EJZero1

In the process of a rod bearing refresh (among other projects).

Using the Harbor Fright engine support to lift and support the engine before I drop the crossmember. After cranking in small increments I've noticed that the driver side has come off the mount by about 1/2 inch, but the passenger side of the motor hasn't come off the mount yet. The fact that the driver side has come up first really doesn't surprise me given the location of the hoist point I'm lifting at (see pic).

Ever over-cautious, my question to those of you that have done this before is, is this normal?

How much higher will the driver side go before the passenger side clears?

Isn't this "twisting" of the motor putting a lot of stress at points along the drive train?

Should I be lifting from another point? There's another "lift eye" at the rear of the cam tower, but I would think that would simply reverse the situation, lifting the passenger side first.

Guidance greatly appreciated!

V2Rocket

howabout wrapping the chain/nylon strap (better) around the engine mount arms?

EJZero1

Awesome idea! Tomorrow I'll wrap a small ratcheting tow strap from the brace bar to the passenger side mount arm. Should be able to ratchet the passenger side up even with the driver side then. When all is ready for reassembly, I should be able to use a jack to slowly lower the engine back to the mounts.

Thanks!

EJZero1

And done.

Can now raise (and, when the time comes, lower) the engine.

Headers have been pulled, and tomorrow, the crossmember is dropped, along with the pan.

After months of taking things apart, looking forward to starting to put things back together.

snb13

I believe when I did mine I put a chain to both lift points and then lifted from the center. I also used the HF hoist.

Tiger03447

We just used a (very used) transmission jack under the engine to lift it clear, then dropped the crossmember. Then lowered it down with hands steadying the engine on it's descent. Pulled the entire thing clear of the car.. Then we blocked it up with blocks and tilting until we could get it up and bolted to an engine stand. Dropped the bellhousing first though.I didn't have a hoist to do this, but you might want to consider putting it on a furniture dolly with some extra blocks so you can move it around in the shop, if you have a rented hoist. just my 2 cents.

joeystanker

I used the support you are using on my '83 944, by itself, no straps.
It stayed very stable for the 6 hours with no cross member.
Extra straps, totally great idea ;-)

944hal

You don't need to remove the engine to do rod bearings. My car has a strut bar. I remove the bar and leave the strut bar mounts on the shock towers. I then bolt a heavy piece of angle iron to the strut bar mounts. I fasten the front and rear engine lift points to a strap and to the angle iron. I then remove the cross member, steering rack, and any else that will interfere with easily dropping the oil pan. Now, if you need to replace any engine seals, clutch components, etc. by all means drop the motor. I really believe the dropping the engine is a better way to do the clutch than removing the transaxle and pulling back the torque tube. As long as you have access to a engine hoist.

divil

For future reference, to get the engine to lift flat, I threaded the second chain through the space behind the cam sprocket cover. I wouldn't want to lift the engine completely from there...but with the bulk of the weight on the main eyelet, you can adjust the angle a bit this way without putting much stress there. Getting chain through that space takes a little care but it's doable.

EJZero1

Just to be clear, I'm not pulling the engine. Just wanted to come up with a way of hanging it nice and level while I do the bearings. The independent control of each side should make it easy when it comes to lower back down to the mounts when everything else is done. Would recommend this route to anyone in this situation.