Guys, first time I dropped an engine I had the help of a friend. This go round, I'm flying solo and wanted to see if this method would work just as well.

Instead of the "removing the wheels in the rear" route, I'd like to try:

1. Car on the ground like normal, all connections disconnected and "ready for dropping" except for the engine bar bolts and transmission mounts.

2. Transmission/ATV jack (harbor freight kind) raised up to the engine height and the engine/transmission then disconnected.

3. Lower engine/transmission combo as far down as transmission jack will allow it (about 4" off ground).

4. With engine still on jack and under the car, jack up the rear and place on ramps.

5. Drag engine/transmission out on the transmission jack.

Will this method work? Do you think there will be any clearance issues?

Sure, that would work. I've done it with both methods, and it's really personal preference. I'd jack the car up ahead of time, remove the rear valance and airbox for more clearance, and have a helper nearby to steady the engine/trans on the jack as you lower it.

One thing to watch: the engine tin and sometimes the injector plumbing likes to hang up on the suspension arm pivot bolts, so have a big screwdriver on hand to lever the tin past the bolts. Good luck!

I have rarely been able to get an engine/tranny out the back while still sitting on the floorjack with the car as high as I could get it on jackstands. It was probably due to short jackstands and tall floorjacks ;-)

I used to just put a few layers of cardboard down (refrigerator box in pieces) while doing the engine removal work.

Then I would wrestle the engine down off of the jack onto the cardboard, then pull it out from under on the cardboard.

Stu

Works either way. I like to disconnect everything in engine bay, put the rear up high on stands, and raise my motorcycle jack up the engine/tranny. Then slowly unbolt and lower, then roll out from underneath. I've never had clearance issues with air filter off and rear valence removed.

I am about to do something similar and was thinking of putting the rear of car on ramps then using a large floor jack up to bring engine and transmission down. I like using ramps whenever possible especially when working alone. Has anyone done this? I'm worried about hanging up on ramps.

I use a cheap furniture dolly that you can find at Harbor Freight or Home Depot. Put the jack head in the middle of the dolly, raise it to catch teh engine, unbolt, lower the engine, and then you have it sitting on the dolly about 4-5 inches off the ground. Roll it out and you're good. You still have to get the back end pretty high up....but there's really no difference in height whether you take the wheels off or not.

I've found it much easier then the car is raised up and level. Jack the front end as high as the ass end. Lowering the engine at an angle when the ass is jack up 3 feet in the air makes for problems.

First drop I did was with the rear wheels on ramps. Josh2's car. We had to remove the air cleaner, the throttle body (2.0, so the TB is vertical), the oil filler, and the dipstick. I don't think the rear valance was on the car at the time. Clearance was tight. I forget what kind of floor jack we used; one that was shorter when lowered would have helped some.

Taller ramps, or a car that sat higher in the back, would also have helped. Putting the front up in the air would have made for less clearance.

--DD

I remove my engine by having the rear wheels on ramps. I lower the engine, trans, etc on a atv jack with a board on top. I do remove the air cleaner assy and injectors ahead of time........ plenty of clearance..... BE SURE TO BLOCK THE FRONT WHEELS SO THE CAR CAN'T ROLL OFF THE DRIVE ON RAMPS !

I use ramps for the front, then I have platforms I built for the rear tires to sit on.
Pulled and installed a few motors with this set up by myself.

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I only had to remove the air cleaner, plenty of clearance to leave the wheels on.

Jeff

McMark wrote a great tech article about dropping a /4 engine:

http://www.914world.com/specs/tech_art.php

Worked for me. Harbor freight Table jack (flat table that went from 9" to 27" or so.) Wheels on, Front tires on the ground, The rear end as high and safe as I could get it with Jackstands. Removed rear valance.

Engine/trans came out like butter and went in easier. Though I did remove the muffler, headers and all other heat tubes first.

The table jack and some wood blocks kept the engine very solid. A while back I did my 911 with a trans jack and found it to wobbly. I will use my table jack from now on.

I did this myself. No other help, besides my 13 year old daughter who just watched and looked for anything that got hung up.

+1 for the HF table jack works great and safe !

Well for anyone else out there, the YELLOW ATV/Transmission jack from Harbor Freight WILL NOT WORK! I got down to the last 4 bolts this week, went out and bought that shiny new jack to finish the removal and.. bummer...

I may pick up that HF table jack though. I've been wanting some "easier" to manage the engine with as I'm flying solo with these drops now (dad is at that age now )

I still think taking the wheels off and lowering the car is easier, faster and most importantly, safer.

