Hey everyone,

I currently have the engine and transmission out of my R53. Would it cause any damage to the chassis to reconnect all the balljoints and roll it around without axles? I'm currently waiting for parts and here in CT we have impending doom from hurricane Irene, so I'd really like to be able to move it safely.

My dad (who actually owns the car), said it shouldn't be done because it will cause damage to the wheel bearings which I'm not entirely sure is true.

 

In the end, it will just be easier to make a dolly for the car. Get a GOOD sturdy pallet, or make one. Then get heavy duty casters, and bolt them there. Drop the subframe onto the dolly, and strap it in with ratchet straps. Roll it as you need to. I need to keep my Plymouth Duster movable while I have the subframe out, so I'm doing just this myself.

By the time you bolt the axles in place, and reconnect balljoints, for steering, it's the same ammount of work. And this way, you can push and steer at the same time.

 

Well, considering its two nuts on each side for balljoints which are easy to get to, can I put the wheels back on the front and roll it maybe 20 or 30 feet without the axles in?

I feel like that would be easier than making a pallet dolley.

 

It would probably be ok to move it only 30 feet. It is the axle nut clamping the wheel bearing against the half-shaft fixed joint that gives the bearing it's proper pre-load. This is important for the bearing taking cornering forces. But a quick push without any axial load on the bearing should be fine, perhaps even easier on the bearing since there is no engine/transmission weight on it.