Engine drop work area

[autobonrun]

I'm considering dropping my engine over the winter to replace the clutch and fix a few leaks. I haven't made my mind up yet whether I'll do anything on the inside, perhaps valve guides because I'm at 211k miles. I'll probably drag this work out over several months since I'm not in a hurry.

What is the best setup to do my work on; engine stand or flat surface?

More importantly, about how much area do I need? I have the width of the engine at around 38" but don't know the length of the engine/tranny combination. My work space is starting to get pretty tight and I'm not sure how much area I should allow for.

[swa911]

When I did my clutch I had the car parked in the garage at an angle taking up the entire garage. I left as much room at the rear of the car as possible for maneuvering the eng/trans around.

A stand for the motor helps a bunch but for just a clutch and some detailing I think you could get away without it. Getting the motor on the stand without a hoist is quite a job. 2 men can lift the motor but you better eat your Wheaties.

Here is a pic of my car situated in the garage when I did my job. Hope this helps.

[azasadny]

Put a few 4x8ft sheets of luan under the car to aborb oil/impact. It isn't thick enough to interfere with engine jack wheels, but it provides some protection for the concrete floor. The Sears Craftsman motorcycle/ATV jack and a piece of 3/4" thick plywood was all I needed...

[bell]

yep, swa911 nailed it.
the house i used to live in had a single car garage.....with a dirt/gravel floor. i needed to drop my engine/tranny for needed work and could simply not come up with a solution to make it easy.
so the car sat until i moved (about 7 months later) to my current house which has a 2 car garage, trying to move a big heavy engine in tight confines next to the 911 cannot be fun, because you will need more room than you think.
a single car garage with a solid/smooth floor could work.


if you,re stuck to work with what you have i would empty out the garage and invest in some shelving, and a layout which will give you the best space. also, keep the car rollable, you can always roll it outside when more space is needed.

good luck

[MotoSook]

You can never have too much space when working on a car. Clutter is the enemy and will lead to something being forgotten or a frustrating hunt for that one tool you need to finish a simple job.

I make it a habit to clean up and put tools in some order now and than. It makes for a good breather and you can get started again without having to roll over tools and greasy rags. I must sweep the floor three or four times during large jobs. I just hate a mess!

If you don't have an engine stand or hoist, use a piece of plywood between your jack and the engine during removal (it makes for better weight distribution too!). Make sure the plywood is wide and long enough to span the heat exchanges, 3/4 inch thich is nice. You can rest it on an ATV jack.

After you have removed the engine, raise the jack up as high as possible, with the engine balanced, then put four jack stands under the plywood corners and lower the plywood onto the jackstands. You now have the engine on a stable table/work surface.

If your balance is good or you have a friend helping, you can do this with the tranny and engine attached. With good balance you can hang the tranny over the table/stand and take the tranny off with the jack (now removed from under the engine) and do clutch work. If your plywood is not too wide, you can even do all your valve work with the engine above the floor.

Put cardboard on the floor below the heads when you open the valve covers to catch oil that will run down.

[autobonrun]

This information does help. Thanks for the photo as well. I do have a four post lift that should allow me to support the engine and raise the car instead. I like the idea of the plywood but I'd like to get it up to a waist high level to improve access. Does anyone know the length of plywood that would be needed to support the engine/tranny combination.

Souk, that's a good point about not making the plywood too wide. I was thinking the same width as the engine, but it really doesn't need to be that wide. I hadn't considered the valve cover access issue.

Like you I completely clear my workspace and organize all my tools before I start a project. This would definitely be the first thing I do here as well (after I order Wayne's book of course).