Hello, has anyone here built a Dolly/cart to fasten the Engine, Torque Tube, Rear end with suspension system and front end systems onto in efforts to take apart the vehicle -- in the opposite manner these cars were built in Zuffenhausen? Finding sources of these efforts I've found nothing on. However, I will undertake to do such an endeavour on my '89 S4, and I'm certain the 'next guy' that undertakes this will do it better/easier/faster and even dare I safe safer than my rookie efforts. I'll post photos as I progress on this, thanks.

 

Just drop it on jack stands..... 928 International has dismantled hundreds that way...you lift the body off with a two post lift...

 

I don't use jackstands for too much except supporting items as I Media Blast them as needed like a 3rd Arm. I need to be mobile, move the Body, and move the entire drivetrain assembly's as I don't have much dedicated space for 'my' projects as I have several paying projects taking up that valuable space. As I said, I didn't think I'd find too many folks that have or are doing what I am setting up to do.

 

Donald, hopefully you at least have the two-post lift. If not, how are you going to get the car high enough to work under it to remove the entire drive train as one unit? My thoughts are that you are going to need two dollies--one for the drive train and one for the body/chassis after the drive train is removed. The drive train-one needs to be able to lower and lift the drive train, but the other one only needs to rest the body/chassis and move it around, so it does not need to be very tall nor have the lift capability.

In the end you are going to need space to store these units, but you may be able to make them so that they nest together. You may also end up storing them outside where the space is not so valuable. Do you have the two-post lift?

 

I do have a 2-post lift, after having it, I'll never lay on the ground again to mess with anything under a car. The Body will be pushed aside on its own respective Dolly/Cart, the Chassis Drivetrain w Suspension also will have its own Dolly/Cart, both will have casters to roll them around.

 

Rob Edwards has the body dolly already worked out....they used it to flatbed the body to and from the bodyshop....they however completely dismantled the driveline and suspension doing all the work in a one car garage !!

 

I work in a 1-car garage with a 9 foot ceiling, it's 3 feet wider than is typical but that just buys enough room for a widely spaced 2-post mid-rise lift. The idea of a drivetrain dolly is a nice one but for disassembly it would be more trouble than it's worth, unless you have at least 4 pairs of hands helping. It'd be even worse for reassembly- at the factory the jig they were using had a million adjustable pickup points and they must have had half a dozen people on hand during body drop. It would be a giant pain in the *** to get everything lined up by yourself to get the front and rear springs positioned.

Pic of the factory jig:



If you want to take apart a 928 to the bare shell in a limited space, this would be my order of operations. You need a 2 post lift, an engine hoist, a regular jack, and a transmission jack/dolly.

1. Back car into garage, put on lift on the factory jacking points
2. Pull engine
3. Chain the transmission to the rear sway bar
4. Remove rear suspension crossmember and lower control arms
5. Remove transmission and torque tube
6. Remove front suspension control arms and shocks
7. Build a body dolly that fits the jacking points
8. Lower the body onto stands on the front crossmember and the rear end of the frame rails, supported on 2x6s to spread the weight and get the car off its jackign points.
9. Position the body dolly at the jacking points, lower the shell onto it. Done.

Dolly:

 

Found a pic of the S4 chassis jig, if that's helpful:

 

It is possible on 4 jack stands. I have done it a few times. A lift is for the polo-shirt wearing types.

 

I take that as a compliment as I don't have a lift and do all of my work on jack stands using hand tools. No compressor in my garage either.

 

But I think you and I would take those extra items (I do have a compressor) if we were able to get them.

 

Does it have a part number?

 

Not that I'm aware, but I'd bet the Celette jig # 544.300 would work as a substitute.

http://www.celette.com/products/jigs...8-544-300.html


This would be a cool setup to fit between a really wide 2-post lift - drive the car up on it, support the drivetrain at the various bits, lift the body off at the unibody frame rails with the scissor lift, then raise it way up on the 2-post. Too bad about the crossbars between the scissor lift part.

 

The pictures that Rob Edwards posted is exactly what I've seen and have already drawn it out with modifications to make it a bit simpler and no need for adjustability that the factory needed for multiple applications for these Dolly's. I figure it best to get a complete analysis of the entire system(s) with eyes on everything, at once vs. the methods the fellow on youtube has show as he pulled his TT and rear end while his car rests of Jack stands. I have parlayed my hobby's into paying ventures and if I can do something faster, easier, and better I will. Just look at my website and the Rotisseries, Dolly's and Carts I've built for internal use, and, for customers per their request for one for them.

The Red casters on the Body Dolly illustrated will fail quickly, they are too small, and too weak. I'm putting at least a 6" caster on my Body Dolly, likely 8', and the Chassis Dolly will absolutely be at minimum 8 inches, possibly 10.

Cheers! www.drblast.com

 

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with, please post back when you have a finished product.