your mother probably has a stock Fit with no temp gauge.

Anyway they have made some changes as the part number is different on the old fan motor and the new.

 

I was wondering if they had superseded it yet.
Oh well. Thanks Honda. Now I get to muscle fuck an engine into my Moms car.

At least I have a unique sig now.

Edit: on the overheat; car has no gauge. Just the idiot lights. When you lose a fan or clog something, even if you lose the water pump, you still have the thermal mass of the coolant in the engine and immediate components.
You lose your coolant and you loose that extra "weight". You can probably see by my new sig, that the engine ain't much more then a bag of dog food! It overheats quick!

 

I forgot when I replaced the engine to weigh it in advance. If convenient, could you post its weight?

 

I'll try.
I've already been pondering on how to go about it.

Obviously, I'm not a petite little flower, so I don't think I'll be using the wii Fit scale!

I'd guesstimate around 140-160. That, plus me would be in the 365-390 range. I don't have a scale that will do that.
If I steal a bathroom scale, I could try to balance the engine on it.
It would be more of a ball park measurement as those scales are usually +- a few pounds.

 

I'm into it now.
Looks like it'll pull through the hood easily.
Removing the wiper motor and cowl was a snap and something I'd consider facilitative R&I on several different maintenance items.
I'm exploring as I go. (We're getting to know each other.)
I'll have it out before my wife gets home, if my phone stops ringing.

 

Gashog....thanks for sharing all of this...pretty informative.

Since you're getting to "know" the engine, I'll be following this thread to see what else you come across...

Crazy how small that engine is...guess my stepdad (who drives an Avalanche) laughs at my lawnmower engine! no wonder my fatass gets 26.5 mpg's in this thing!

 

I pussied out on snatching it up out with my bare hands.
I think my hoist is heavier then the engine.







I left the A/C intact.
No recover, evacuate, recharge necessary.

 

Interesting read. I have not personally seen a fan blade come apart like that on its own without it being involved in a prior collision or the fan motor going bad and melting the blade off the insert in extreme cases.

Good Luck on the swap LMK if you need anything as far as specs on your install.

 

Thanks for the offer.
And thanks again to the couple other guys who have offered to eHelp.

Funny you should mention specs.
One thing that struck me about the build quality of this car is the inconsistency of the tightness of bolts.
Like the 8 little 8mm flex plate bolts. They were from snug and a twist all the way to "Uh Oh! Will it snap?"
One bellhousing bolt was actually galled with aluminum and had to be coaxed out with PB Baster and a lot of in and out. The bolt will need to be wire wheeled and the hole will need a thread chaser run in and through.

When I worked for VW, I could always tell a virgin from a rape victim.
This Honda looks like a virgin but feels like a rape victim.

 

Good work and thanks for posting this info. there are a lot more "old" fits out there now that may need this major surgery.