944 "Whole Body Lift" - Make Sense?

[OK-944]

Just checked out the "Engine Removal Procedure" thread, and noted Weston P-22's photos of the "whole body lift" - in which he'd lifted the body of his 944 up and off of the works (engine/drivetrain/wheels/etc).

Seems like for someone (like myself) with a 944 that needs a thorough going-over (engine/drivetrain/struts/brakes/etc. etc.) that separating the body from these major components might be the best way to go - as it looks like this would make everything quite accessible.

I'm also guessing that at least half the weight (and perhaps more) of the car resides in these components (can anyone comment on this?) - so it might be quite feasible to design and construct a "lifting frame" out of lumber, bolts, pulleys, strapping, and chain...which would be plenty strong to hold the body up off of the undercarriage - especially with the seats removed.

Anyone care to comment on this? And is there a write up for this procedure anyplace? Thanks!

[emoore924]

IIRC Isn't that the reverse of how they were assembled at the factory...?

[944 Ecology]

That's the way I do it.

[jasonmx5]

I think a fork lift through the side window ought to do the trick!

[Schumi]

I've one both. If you are just removing the engine at first, I'd highly suggest keeping the rear wheels on the ground at first, removing everything on the engine you can, lower the engine to the ground, and then lift the front of the car up as high as possible, pivoting on the rear wheels, to pull the engine out the front.

With the engine on the ground, and the transaxle still in the rear, the car is very very nose-light. Pivoting on the rear wheels, myself and an able bodied friend were physically able to lift the front of the car up by the bumper mounts by ourselves. I would say 'tounge weight' on the front bumper mounts/tow hook with no front susp, no engine, and the transaxle in the rear as a counterbalance is about 400lbs. Many garages have beams in the ceiling large enough to hang some rope and pulley from that is strong enough to lift the front like this.

Note that is the transaxle is out, there is no counterbalance behind the rear axle and this makes the seemingly front heavier to lift.

These were the experiences I had with my track car project- it was stripped at this point, but all the glass still remained.

Later I removed the trans and driveline, and jacked the entire car up and put it on cinderblocks. Removing everything at once is more difficult only because it all needs to go down at the same time, and without some complex jacks and a bunch of friends that might not be too plausible.

Once the rear suspension is totally removed however, a stand under the engine and a stand under the transaxle allows for the entire driveline to come down together rather efficiently- but do note that the rigid cross braces under the torque tube has to come out, and those bolts can be on there really, really good.

[OK-944]

Schumi - I like the idea of lifting the front of the car from the top and pivoting around the rear wheels...this would allow for more clearance underneath to do stuff. I could envision rigging up an overhead lift - and using this in concert with two jacks in the process of dropping the engine...and once the engine is removed I could dispense with the jacks and continue to lift the car further from above.

Question about the above scenario. If the "tongue weight" you mentioned is indeed appx. 400lbs (with engine and front suspension out) - I'm thinking this is still enough weight to recommend caution regarding the choice of appropriate lifting points/procedures. Assuming that the engine support crossmember is out - where else could I attach either a strap or chains to lift the car from above...especially considering that the hood may still be in place? But I guess hood removal would make great sense also - so let me rephrase my question - assuming the hood is gone. Thanks!

[Schumi]

I mounted a hoist hook to the front tow hook. I had the bumper off of the car.
We were also able to lift by hand on the two bumper shocks protruding where the bumper had been taken off. They weren't meant to be loaded like that, but again at this point the car was very light in the front.

I would consider a combo of the above with jackstands under the bottom frame rails for safety reasons.

Pulling the engine out the front was made much easier by dissasembling most of it before dropping it- intake, exhaust, AC, alternator, power steering, etc. It can sneak out the hole where the radiator was a lot easier. Also- I did this with a 924S. The front bumper was off along with the lower valence to make room to slide the engine out. I know some people with 944's do not want to take off the entire front bumper and by doing that you will have to life the car much much higher, which may require raising the rear a bit too.

In this pic you can see how we put jackstands on 6x6's under the front and without the bumper this was sufficient to clear the engine. At this point we had the hoist hooked up to it because we were about to use it to put it on a truck. We only used the hoist to lower the motor to the ground. After that we slid the engine out by hand.

[jasonmx5]

This "pivot" method is exactly how I removed the engine from my 944. I raised the car up high enough on jack stands that I could slide a raised atv jack under the cross member - using a 2 x 4 under the cross member and a 1 x 4 under the oil pan to the weight and balance the engine across the two jack pads. Then I slid the engine forward enough to separate it from the driveshaft. After that I lowered the atv jack, then lowered the back of the car, pivoting the front upward. Then slipped the engine through the radiator opening.

The nice thing about having the engine on the ATV jack is that it doubles as a dolly and I can raise the engine back up to work on it without being hunched over. Also saves money on equipment as I haven't needed an engine stand or crane.