It took a little longer than I anticipated but it's out. Thanks to Dave and Mitchell for their guidance. I ended up buying the hydraulic table from Harbor Freight and bolting 4x4 supports to it. It fits nicely to the frame and will allow me to move the engine up/down and around the garage. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Nice work. Tight fit with the garage door down! Living in WI, the door is probably down this time of year. In a way, I wish I would have purchased a car that needed a major at discount price. After the last couple of weekends working on my car, I am beginning to enjoy the work. It is obvious that the HF table is holding the engine, but darn it looks lightweight. Please post some more as you dive into the engine.
Nice work! Did you take any precautions with the weight balance when hanging the rear off the lift like anchoring the front of the car at all?
The harbor freight table is 1000 lb capacity and I read the engine weighs less than that. It seems fine and I don't plan to lift it full height. The car could probably be 4 inches farther forward, but I still have a little bit of room to clear the door. I did also ratchet strap the front wheels to the ramps just to be safe. As soon as I move the engine out of the way tonight the car is coming down and will be rolled forward on the lift. Now the hard work begins, but I'll have help for that part.
There's a 4-post major thread somewhere of someone putting casters with blocks under the center of the car and pushing it forward. I'll have to revisit that thread keeping in mind the proper jack points. No rush as I have space to move the engine to the extra bay in my garage, but I'd rather the thing not be hanging in the air. I just got a message that my guy who knows what he's doing is stopping over tonight so I'll get the real story on the state of my engine. To me it looks good but the wires connected to the injectors look crumbly and there was some oil on the belly of the engine prior to disconnecting anything.
I was thinking the same thing then I saw your post...Good job. Think on the bright side,winters suck but now is better than summer looking out at the nice weather and your car is apart. Take lots of pics and keep us updated!
It is posts like this on the forum that turned my dream into a reality. Always wanted a Fcar but couldn't stand the thought of being tied to a dealership. Once I saw folks Gobble with the engine out it was a done deal.
Wow- that looks impressive! Where is the lambo during all of this- I thought it lived in the "upper bunk"? Are the cross drilled brake rotors standard on the later cars? Maybe they were optional with the colored calipers on the later cars with the customization program?
It's sitting in a warehouse 5 miles away. Wife/fiancé's parents have a place to store it. The rotors were put on the car as a dealer installed option to the tune of some ridiculous price when the original owner bought it. I realize they do nothing for me on the street though. The dealer also had the calipers painted.
Do yourself a favor and lube the forward cradle attachment plates before you lower the body back onto the engine to reinstall it. The bolt holes never line up perfectly and once the engine is locked back into the frame, it is a real bear to move the cradle even 1/2" to line up the bolts unless those plates are nicely greased. I don't see many threads mention this item but it will save you time. It is a great feeling of accomplishment just to get this far. This is nothing though compared to how you will feel the first time you start it back up and everything runs perfectly.... Ken
All cleaned up and waiting for someone that knows what they're doing. Image Unavailable, Please Login
You were an electrical genius, now you are a mechanical one too. Welcome to the I dropped my engine at home club.
Good job Mark , very impressive , posts like these are very helpful and encouraging for people that are intimidated to tackle this project ,like myself, but it proves over and over again that it is doable at home with some help from you fellow f chatters,and it must feel amazing to have accomplished it on your own and very rewarding, not the mention the savings and giving the engine your own tlc. after seeing this post I have decided to man up and tackle this project myself with the help of you guys of course, and Id like thank Mark for doing a very good job on my key fob, very nice guy to work with, thank you
When you guys drop your engines what cleaner do you use to get all the gunk off all the nooks and crannies?
