To everyone who dropped an engine using the Harbor Freight motorcycle lift...

[Hotwatermusic]

Did you leave the engine on the lift while doing all the maintanence you wanted to do? If not, how did you go about getting the engine off the lift to whatever work area you were using? Is is possible to separate the engine and trans while it's resting as one on the HB lift? I am about to do my first engine drop and am trying to have an airtight plan of action before diving headfirst. Thanks!

[MotoSook]

I would just get a large floor jack and some plywood and 2x6+ scraps. Really. You'll want to just pull the engine (leave the tanny there. With a large floor jack and the right pieces of wood you can wiggle and change the angle of the engine during removal and installation. I've done it this way several times before I got a lift.

Get some jack stands (the large ones to hold the rear end of the car in the air high enough to clear the engine when you pull it. Get some more jack stands to support the engine (under the plywood or 2x6) during the repair. You don't want to have it tip over on you.

The motorcycle lifts can qork, but they don't allow the flexibility of the floor jacks.

I use to do all my engine drops using 2 large jack stands, two small jack stands and my 3.5Ton Craftsman floor jack.....plus some scrap wood.

[tobluforu]

I have that jack, but before you use it there is an Alan screw on the outside of the pump that you can remove. Stick a screw driver in there and tighten the screw in almost all the way. This will allow the jack to come down slower. I bolted a 3\4 inch, 2x2 piece of plywood on the jack and I kept the motor on it the whole time. I was only doing clutch/tranny work. Take a block of wood and place it under the tranny, or a floor jack while you wiggle the tranny off. The atv jack is great because you can wheel the engine where ever you want.
One other thing, I have a 72 with SSi's so when the engine sits on the plywood it sits nice and flat.

[Hotwatermusic]

Originally Posted by tobluforu

I have that jack, but before you use it there is an Alan screw on the outside of the pump that you can remove. Stick a screw driver in there and tighten the screw in almost all the way. This will allow the jack to come down slower. I bolted a 3\4 inch, 2x2 piece of plywood on the jack and I kept the motor on it the whole time. I was only doing clutch/tranny work. Take a block of wood and place it under the tranny, or a floor jack while you wiggle the tranny off. The atv jack is great because you can wheel the engine where ever you want.
One other thing, I have a 72 with SSi's so when the engine sits on the plywood it sits nice and flat.

Clutch/tranny work is what I am planning on doing. I was hoping to be able to the leave the engine on the jack the whole time. Do you have a picture of the way you attached the wood to the jack? I have stock heat exchangers on my engine so I think it will rest fine on the wood platform as well. I really like the idea of being able to move the engine around with that jack.

[Jonny042]

I dropped the engine/trans as a unit using the HF motorcycle lift under the engine and a floor jack under the trans. Seperated them once out and left the engine on the jack the whole time.

Fairly convenient to be able to roll it around and have it a comfortable working height.

[JJ 911SC]

H.W.M.

I'm doing the same job this week-end.

The engine is on the cradle (made of a 4x4) which is on the lift platform (pics 1, 2 & 3 ).

For flywheel/clutch job I just stabilized (jammed) the platform with wood (pic 4).

Luckily I have a lifting table so I'll use that to mate the engine and transmission.

[axl911]

Here is how I dropped my 993 engine and put it on an engine stand using the HF jack. Just by myself and no lifting.

I built these support/stand for the HF motorcycle jack which will allow me to slip the engine stand underneath the HF motorcycle jack. Then simply just raise the jack until the engine and engine stand is the right height and just slide it in. See pic.

SIMPLE!!!!

[shrtshck]

I used a motorcycle jack for my removal / install. A friendly neighbor with a front end loader was nice enough to lift the engine to the stand. To remove the engine I rented an engine lift from my local rental place, only cost $25 for the hour it took to do the job.
Separated / installed the transmission using floor jack to lift the transmission to the engine on the cycle lift. All tasks done single handed.

[kycarguy 935]

I use a cherry picker. Saves the back and hassle for many other lifting jobs around the garage too.

[J P Stein]

ATV jack & Q&D dolly. It's so stable you could dance on it. ......

[kodioneill]

Originally Posted by JJ 911SC

H.W.M.

I'm doing the same job this week-end.

The engine is on the cradle (made of a 4x4) which is on the lift platform (pics 1, 2 & 3 ).

For flywheel/clutch job I just stabilized (jammed) the platform with wood (pic 4).

Luckily I have a lifting table so I'll use that to mate the engine and transmission.

You just gotta love ingenuity . That is beautiful. A couple pieces of wood and you got a great engine removal fixture.

[joefrantz]

These cranes are great, and cheap. This one was $105.00 at an O'Reilly flaps.
It folds and stores in just a few square feet.
I like JP Stein's dolly. I found that my atv jack is pretty tough to roll with the engine on it. The small steel wheels don't like to roll on the concrete floor.

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by kodioneill

You just gotta love ingenuity . That is beautiful. A couple pieces of wood and you got a great engine removal fixture.

Well, I wish I could take the credit but this is the usual Pelicans team works.

I got help from rusnak who had got help Fred Cook, Mitch Leland and Gunter and so on...

Check these posts and any posts within for idea and don't be shy to PM for more details. You'll see that I'm on version 3 from my 1st post.

Engine Drop; Weight of Engine With Transmission

supporting engine at removal

[JJ 911SC]

... after a few months being apart