1995 850 turbo Will a used engine fit into a car trunk?

[dtmmoore2]

I have bought a replacement engine (B523T) from a wrecker which may or may not include whatever other parts might typically be attached to the engine such as the turbo, alternator etc. (the wrecker hasn't removed from the chassis as yet). I am planning to pick it up myself since it is only 200 km away from home and can save some money that way although I thought I might need to rent a pickup truck for this.

The mechanic who will be swapping the engine in (he has done many of these swaps in the past) told me that I needn't get the truck since I would be able to transport it with my other car presumably with the spare tire removed and the trunk lid open and tied down with bungy cords. I measured the space I would have to fit the engine through to have it sit on the floor of the trunk and the gap is only 18 inches (46 cm) wide (its a Nissan Maxima 5th generation). I think the width of the trunk would be fine.

Is this doable (with or without all the attached parts it may come with and some kind of protection in place to guard against damaging the car trunk)?

Thanks for any advice.

[precopster]

That's a nice car to be lugging a motor with. Personally I'd hire the ute and be done with it

This saves you driving 200kms with the nose perched high in the air causing God knows what damage to the rear springs not to mention the unpredictable handling.

[t4tees]

I've hauled a lot of things in my Trunk. A complete X/C 70 door in a Corolla. An engine, I don't think so no matter what the size. The engine will not fit uniformly even if it does fit. It's likely to flop around & damage something if not secured properly. You mean you don't have a friend with a truck? big or small. You Canadians are so friendly I can't believe that. I have a Friend in Guelph that has one but that's quite a trip to borrow a truck. Good luck.

[dtmmoore2]

Thanks for the advice .. I had a feeling my mechanic was off on this one so thought better to check.

[skloon]

I carried a b230 in the trunk of an 850 with a 4x4 to block it- no problem, a TR3 engine fell over in my 740 wagon and drained evil smelling oil into the spare tire well so tie it down carefully

[tryingbe]

Renting a truck might be a better option.

Granted, I fit an engine hoist, a dodge 2.5 turbo engine, a T5 engine, tires, all in my 240 wagon before.

[precopster]

It's WAY different hauling stuff in a wagon. You can position the load close to the axle and have some of the weight shared by the front springs. In a sedan ALL the weight will be BEHIND the axle line.

[instarx]

A bit of googling indicates that the engine would weigh about 300-350 kg, or about 700-750 pounds. I would never put that much in the trunk of car, and it is probably not even legal. The maximum load for your Nissan is only 1,000 pounds and that is for passengers sitting between the wheels. As was said above, all that weight will be behind the rear wheels and will lift the front of the car. Steering would be very light and since 90% of braking comes from the front tires you would have extremely poor braking (even without taking into consideration the extra 750 lbs). The car would be wildly unsafe even on flat level roads in my opinion. Add hills, turns, stoplights, other traffic... you get the point.

Do this thought experiment... imagine putting FIFTEEN 50 lbs bags of rocks in your trunk and driving 200 km. Not a nice drive and not safe for you or other people on the roads.

[BEJinFbk]

Should, heaven forbid, something unexpected occur,
bear in mind that if the car stops suddenly, the engine will
tend to want to keep on going. Probably not anywhere good.
You must know someone with a truck...

[dtmmoore2]

Thanks for the advice. As I said, I thought my mechanic was a little off on this one so I have made alternate arrangements to transport it safely.