Shift rod woes

[zymurgist]

Well, I finally got around to pulling my cracked shift rod this weekend. I did a partial engine drop and tried to jack up the tranny as high as it would go... no dice, couldn't remove the shift rod. After finessing the engine and tranny down, and back, and disconnecting the axles, I managed to snake the old shift rod out.

Getting the replacement shift rod in, however, has been problematic. It looks like I'm going to have to drop the engine the rest of the way, and I'm OK with that. (Already did my first 914 drop a few weeks ago.) In order to fully drop the engine, I need to get the back of the car up higher than it is. I'm used to lifting the rear of my 911 by jacking under the engine... however, the engine is sitting on a jack and is not bolted into the car at this time.

Can I use an engine crane to lift the car via eye bolts installed in the engine mounts, or is this a bad idea? What about jacking the body in the center where the floor pan meets the vertical piece? (I did this on a 914 with no engine installed.)

Actually, if I could just get the whole engine/tranny assembly 4-6 inches to the right, that would be just as good.

Any ideas?

[afterburn 549]

most just set thir rear wheels up on stands

[zymurgist]

Is that safe? I don't understand where to put the stands.

Normally I use the rear torsion bar caps, and I think I have a few notches remaining on my jack stands. But my current problem is how to safely get the car body up higher, without jacking under the engine.

[SalazarS2K]

Ken, I think you will have to get another set of jack stands for this, as the normal 2 1/4 ton jacks do not go high enough. I would recommend the 6 ton jack stand as they give you plenty of stability and height you will need to get the rear end up. As for jacking the car up, you can use the bottom elbow of the rear trailing arms (right behind the wheel) to give you additional leverage. Just jack up one side 2 notches on the jack stand, than proceed on the other side. Also, removing the rear bumper may give you additional space.

[zymurgist]

I'll check out that location for jacking next time I'm in the garage. And I guess I should bite the bullet and get yet another pair of jack stands... my 911 is using 2 pairs right now ,and my Corvette is using my other 2 pairs (brake bleeding session gone hideously wrong). (And I never thought I would ever need more than 4 jack stands!)

The 911 is supported in the front by jack stands placed about where the torsion bars go into the A-arms. So the "cup" in the jackstand saddle is across the car rather than lined up, as with the rear torsion bar location. Would I be better off lowering the front of the car so it rests on the wheels when I raise the rear of the car? Or if I go 2 notches at a time and check that it's not slipping, will that be OK?

Safety first!

[jpnovak]

Yes, you can just lift the car by the two motor mounts. I have done this several times. My method is to insert two bolts through the mounts, then through a section of chain which connects both engine mounts. I then hook a come-along to the chain (properly centered) and lift the car. The other end of the come-along is mounted to a proper sized beam in the roof structure. A normal ceiling joist is not strong enough.

I think a good 2-ton engine hoist would work as well but you need extra floor space and then you can't roll the engine to the rear without hitting your car support.

The car just pivots on the front wheels and you can slide the engine right out.

Do not lift the car from any spot on the floor. you will damage it.

[zymurgist]

Thanks Jamie... the engine mount area looks pretty strong (and indeed, it has to be strong to support mounting the engine there), but I wanted to see if anyone else had lifted a car from that area. I will definitely put the front of the car back on the ground for this lift.

Now, the question becomes... how do I get my engine crane from one corner of the garage to the other, when one car has the engine hanging out of the bottom and the other is up on jackstands with no wheels? Oh well, I'm not in a hurry to drive the 911. It's blocked in its bay by Babydoll (a 914 with no engine or tranny).

Salazar... I removed the rear fascia and bumperettes already. (And discovered that despite the fact that the bumperettes are coated in rubber, they can be horribly rusty underneath.) That gave me the clearance I needed initially when lowering the engine, but the car still has to go higher for the fan to clear. And I'll probably want to remove the air cleaner for extra clearance as well.

What a PITA this job has turned out to be.

[SalazarS2K]

Ken, nothing to worry about. You can clear the motor by doing two things: lowering the front to the ground (make sure you have a low profile jack as the front gets quite low), and than using these jack stands and raise up the rear a little bit at a time:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00950150000

Lowering the front actually gives you a few more inches too.
While I know you can lift up the car using the motor mounts, why go through the hassle and worry? Use the jacks, they are your friend.

[zymurgist]

I was asking about the engine crane merely because I happen to have one. (When all you have is a hammer, every problem tends to look like a nail.) My one and only floor jack is under the 911 engine. (I have a bottle jack under the tranny, which makes it hard to slide about.) Babydoll's owner has a floor jack that she's not using, but she's on vacation right now. If I can't scare one up from one of my car buddies, I may want to look at buying a low profile jack of my own.

Those Sears jackstands look exactly like the swap-meet specials that the Corvette is currently resting on. Same size; probably made in the same factory but painted different colors. I have a nice pair of Sears jackstands that are bigger than these supporting the rear of the 911. The bases of the stands are taller and wider; I think they may be the 6-8 ton versions. I think I'm set for jackstands for now.