ATV jack fo engine drop?

[Dixie]

Okay, I'm buying an ATV jack for engne drops. It's got to be easier than trying to balance the engine and trans on a floor jack.

Any thoughts on this one? I'm thinking how can I go wrong for $60? Is the lift range adaquate? (Keep in mind that this is for a hobbiest application. The engine in my '88 might come down every two or three years.)

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=2792

[fred cook]

I bought this one from Sears. It has a 1500 pound load rating and will extend up to about 19" with the two included extenders.



I added a 2'x2' piece of 3/4" plywood with a piece of 4"x4" post mounted in the center for the engine case to rest on. There are two places in the (front) end of the 4x4 that are notched for "bumps" on the bottom of the case. I bolted the plywood to the jack and used one of the included straps to stabilize the engine on the assembly. Here is a picture of the engine on the jack.



This made the drop very stable and comfortable for one person to handle.

When I get ready to reattach the transaxle, I will lift it with a floor jack (under the ring gear housing) to make the alignment correct and then roll the tranny into place while guiding the throwout fork onto the throwout bearing. Anyway, that's the plan.

[jklaspok]

I bought a Craftsman ATV jack at Sears very similiar to the Harbor Freight jack you reference. It works quite well with the muffler removed. I found the 2 pads on the jack barely long enough to balance the engine (with tranny connected). I cut a 20 x 24 inch piece of 3/4 plywood to first lay on the pads. This gave some room to position the motor without getting too close to the jack handle assy.

[304065]

I have the Craftsman ATV jack and I'm going to get rid of it.

The handle hits the muffler.

It doesn't raise high enough to move the engine to a stand. You have to put a bunch of blocks of wood between the engine and the jack to do this, and that's dangerous.

I used it for my first drop but next time I'm going to get a TRUE high-lift jack with the saddle adapter that Wayne sells. I can only imagine the damage from having a 400 pound engine fall off the jack at any point in the process- for a little more money I'll reduce that anxiety.

[Dixie]

How much is the Sears jack?

[jklaspok]

The Sears jack was on sale for $60.00 when I purchased it 2 months ago. I believe it normally sells for around $80.00.

[TERRIBLEHONDO]

I just bought the jack you have pictured. I got it after I had pulled the engine only to do a clutch job. I was at Harbor Freight saw it and bought it because I was worried about the reinstallation. I had heard horror stories about engine only drops. I put the engine back in with no problems. You have to pull the handle off to slide the engine in though. Putting the engine in with the jack was easy. I would have liked a higher jacking range. I lower the car anyway so that I do not have to raise the engine up too high so it was not a problem. I would have had a lot more problems with just the floor jack. I had the heat exchangers off when I put it back in. I do not know how the stuff John is talking about works but it sounds like it would be an ideal set up in theory.

[gigem75]

I used a std tranny jack under the trans and floor jack under the engine, used the strap on the tranny jack to stabalize everything. brought each one up a little at a time and every thing was stable and the shift rod was breeze to stab. That worked great for me doing it solo.

[equality72521]

Originally Posted by fred cook

That's the one I used.

[ayglass]

I used the same Sears jack for mine. Once it was out, I used a regular engine crane to lift the engine onto the stand. It worked pretty well, though next time I might build more of a platform to give me a larger area to work with.

[patkeefe]

I have the Sears jack; looks like the Harbor Freight one pictured. I agree with John, it doesn't raise high enough to get it to a stand. I have to pull the engine with it, and chain block it off the rafters to get it on the stand. It hits my muffler also, but my muffler configuration is a bit different with the turbo. Further, I had to fab two plates onto the side so that it was wide enough to sit squarely under the heat exchangers.

Other than that, for a hundred bucks, it beats the floor jack

[fred cook]

The Sears jack worked well for me. However, I was not planning on putting the engine on an engine stand. This pull was to replace the syncros in the tranny and to replace the clutch. Since I am able to leave the engine on the ATV jack, it also serves as a dolly. One advantage of the Sears jack is that it is aluminum. Total weight is 44 lbs. As I said earlier, I made a 2'x2' plywood platform which I bolted to the jack so that I would have a larger resting surface. The piece of 4"x4" bolted in the center carries the weight rather than sitting all the engine weight on the SSI exhausts. I used some small pieces of 2"x4" on each side under the heat exchangers as spacers to make everything solid. A ratcheting strap from header tube, under the plywood to the other side header tube ties it all together. When I dropped my engine, I pulled the muffler before starting the drop. It is easy to remove the muffler and then it is not in the way of the jack handle. The jack has a locking mechanism that allows one to lower the jack part way and then lock it into position. That takes the load off the hydraulic cylinder. Leaving a load on a hydraulic jack can lead to sudden and catastrophic failure. Not a good thing to do!