TomF

I have the opportunity to purchase a four post drive-on type alignment lift for a great price. Has anyone used this type of lift, and I am not talking about a storage type, to R and R an engine and transmission? I have a two car garage that I cannot expand the footprint of and this type of lift would allow me to service my cars and store one if necessary.

I recognize that the distance between the ramps is critical and I will measure the spacing this weekend. IIRC, there needs to be about 38 inches of width to drop an engine. I have done it on all my other 911s, just not on the 996.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks!
TomF

Imo000

If the exhausf is fully removed than maybe. Otherwise the 996 engine has ALMOST the same width as the the rear footprint (outside edge to outside edge of the rear tires).

TomF

It is amazing that with the exhaust the engine is nearly the full width of the car. The engineering to cram everything in there is pretty amazing. I fully expected to have to remove the exhaust to drop the motor. I wish that there was some hybrid with the clearance of a standard, articulating arm lift and a drive-on type! I am guessing that 38 inches of clearance between the ramps will do it. A couple of lifts have a small amount of width adjustment, unfortunately, not the one I am considering.

Macster

Best to check the distance between the ramps. I've seen both the lifts and alignment racks but can't recall any real details and all my pics of alignment racks have cars on them.

I do recall though in every case when an engine is out of a car the car is supported by its body lift points. The techs do not use the wheels/tires to lift/support the car.

Using the body lift points gives unfettered access and the most clearance to do what is necessary to drop/reinstall an engine.

Based on the above, then I'd be reluctant to use an alignment rack/lift for this task.

Imo000

They lift it at the jack points because that's how a 2/4 post lift works and not because there is more room that way. One can easily put the rear tires on ramps and lower the engine with an ATV jack. That's sort of what I did on mine. If the distance between the racks is more than the distance between the valve covers, the engine will come out. The only problem is that I never measured this but maybe someone else did.

TomF

Thanks for the comments. There are rolling jacks that are made to fit the alignment lifts and support the car at the specified jack points. This allows the suspension, etc. to be worked on. I'll see if I can come up with pictures to post.That is what I would use. I am going to have to do some real measuring to make sure that I am not trying to put a square peg in a round hole with this type of lift. The benefit of being able to use it for storage would be fantastic. We are seriously constrained regarding space.