Rest Engine on Heat Exchangers?
 

Greetings again - Now that engine dropping season is here, I'm gearing up for my first drop with all the trepidation and excitement of a kid getting ready to jump off a high diving board for the first time...

I've read, re-read, and read again the dozen+ engine drop threads, and I'm ready to go, but I have one last concern, and that's the prospect of damaging my new $tainless $teel heat exchangers during the process. It looks like common practice to rest the engine on the case and HE's, whether on a piece of plywood, lift table, or other flat surface while removing the trans and getting ready to put the case on a stand. Are the HE's really that sturdy, or is the engine really resting on the case with the HE's only supporting enough weight to keep it from tipping over?

My plan was to roll a furniture dolly under the engine with my low-profile floor jack under and through the dolly for the drop, then to rest the engine/trans on the dolly while I raise the car up off of it, but this approach would put a lot of the weight of the engine and trans on the HE's. Alternatively, I could remove the exhaust before the drop, and cobble some wobble-stopping supports onto the dolly, but I'd rather put that time into the tear-down. At least the exhaust nuts shouldn't be an issue to remove since the HE's are less than a year old... Any and all thoughts from the seasoned droppers out there would be more than welcome. Thanks in advance!

That's how I do it. I support the engine on the heat exchangers.

Like this?
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1354199980.jpg

That is how it's done. If you are really concerned, rest the heat exchangers on a pile of old towels on the wood dolly. Remember the exchangers are open to the underside of the car, open the environment, and open to all the road grimes. They are built to take some abuse, and ... sometimes they end up looking like it. Stop polishing the cannonball.

Nothing to worry about. The heat exchangers can easily take the weight, and because it's all so heavy, they're not going to move around and get scratched up.

Thanks for the reassurance gents. Sergio - yes, that's what I had in mind, and I expect that mine will look as clean as yours when it's ready to be re-installed.

Picture of one more smiling, dirty Porsche-owner in the engine compartment coming soon....