How many people lift their car up at the engine? It still creeps me out...especially since my brother just about had a heart attack when he saw me do it and he is admittedly more mechanically inclined than me...albeit more picky.

 

Me too. I know a lot of people do it but I just can't - I get visions of a cracked case! I'd rather take the extra time and lift the back end via. the jack points.

Bill
90C2

 

there is no problem lifting by the engine.

 

The case is incredibly strong. You hang it by 2 bolts to work on it on the stand. I know that it seems dicey, but if you get the lifting cradle for your jack, it distributes the load nicely.

 

I only have a 6" cup on my jack and it would make contact with the center web in a couple of places. I suppose if a cradle was used or something which dirstributed the load over a larger area I'd feel better about lifting it from the engine. Also, with the cup it tends to teeter and there's a possibility it could slide off to the side.

Bill
90C2

 

I use a 1" thick 8"x8" square of plywood between the jack cup and the engine. The cup bites into it and the sump bolts bite into it. Simple way to avoid any damage and avoid slippage. Just be careful doing it at Limerock with their blocks as I think they will be checking for plywood damage this year..

 

lift by the main webbing and just make sure there isn't metal to metal contact. A hockey puck works well. Obviously you wouldn't crawl under the car, but you'd be surprised at how stable it is.

 

I lift by the engine. Its a great place to get the car up and get the jackstands underneath it. You should use something like a hockey puck or other rubber between the jack and the motor.

I was worried about it at first, but I did a search at the time and found it was common practice. There are several jack stand adapters available that were designed for this purpose.

Dont go down there without the jackstands though, or dont blame me when a hefty porsche bounces off your nose.

Kirk

 

What do you mean by the "main webbing"? Thanks.

 

I lift by the engine, but I admit that I've had some concerns about it. For example, once I had it lifted by the engine (with stands in place) to swap the cat bypass. I started the car while it was lifted to check for exhaust leaks. Suddenly, oil starting leaking from somewhere around the engine onto the garage floor. I freaked out and turned off the motor. I then lowered the jack under the engine to take the strain off and started it back up. No more oil leaked out. Hasn't done it since. Somebody please explain that one to me cause it scared the **** out of me.

 

Greg

did you have any pooled oil in the removeable cover??

 

No cover or pan installed on my car.

 

I made a simple jack adapter out of 3" angle iron 1/4" thick and about 3" long that bolted to the rear of the engine where the engine cross member bolts on to. It has a 1" hole to except the 1" post which replaces the cup on the jack. It seemed to work well when I used it but I've since removed it because it interfered with the bottom tray.

Bill
90C2

 

If you look under the centre of the engine running dead in the middle there is a thick strip of alloy that goes from the front to back which is part of the casting of the main "block" that is the "webbing" we are talking about.

While jacking up stay away from the car and make sure you have axle stands at each stage of the lifting process. You dont want a headache.
Saftey is most important in this exercise.

 

A good ol' piece of 2x4 works just fine.

Steve