Last engine swap I did I had access to a lift which made it easy. This next time I’m going to be “stuck “using jackstands to get the car in the air, and I’m wondering if this would be a good way of raising the engine/transmission to be mounted?

Assume the car should be as high up as safe and level?

Thanks and hope it was a good long weekend.

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They work well for 911 instal and removals. Because the engine and trans and balance point are further towards the center of the 914, they don't work as easily but they are fine if you unscrew the handle so the table can roll further forward and under the car. You can still use it with the handle detached.

Grab a 20-25% off coupon and get one. You will wonder why you didn't buy one earlier.

Thanks Mark, I already did and can’t imagine not having one in the garage. I bought it to disassemble the 2.7 Frankenstein-engine but honestly it didn’t click about using it to install.

Probably obvious to everyone but me.

Thanks for the confirmation and tips on balancing. Hope the shop is busy!

Tdskip...
It has worked well for 914-6
I fixed the handle problem by turning around/flipping the handle base mount on each side. It's only 4 bolts to remove and reinstall.
This makes it so the handle will lay down flat which helps centering the lift under the 914.
The release works fine in that position.
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I literally just bought this two days ago so I can run the 6 engine on the cart before installing. Mark is right, not sure why I didn't buy this sooner.

Sir Keith use's this and it works like a charm
But im a little suprised as the replys to this thread is a whos who of teener owner .

That no one has mentioned although this is a great product

I highly recommend you never ever
Trust any harbor freight product to support any weight using hydrolic preessure or jack stands
As you are bound to be disappointment
Or seriously injured/killed

Like the product but not the supplier
Do not ever trust (or endorce)h.f. products
Of any kind to support or hold load bearing compasity

Its extremly bad judgement. ! Expect their stuff to fail or it could be your ass


When i built my grooming van i used pre owned honda generators that cost about 2x as much used as h.f generators cost new . because when im out there working my ass off . i need reliablity. And i want a good reputation
Even know
I could have got h.f generators brand new with warranty for half the price

I have the Tangerine plate that you can borrow to install the engine trans. Remind me tomorrow.
With that lift the car would have to be even higher to get the drive train installed.

Yeah I prefer the Tangerine plate. It also has a cutout for a tuna can if you have one of those on your engine (which I do).

Zach

The shop where I used to work has used the HF lift tables for years for 911 engine and trans drops. They have six of them. None have ever failed. They just buy more because they are so useful. That’s about 600-700 lbs on a 3.6 with trans. I’m betting there is no difference in the hydraulic cylinder from harbor freight compared to any others. Use what you feel comfortable with but know that most of what differentiates different brands is only the name and the price.

The tangerine plate is excellent, but only works on a four cylinder.

Build a table with casters that will hold 2000ish lbs, put engine on table, put car on your lift, slide table with engine under car and lower car onto engine...easy peasy

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I get it but

You know in the back of youre mind
That its bound to fail

Stop supporting and pumping money thru
China.yeh its cheaper

But can we be big picture guys ...or what

Were our own worst enemy's !

(political content deleted - ADMIN)


Rants over. Dead horse beaten

Yes - as I said that is how I did it last time but don’t have a lift for this one. Nice table, bet that is super handy. Engine looks tasty!

I’ll be careful with the table but not overly worries about it.

I try not to stick my limbs through the mechanism so if it did fail, not much would happen other than the engine settling to the floor. Of all the things I do, the lift table is low on the list.
Setting up metal stairs by myself...

Since I have a lift, I put the car on the lift and the engine on jackstands underneath. I use a plumb bob to align the motor and trans mounts with the chassis. Then I slowly and carefully lower the car on to the motor. Once the mounts are close enough, I bolt up the engine and trans to the body. Then I lift everything back up and hook up all the bits and pieces.

The only hard part is crawling under the car to bolt up the engine and trans mounts. The front mounts are definitely easier on a -4 than a -6.

you do know Honda generators are made in china

You have a stand for the oil tank?

there are some funny replies on this thread and some scary ones

my 2 cents... never trust anything. any hydraulic item can fail. just be cautious and always have a backup safety plan. Never put your body in harms way. I like the table option and the plumb trick is simple and great.

I would suggest cutting any HF number in half to add some addtional safety. They make a 2k transmission jack that allows you to bolt the engine/trans to it safely. Click to view attachment

Use a 20% off coupon and its a great dedicated 914 engine jack.

Just be safe and always plan for the worst to happen so you dont get hurt.

What's the max height on that?

I got one of these--very happy with it.
https://www.harborfreight.com/1500-lb-alumi...lift-63397.html

I like that larger platform on the lift cart. Considering something like that for a Boxster engine/trans and the table is a larger platform.

You are misinformed... Made in JAPAN !!!! $$$

Big fuc#in difference ...huge

Just like my 1st gen scion xb( jdm) !. That will run rings around suvs 10x its price. While getting 38mpg

Those jdm engineers dont mess around
Its a insult to compare em to made in china stufff .

Go search around h.f.
I guarantee you dont find 1 item made in japan...


Rant over again .

