Dropping engine... how much space needed to slide it out from under the car?
 

Title says it all :)

Trying to buy the correct jack stands and also figure out my strategy.

I was trying to get one of these:
500 lb. Capacity Hydraulic Table Cart

Take off the handle and place it under the engine. Drop the engine on it and then roll this thing out from under the car. I need to know how much clearance however the engine needs. I assume the bumper will have to come off?

The reason I want to use this cart is that I will have to load the engine into an SUV or a pick up for delivery to my rebuilder.

Any other alternative ideas that you guys have approached this with?

Thank you,
Paul

Three feet maybe more. AND THE CART HEIGHT PLUS THE ENGINE PLUS SOME MORE TO BE SURE.

I have a 1979 Carrera SC by the way

I like 6 ft behind the car but I'm using a jack with full handle.
Bruce

I never measured the height needed... but I can tell you that those carts are great for getting the engine and tranny out!

http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/engine_out4.jpg

http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/engine_out8.jpg

http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/engine_out9.jpg

about yay high

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1449584265.jpg

So is a two post lift.

Absolutely. I jumped at the first batch of these when they came out. Having a low ceiling garage and not able to install a normal two-post lift... this Max-Jax has been excellent.

They are the cat's ass for those of us with small, or low garages. I couldn't have a 2 post lift installed permanently in my small garage, and I love the idea of having mounting plates located in different spots in the garage.

I removed the lower valance and bumper w/extensions and raised the car at least 22.5 inches , measured at the bottom of the torsion bar covers, where hopefully you have the stands.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-i...o/IMAG1037.jpg

I put my engine on a modified Harbor Freight furniture cart, maybe 6" tall total. Couldn't get it to clear what I felt was safely with the bumper on, I ended up pulling the bumper. I used 3 ton SUV jack stands which go to about 16" tall. Memory is a little fuzzy, but I don't think those were high enough on the torsion bar covers, even with the bumper off.

How many other internet car forums have so many members sharing pictures of dropping perfectly functional engines just for fun? ;)

Complete CIS engine clearance removal........
 

Paul,

The height of the complete CIS engine from heat exchangers to top of the CIS boot is approximately 28". So you would need a minimum of 28" + cart height. In your case it could be 28" + 8"(?). Add another inch for additional clearance. Removal of the rear valance would lessen how much you have to raise the car. Whatever you do, stay safe and make sure the car is stable before pulling the engine. Loosen the four (4) mounting bolts prior to getting to the required height for clearance.

Tony

36"

Not certain, but believe there were other threads recommending the 1000lb version of that cart as it was a little weak on the the lifting.

Good catch. Correct. Need to go with the 1,000 version. That is the one I got. When you consider both engine and transmission best to go with the higher rate version. SmileWavy

After the motor is on the cart, you can use 2x6 under the body near torsion tubes and use your floor jack to lift the now lighter body high enough to slide out and then rest back on jack stands after its out..

This is my poor-man's lift. I drive the car onto my trailer, put the ramps up on jack stands, and back the car onto the ramps. I should have, but I didn't measure the height of the car when I was getting the engine out. I think it was about 30", which included 5 inches for the transmission jack. Because the car was sitting on its suspension it raised up about 3" when I disconnect the engine/transmission mounts. The engine and trans weight about 650 lbs, so a 500 lb jack isn't going to cut it. I use an 800lb Harbor Freight transmission jack and it wasn't enough.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1449604333.jpg

I used a craftsman ATV jack to drop my engine. The most recent time I left the bumper on and I'm thinking my rear valance was about 36" off the ground. On my 3.2 I removed the filter box and elbow to give myself the necessary clearance. I had my rear jack stands as high as they'd go plus a 2x10 under that. I then put jacks under the front to level the car and got the engine and trans loose and started lowering with the atv jack. I then went up front and lowered the front back down to the ground which put the back where you see it in the pics.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1449606759.jpg

I musta gotten lucky, I just raised the car as high as I could with the floor jack on the sump, put it on stands at that height, took the bumper and valence off, and I had more than enough room. I dropp the motor and trans with the floor jack to a furniture dolly. Will be putting the engine on a stand soon. I bet that's harder than lowering it in one piece.

Does't your front spoiler hit when you jack up the back so much?

Not if you remove it before you jack up the car;)

Remove the rear valence and bumper gives you more room. Still have to jack the car up to uncomfortable height to get the engine out. Once it is out, I lower the car to a more respectable height.

