Engine on a engine stand,...

cvriv.charles · 07-03-2010, 08:21 PM

Im kind of nervous about bolting my engine to my engine stand. Its not the stand thats making me nervous. Its the bolt pattern on the back of the engine. Its not the heaviest engine but it is heavy and the bolt pattern doesnt seem good enough for holding up the engine. Wide enough. I have a bad feeling.

Now,... I went to chase threads for those 4 holes and noticed that the first .25" of threading in the two top holes is stripped! So this made me even more nervous. With the engine on the stand,... all the weight is pulling on the bolts for those top two holes. Im wondernig if this is how the top two holes were stripped. There is still a good 1" of threading left. I was going to use the cross member bolts to moutn the engine but seeing the two top holes re stipped some,... I decided to order longer bolts.

My question is,... how much weight can those holes hold? Im wondering if it would be safe to mount the engine on the stand with the turbo, exhaust components, and cross member attached? Right now im taring the engine donw as much as possible before mounting because its easier on my nerves.

968rz · 968rz's Garage

If it's a well build stand it should take the weight no problem, I myself would take off the cross member; just to get it out of the way if nothing else.
Another tip, avoid floor cracks when rolling it around; especially if pushing sideways.

cvriv.charles · 07-04-2010, 05:27 AM

Not really worried about my stand. Its the clutch housing holes. The pattern in which they are just doesnt seem strudy enough. Im wondering how the two upper holes got stripped. From being mounted to a stand maybe? But then if that was true then there would be damage to the engine. I dont know. Going to wait for my longer bolts to show up in the mail and then it'll be time to find out.

fmartenies · 07-04-2010, 08:05 PM

Why don't you mount it up and leave the cherry picker attached with 1/2 inch of slack? Until the job is done or you decide you can trust the bolt pattern, whichever happens first.

fennacf · 08:16 PM

Here's my cheap Autozone engine stand that this particular engine sat on for several years. My first thought is that you're probably ok as the 944 engine is much lighter than the typical cast iron blocks that these stands were designed to handle. Just make sure that you have adequate thread engagement or you will damage the threads.

Arizona_928 · 07-04-2010, 09:23 PM

I have my bare block on a cheap Harbor freight stand. I only have the top two bolts bolted down, since it's bare. When i start building it up I'll switch to something more sturdy.

cjbcpa · 01:54 PM

I have two engines on stands right now with no problem. I'm using two Harbor Freight stands, one a 750lb version and the other a 1,000 with no problem.

FYI, the four cross member bolts are perfect for mounting these motors to engine stands. They match the bell housing threads, engage for the full depth and fit the above two stands without the need for packing the bolt with washers or nuts. And, it's one less plastic bag of bolts you'll need to label and keep track of.

CB

aben8057 · 07-05-2010, 01:41 PM

I had the same concern with all that weight being on the bolts and ran over to home depot, grabbed a 2x4 and cut it to dimension. The 2x4 resides on the engine stand lower post and another 2x4 spread across the engine in which the lower piece pushes up on it. Picture a "T" supporting the engine which resides on the engine stand frame.

AA_Ezra · 07-05-2010, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fennacf

Here's my cheap Autozone engine stand that this particular engine sat on for several years. My first thought is that you're probably ok as the 944 engine is much lighter than the typical cast iron blocks that these stands were designed to handle. Just make sure that you have adequate thread engagement or you will damage the threads.

LOL, I have he Same stand ( but from harbor freight) and the Same Pressure washer ( Lowes Troy Built 2600psi Honda OHV motor?) purchased about 2 years ago i think

And if you think you're Threads are compromised you could allways repair them (thats fun) or do what i did for a while before the engine stand. Put the Engine on a nice sturdy dolly from HF wit a Used Tire in between or just use some 2x4 stacked up to hold it..

I don't know what kind of work you're going to do to the engine but perhaps once you take off the heavy stuff like the exhaust, clylinder head, camshaft flywheel etc. you can then put it on the stand with less weight on the threads

fmartenies · 07-05-2010, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Put the Engine on a nice sturdy dolly from HF wit a Used Tire in between or just use some 2x4 stacked up to hold it..

LOL I made a bed out of used motorcycle tires for my 2nd engine until I get around to cleaning it up. It would be a pretty good setup if it didn't wobble every time a wrench came near.

Arizona_928 · 07-05-2010, 07:12 PM

I have my 928 engine on milk crates.... lol

Hey, Andrew
Can you post a pic of the back side of the stand so i can see how you mounted it.

cvriv.charles · 07-05-2010, 08:49 PM

I have a 1250lb stand. Im not worried about it. Im worried about the cltuch housing holes used to mount the engine to this stand. The two top holes are stripped the first 1/4". Im wondering why? I was going to use the cross member bolts but they dont utilize all the threads on these housing holes. Seeing the first 1/4" is stripped, that wont leave me with much. So I ordered longer. We'll see what happens.

v2rocket_aka944 · 07-06-2010, 06:44 AM

dont worry about it.

my 944's engine sat on a stand in various states of assembly for 6 months, went into the car with no issue and has been running perfect without any issue back there since 2006.

my spare engine has sat on the same stand now for about 6 months, finally took it off yesterday to move it, it's fine.

AA_Ezra · 07-06-2010, 10:45 AM

Hey AZ_porschekid, You having trouble putting the engine on that what looks to be like a HF engine stand? I'll post a picture for you if i can. I do remember the configuration kinda being funky to get it to fit right. and it took a little more time after that to get the weight centered on the stand so that the engine would not try to flop over and place an even amount of stress to each bolt. That and it makes it wasy easy to flip to turn the engine without having to worry about it falling to one side :P

Rudeboy42 · Rudeboy42's Garage

I only used three of the four mounts on my stand to hold mine on and it's working fine. It's been sitting on the stand since Februrary. The bolt pattern is very strange and I was kinda confused at first.

HondaDustR · 07-07-2010, 06:48 PM

How badly stripped are the holes? Could you get some threads back with a thread chaser? If they need repairing, you might as well helicoil them now while it's right there in front of you. They may have been stripped during a clutch job, as those two top bolts are next to impossible to access with the engine in the car. With full thread contact on all 4 holes, it will be fine on the stand. Use all 4 so you can rotate the engine in the stand and still have stability in all positions.

fennacf · 07-07-2010, 06:49 PM

I will post a photo of the mounting when I get home this weekend.
~Andrew

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZ_porschekid

I have my 928 engine on milk crates....

Hey, Andrew
Can you post a pic of the back side of the stand so i can see how you mounted it.

cvriv.charles · 07-07-2010, 08:59 PM

Not that bad. I bought longer bolts instead of using cross member bolts. I am able to utilize all the treads in the clutch housing which is great. I got washers to make up for the slack. It will work out just fine. I chasedx the threads and regained some threads.