I used that same cart for my boxster engine/trans. Worked great

The OP wants to install his 6 engine on the floor using jackstands.
Carbs, alternator and exhaust make a pretty tall package.
What is the collapsed height of the HF lift table ?
How high can you raise your car on jackstands safely ?
Two are stable.....four ? not for me thank you.
A 6 drivetrain has it's largest mass at a distance from the installer which
makes it very unwieldly. With the nose of the car on the ground you'll have the
height, but raising the package between the inner suspension ears has a large pucker
factor.
I've done it in recent times using a heavy floor jack with the exhaust off using a H
shaped wood assembly that supports the engine at the bottom of the cam carriers.
adjust the cross piece fore and aft till it balances.
Lift slowly. Use a long drift pin to guide the front mount into position.
Invite some friends

If I were to do it using jackstands, I'd remove carbs for the additional clearance, 4 or 6.

I also used the 1000 pound table to remove and install my 3.2 and 915 trans. The 500 pound table couldn’t handle the weight, but the 1000 pound table worked great with my scissor lift. Only issue is the 3.2 is not flat on the bottom so it kept teeter tottering on the table. I used wooden blocks to keep it from rocking.

I have two of those HF hydraulic tables, one in AZ and one in CA. They work great for moving heavy objects (including motors, transaxles, etc.) into and out of the back of my truck.

I also have a (Craftsman) motorcycle jack like the 'Pittsburgh' one pictured here, but unfortunately, it's stuck under my 8x20 shipping container behind my garage. How'd that happen, you might ask? We used it to help with the container's placement and I failed to remove it before I loaded the container with thousands of lbs. of car parts


@thelogo - Unfortunately, we're hard-pressed to find anything that's not made in some foreign country these days. Thinking about buying a new German car? ... https://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2014/09...lt-germany.html

Great discussion gentlemen. This is actually a Type 4 going in this one, not quite ready for the six swap.

@thelogo - Unfortunately, we're hard-pressed to find anything that's not made in some foreign country these days.





Talk about 0 american pride


Personally it makes me sad .as a

I mean espcially during pandemic everyones out of a job


That we must rely on china goods.

I understand why ...$
But really its just human weakness

Were to good to make our own break pads ?
You do realize this way of life is eventually gonna turn around and bite you on the ass!

No country for old men . but i can always moved to old mexico i guess ( like billy the kid)


And everyone feels so entitled and lazy . makes me sick
I went to dicks sporting goods and asked for help finding something yesterday and guy told me " whatevers out there just find it yourself" and i replied why dont you get off your ass and do youre job .
The guy immediately accused me of being a racist.

Even before pandemic but especially now . people wanna have a job and get paid. But god forbid they might actually have to do some !!!!! WORK !!!

Sand socks i got were made in china .no other domestic options

And fed ex , ups make a fortune on getting all these foreign goods to us . cause you cant really source out the shipping

You talk about 0 American Pride - just what exactly do you want all of us to do? - go without purchasing anything we need until manufacturing returns to the USA?

And yet, you yourself hit the proverbial nail on the head, stating: "Sand socks i got were made in china .no other domestic options "

Well, go ahead and snap your fingers and make it happen if you think it's that easy. Denigrating us isn't helping

There was a good point made earlier in the thread. The lift table is probably 6-8” high at its lowest setting so might not work for the average jack stand engine removal. I used the tangerine lift plate at Zach’s house and it’s the best product out there for the typical type 4 engine and trans removal. If I still had any 4 cylinder engines, it would be in my toolbox.

They're both invaluable when utilized with a lift

@mepstein - excellent consideration and thank you for the follow up. A very kind member of the SoCal community is letting me borrow the tangerine plate so I think I will use that as my lift approach .

After you use one, you are going to want to own one. It really is that good. Mine only gets used every now and again, but I don't even want to thing about pulling the engine and trans without it, even though I've done it several times without one. Chris's lift plate just makes it stupid easy.

Zach

X

@thelogo - appreciate the thoughts but let’s stay on topic please.

Looks like I’ll be going after this on Monday, will let people know how it goes!

Thanks again for the ideas and shared experiences.

Egads - he's all over the place

This subject is just in time. With the scissors lift I have I'll build a low table with caster and roll under car per GMS. Thanks, MarkClick to view attachment

Let us know how it goes Mark

Rear tires and carbs off. Take the carbs off as a unit from the intakes. Preserving your current X bar setting. Furniture dolly with some dunnage. A floor jack under each control arm and take it as high as it will go. Approx the car angle with the dunnage. Roll the engine on the dolly close to where you need to be (drop the outer bar bolts down from the top thru the outer mounts. Helps lining it up). Lower the car slowly down over the engine. Slightly Angle the FJs so you can release both valves at the same time. The car needs be on jack stands to start with the FJs. Mine are the ratchet type but I secure the handles with a few zip ties and just cut them off when finished with them.

For 911's I use the factory jack plate , it tilts to correct angle and tilts back to level and locks,,
914 either a table or lift table,,

Good tips, thanks.

I have one and tried it once and really didn't like it that much. I don't recall why now. I know people do use it with no issues. I might get around to attempting it again someday, but I'm not doing jackstand engine/trans R&R.

I have a lift table, 660lbs, same as the HF table except for the now peeling paint.
Works perfect for my 2 post lift, Mark is right the handle can be in the way, in the pic you can see the handle is off and laying on the floor. I've thought about hinging the handle.
I shop made a transmission stand that bolts to the table top.

I'm only on the floor for 4 bolts.