Yoke? Or no yoke?
 

How many of you don’t bother with the yoke when hanging your engine from the HF stand?
I don’t need to split my case. So I can use all four studs. Got longer 8.8 bolts for the three short ones. Wouldn’t this be better than just the two studs the yoke uses? I know it’s no cradling the motor but I’d be using all four studs

Your engine, your choice.

What can go wrong and how expensive will it get?

There's a lot of places to save money...engine stand is not one of them. Mine is a copy of what Jerry Woods uses and will easily hold a 930. Can always sell later.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1606995670.jpg

I did my first engine (pulled heads) on some 2x4s on my garage floor. Next came the US style 4 arm engine stand on casters. I used three arms, but wasn't splitting the case. Worked fine until I tried to pull the engine without a big bolt or punch in the holes holding the round end of the holder into the round top of the stand. Hard to hold up an engine by one end with your hands, but the result was only a dent in the stand's base. Otherwise, the stand and its arms were plenty strong.

When finances allowed I bought the factory yoke and holder. Used the holder with the parts store stand, then bolted the factory holder it to the work bench. The yoke is the deal for splitting the case.

Actually, the first engine I did I used an aftermarket VW yoke - that was probably at the edge of capacity.

But your brief description of your air cooled 911 suggests you may have its engine out more often than you would expect to have your 996's engine out, so you might find use for the factory yoke in the future some time also?

The large half circle of the yoke helps Weight distributiona it was designed that way for a reason. I use hf yoke for transmissions But personally wouldn’t trust cheap Chinese steel with my motor. Think of how much it would cost if your motor dropped 3 feet onto concrete.