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Furniture dolly for engine drop


rapandi

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I am mentally dissecting the best way to drop the motor and transmission out of the car ( why would you do anything else?).

So far...

I am running the rear wheels up on lifting ramps.

I am jacking up the front of the car to match, perhaps in a couple of lifts, to align with the. Front ( big jack stands under the frame rails with timber).

I am attaching the engine to a block and tackle or engine hoist.

I am unbolting everything and lowering the front subframe, engine and transmission down to a furniture dolly

I am pulling the dolly out having bunched up my struts

Could maybe drop the engine with the floor jack, could maybe just drag stuff out without the benefit of the furniture dolly.

???

 

You only need the rear end up high enough that it won't bottom out when you raise the nose to remove the engine. Pull your radiator. 

 

Take a look at Colin's lower picture. Rear wheels up a bit... Front up a good bit, supported by jackstands under the front frame rails. 

 

Remember your jackstand safety! People get hurt (or worse) from falling cars!

 

What I did (and will do again this weekend so I'll take photos and post them) was put jackstands under the front frame rails, attach an engine hoist to the motor & transmission combo, unbolt the strut top bearing nuts (so the strut assemblies fall down) and then unbolt everything else (wires, fuel lines, steering column, driveshaft, clutch slave line, REVERSE LIGHT...). 

 

I then slowly lower the whole deal down onto the moving dolly. When the motor is down, the top of the head/carb usually won't fit under the lower lip of the car so you need to lift the front end up a bit more. I use a lot of rope instead of chain but same idea whichever you use. 

 

If the rear wheels are up on ramps the car will lift/pivot well. If the rear of the car is up on jackstands BE CAREFUL lifting the front end. I usually tie some sort of bridle between either the subframe mounting bolts or the strut top mounts and use the engine hoist to lift the front end of the car up high enough to pull the motor out. It becomes a bit of a juggling act, lift the car then you need to put something under it and remove the engine hoist so you can slide the motor out, etc. 

 

If you drop the engine with a floor jack... consider putting the floor jack THROUGH the center of the moving dolly. The floor jack will usually be taller than the casters on the moving dolly so you'll need to lower the setup down onto 2x4 or 2x6 rails (maybe a 2x4 on top of a 2x6) but that should get you up enough to pull the floor jack out from under the moving dolly. 

 

Only problem with using a floor jack only (without any type of hoist) is getting the nose of the car up high enough to slide the engine out. Hope you have a few strong backs around to help lift... 

'79 & '80 Vespas, R75/6 + R90/6 (and a Triumph), '76 IH Scout II

E36 

'71 VIN: 2574356 - Nevada, Sunroof, RUST and a really nice '76

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Just dropped a motor for the first time. I had limited access to the right tools myself, but asked around and was able to borrow a 2 ton lift (we put it on the 1/2 ton setting to get the height needed) and a motorcycle lift. The motorcycle lift was stable and convenient. The hardest part was disconnecting the steering box. The nuts must have been 12.5mm [emoji23]. If you have people you can bug to borrow a motorcycle lift I would highly recommend!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Demdeez - Is the steering box bolt that needs to be removed to disconnect the column from the box? It is a 13mm. However am I correct in saying that there is a nut holding this bolt? Access to that nut seems to be pretty hard. How did you get to it? 

 

post-49135-0-91863700-1450694490_thumb.j

 

Raj

1972 BMW 2002 Tii - Golf Yellow

 

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RHD has a slightly different arrangement to LHD (note the heat shield over the joint). Pretty sure you need to remove the whole bolt as the shaft has a cut out it sits in to stop it pulling off. Rotate the steering and get double jointed to access bolt and nut. Once out you may need to separate with a lever as the subframe drops.

rtheriaque wrote:

Carbs: They're necessary and barely controlled fuel leaks that sometimes match the air passing through them.

My build blog:http://www.bmw2002faq.com/blog/163-simeons-blog/

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Ok thanks Simeon. Let me give that a try tomorrow morning. Hopefully I can get to the nut using a standard combination spanner. If not then I will have to head to Supercheap Auto or Repco for a damn double jointed ratchet.

Raj

1972 BMW 2002 Tii - Golf Yellow

 

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I meant your hands and fingers should be double jointed to get access under the exhaust manifold and next to the frame rail! Though a few U/J sockets, ratchet box end spinners or other fancy wrenches might not hurt.

See the diagram attached. Try and remove both bolts at both ends of the coupling. You should then be able to lever the joint upwards along the steering column to separate.post-39712-0-38828900-1450710138_thumb.j

Edited by Simeon

rtheriaque wrote:

Carbs: They're necessary and barely controlled fuel leaks that sometimes match the air passing through them.

My build blog:http://www.bmw2002faq.com/blog/163-simeons-blog/

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When I took the steering box out to install new seals, I made a couple of steel wedges, which I used to spread the clamps once the bolts were removed.  Probably not necessary, but they did make it easy to slide the coupler up the shaft.

 

024.jpg

 

029.jpg

     DISCLAIMER -- I now disagree with much of the timing advice I have given in the past.  I misinterpreted the distributor curves in the Blue Book as timing maps for our engines.  I've also switched from using ported-vacuum to manifold, with better results.  I apologize for spreading misinformation. 

(3-28-2024)  

 

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So I finally separated the column from the box. This exercise took me half a day. Why cause the upper pinch bolt is a 6mm allen head bolt. My only 6mm allen head socket is for a 1/4inch and I couldn't get it to turn for the life of me using my 1/4inch ratchet. Took a drive to tool shop and bought my self a converted from 1/4inch to 3/8inch to 1/2inch.... Cracked it open with a 1/2inch breaker bar. 

 

I guess now I have to figure out how to pull the column out. More reading....yay!

 

post-49135-0-58024300-1450786145_thumb.j

 

Raj

1972 BMW 2002 Tii - Golf Yellow

 

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Currently that coupling assembly attached to the column is sitting exactly as shown in pic above. Didnt have much more time to check clearance etc. In its current position it will collide with the exhaust manifold during the drop even though it has been detached from the box. So I am guessing either I pull the entire column further up to the firewall or just push the coupler assembly further upthe column away from the box. I didnt think I could get it further up the column (didnt really try due to limited time) hence the column removal idea....

Critic my thinking Simeon... I am probably going about this the hard way

Raj

1972 BMW 2002 Tii - Golf Yellow

 

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