I used a regular floor jack to lower the engine. One piece of 2x6x16 between the engine and jack and down it came. Back of the car was in the air via jackstands.

Piece of cake. Disconnected all electrics, fuel, axles, rear valence; with jack under the engine, removed the mount bolts, steadied the engine by holding the tailpipe and lowered the engine.

I have never dropped an engine but need to soon. My fear is getting in back in.

I remove my 1st 914 engine this past August and debated which way to go. I ended up using a floor dolly and removing the rear wheels and rear valance. I used two floor jacks and lowered the car till the engine rested of the dolly. I used the procedure that was in the Pelican Parts how to. In retrospect I am glad I chose this because I found that balancing the engine and transmission as a solo could be difficult if one did not have a lot of experience. I was able to go slow and be careful and did not have any problems. The fuel rails want to hang up so you do have to be careful. I am very much a novice so the only advice I can provide is to go slow and be careful because the engine and transmission together was harder to manage than I thought. I did build my own dolly though. I used 2 2x4's and 3/4 inch plywood and I had 4 dollies. This was a little longer than the standard furniture dolly.

I prefer the car to be level.

Can't remember where I read this tip, but it has served me well. I use two 18" pieces of 3/8" threaded rod with two flat washers and three nuts on each side. I raise the car as far up as I need it on 4 jackstands, and then put my jack under one side of the engine bar to hold it up while I remove the nut and bolt. I replace the bolt with the threaded rod put a washer on top and two nuts cinched together. Then a washer and the remaining nut on the bottom. Once tightened, remove the jack and do the other side the same way.

The drop - after loosening all electrical, fuel, etc. connections, place the floor jack under the transmission and remove the two transmission mount bolts. The drive train is now supported by the threaded rod in front, and the jack in back. Put your HF furniture dolly underneath. To lower it, simply loosen the bottom nuts on the threaded rod incrementally (you will need to hold the rod with your free hand to keep it from spinning).

The nice part about this method is that only one jack and one person is needed. It gives you complete control of the drop, so it is easy to make sure those injectors clear. AND, it is very safe.

She's out! Tried the table jack, but it sits REALLY high even at its lowest height. Ended up doing it the HF dolly way... Sucked because I had already had the engine/trans out and on the table jack only to realize it was WAY too tall still... had to 3-jack it onto a separate dolly.. talk about scary and time consuming!

Ugh.. oh well.. official second notch on the ol' engine drop belt! Trying not to make mistakes on this one. Let's just say I labeled EVERYTHING!!

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If you have the space for one of these ... I highly recommend them
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Those ramps you're using are really low, higher ramps would give you the room to use the table. Or just jack the car up higher when you're ready to slide it out.
Transferring to the dolly must have been fun.

Higher ramps for the back would make it easier, then use the smaller ones in front so the car is still close to level....it does help if it's level.

Hope this helps, looking good!

Jeff
(and not everyone can afford a lift Mark, even if they have the room)

the double jack under the rear of the control arms method and lowering the car to the dolly, tires off, as george noted works slick. while the car comes down at an angle at the rear, you can pretty much match the angle by tilting the front of the engine up with a combination of 2x stock, 3/4"stock, and a few strips of plywood in between the engine and the furniture dolly. just loosen all the fasteners while the rear is still in the air.

k

Its just the safest bet in my opinion. I never want to spend much time under a car with jackstands, especially with a big project like that. Then you can slide the whole thing back in when done easier as well. I think doing it this way on my car (bear in mind no heat and no FI stuff to deal with) we had it out in 45 minutes. Installation took about 2 hours.

The long threaded rod deal is very cool though. I might try that one someday.

I rather like the threaded rod method. Its really slow, but thats ok, as I am usually doing this all on my lonesome.

I'm hep, Jeff ... but it's the best $2k I've ever spent on a tool

The HF hydraulic tables are nice. It can double as a tear-down bench or to transport your engine to a stand. Well worth the $

The only issue with the table is that you have to remove the handle to fit it under the car. I want to fab a fold-over mount for the handle.

We have done this 4 or 5 times. Easy peasy!

A couple of these are really good.

I'm still getting a mid rise lift. My four post rails are too close together to get a motor with tin in between them. And I really dislike being under a car on jack stands.

what is the height of the ramps you are using with the HF table? I like the table idea, and the ability to raise the engine once its out to work on it is a nice option. What I don't like about the table is no access to the underside of the engine for cleaning or maintenace when its out.

You can transport it to a stand while on the wheeled table lift. I want one of those with my mid rise lift.