I've done it with the bumper on and the bumper off. It's a lot of work to take the bumper off for the two inches of clearance it will buy you. Time is better spent jacking it up two inches higher.

Nope, never touched the ground. When I lower I come in from behind the front tire and lift on the front cross member (gasp!) and lower it to the floor then pull the jack out.

I used Esco jacks and jack tool
 

I removed the rear valance and bumper. I have 4 Esco jack stand that I used. Don't know the exact height but will dig out a jack stand and measure. My car (89 3.2) has the 4 flat jack points.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1449623343.jpg

Jack position

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1449623376.jpg


Tool that sits on jack and holds engine. This is for a 3.2 but I believe there is one for the other 911s.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1449623521.jpg

Wow. You have some nice tools for lifting. Might have been cheaper to buy a lift. :D

Love the cart too but you will get slot more future use with a low profile motorcycle jack.

Just did this with a pair of ramps under the front wheels and a pair of 12 ton jack stands in the rear. Bumper off. Stands still had more height to go but this was the minimum. Car was/is very stable in this position too.

I have a cheap motorcycle jack with a wooden block holding up the engine/tranny under the engine sump plate.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1449384888.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1449384906.jpg

A lot of things will work. For me, 2 jacks, 2 jack stands, 1 furniture moving dolly. 2 hours.

When the front was up I needed a few more inches, otherwise there was too much rubbing so I put the front on the floor and the rear pivoted up higher for easier extraction. Once I did that it, it went quickly and was over before I knew it.

How thick did your concrete have to be for the Max Jax 2? How do the mounting plates work? I am thinking this is the route I will have to go.

~Andy

Don't forget you can detach the engine and transmission after only raising the car a little bit. Then raise the car off of the engine and slide it out. For installation, slide the engine underneath and then lower the car on top of it.

Much easier than balancing the engine as you raise it 2 feet off the ground.

I used one of these along with the low profile Jack that Wayne sells through this site. Can not recommend both more. Made removal of the drivetrain a breeze. No wobbling about or anything.

Also, I've used one of those hydraulic tables before too. The jack with sump adapter was way better.

This is how I've always done it. Jack and support the car only high enough to safely work under and get the engine to the floor using an ATV/motorcycle jack, and then jack the car high enough (sorry I don't recall the measurement) to slide that baby out. I used a floor jack on each side of the car. Once out, the car goes back down. On my 930, I used to remove the rear bumper. I have not yet removed the engine from my 993.

Not my picture but this is a great shot from another Pelican ;) that shows how a very inexpensive jack and a sheet of plywood do an amazing job. You will get much more use of of this jack than the table lift and its 1/4 of the expense. I love this setup and added casters to the bottom of my plywood so I can roll it around once down. When going back in just use a second jack under the front of the transmission to give it some angle. I do this without needing an additional person.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1449694922.jpg

To clarify, I don't have a MaxJax yet. Almost did, but moved and now have a garage that would need a new floor poured to install one.

If I remember correctly, it's 4" of 3000psi. Most people find that a bit sketchy, and frankly most of us don't know *for sure* what we have for a slab, so there are many threads where people jackhammer out a section and repour so they can feel safe. The supplied hardware has bolts that go into the concrete, but many people weld up plates that get embedded into the concrete when they pour a floor/section

This ^ - 4" minimal and at least 3000psi concrete...

I used the recommended anchors an also used concrete epoxy as additional safety measure.... I move them around depending on the task. I have a setup in the single bay and then two widths setups in the double bay depending on the car I am lifting (helping out friends).

Garage Journal has several good threads on it... here is one: Maxjax Installs: Post Here - The Garage Journal Board

And since we all love photos... a few from me...

In the single bay:

http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/dsc05165_medium.jpg

http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/038_800x600.jpg

http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/dsc05173_medium.jpg

The rest are in the double bay.

http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/dsc04820sm.jpg

http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/inspect0.jpg


http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...R/Paint-49.jpg

http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/964_on_lift.jpg


http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/dsc05136sm.jpg


http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/dsc00786sm.jpg


http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/dsc_0020_800x600.jpg

Could someone measure the dimensions of those engines? I am trying to figure out whether I can fit it into my cayenne with the seats down or, if I need to rent a pick up truck.

After all I have decided to let my indy take it all out :D

Thanks,
Paul

This was with the engine balanced on a floor jack.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1449710544.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1449710592.jpg