At Harbor Freight you can buy a nice tranny jack that will do the job for
you easily.
I think it was about $30.  No altering.  But for the engine stand it is best
to aquire a bell housing of a transmission to be able to bolt it up with
ease.  Otherwise suffering is compulsory.
Zoltan
----- Original Message -----
From: "Craig Oda" <craigoda@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 2004 4:45 PM
Subject: Re: Engine Stand [was Re: Re: Sears Cycle Jack reduced to $69]

> Robert,
> First, thanks for the advice on the engine stand.  Your explanation of
> bolting the engine onto the plate is great.  The mounting plate for
> the three styles of engine stands looks the same.
>
> My van is still running and is my daily-driver to work.  For the past
> 2 years, I've had a misfire in one of the cylinders.  It doesn't
> affect engine power, but it does affect emissions.  And, there is more
> vibration, which probably contributed to the problem of my tranny
> torque converter shearing off from the drive plate.
>
> I have received a free 2.1 engine from one the generous list members
> (Yoel and Tina Crane - Thanks!!).  I'm going to take the bits and
> pieces off the 2.1 and fit it to the cooling of another 1.9 (I've got
> a third parts engine in the garage).  Once I have the 2.1 long block
> fitted with the cooling of a 1.9, I'm going to swap the engines.
> Then, when I have the 1.9 out and the known-working 2.1 in, I'm going
> to take off the heads and inspect the valves.
>
> Thus, the reason for the engine stand.  Not really necessary, but nice.
>
> Thanks again for your help with engine stand advice and your previous
> advice on the tranny replacement.   Once I fabricated a tranny jack
> adapter for my garage jack, the tranny slid right in.
>
> -- Craig
>
> On Tue, 21 Dec 2004 16:11:37 -0800, Robert Fisher <refisher@mchsi.com>
> wrote:
>> Craig,
>> I don't know about that particular stand (can't tell from the picture),
>> but
>> the 1000 lb. version had slots in the plate where the arms are attached;
>> these, along with the ability to move the arms around or reverse them if
>> necessary allows the thing to accommodate a variety of mounting
>> situations.
>> What I did was: pulled the engine out from under the van on the floor
>> jack
>> and parked it in front of the stand. I took the plate off the stand and
>> fiddled with the arms until I found a combination that worked to bolt it
>> up
>> to the transmission mounting bolt-holes on the engine, then we just
>> picked
>> up the engine and slid the plate back in its place and put the bar back
>> in.
>> Simple, eh?
>> Sort of. I was concerned about the engine case being strong enough to
>> support the whole thing just by those four bolt-holes, but I never had a
>> problem with it. I was pretty careful in moving it around to avoid shocks
>> and such.
>> The arms can be reversed (there's a long bolt-hole on one end and a short
>> one on the other) and I believe I actually had to put one or two on the
>> back
>> side of the plate, instead of the front side. It's sort of like a puzzle
>> to
>> begin with, but it works out.
>> I took one of the tranny mounting bolts out and went to the hardware
>> store
>> and got four long bolts and four short ones (each maybe an inch longer
>> than
>> the corresponding hole on the engine stand) and an assortment of washers
>> and
>> nuts. This gave me max flexibility in mounting the thing.
>> When I had the engine apart, I stripped it down to the point of taking
>> the
>> pistons off (didn't get into the case). I had never worked on this kind
>> of
>> engine design before and it was a big help in reassembly to be able to
>> set
>> the engine vertically, among other things.
>>
>> If any of that isn't clear, I'll try to elaborate. What is it you're
>> doing
>> to your engine? You may have said, but I don't remember. You have to pull
>> the whole thing so soon after your tranny adventure?
>>
>> Cya,
>> Robert
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Craig Oda" <craigoda@GMAIL.COM>
>> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
>> Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 2004 3:14 PM
>> Subject: Engine Stand [was Re: Re: Sears Cycle Jack reduced to $69]
>>
>> > Zolton and everyone else,
>> > Thanks for the response.  In the picture below, are you saying that
>> > the "U" that bolts onto the Vanagon engine housing fits onto the stand
>> > bracket?
>> >
>> > Or, are you saying that you've got a spare transaxle housing that
>> > you've somehow mounted onto those four arms on the stand?
>> >
>> > http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=4420
>> >
>> > Having no experience with engine stands, I don't really understand how
>> > to use those four arms.
>> >
>> > My
>> >
>> > -- Craig
>> >
>> > On Tue, 21 Dec 2004 13:00:35 -0800, Zoltan <zolo@foxinternet.net>
>> > wrote:
>> >> The one I got is from Harbout Freight.  Free shipping.  Online order.
>> >> There
>> >> is a heavy duty one too.  I also use a Vanagon bell housing that is
>> >> first
>> >> fitted to the engine stand and only after did I fit the engin on that.
>> >> Had
>> >> to drill a few holes in the plate for it, but this way it is a perfect
>> >> fit.
>> >> Zoltan
>> >> ----- Original Message -----
>> >> From: "Craig Oda" <craigoda@GMAIL.COM>
>> >> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
>> >> Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 2004 7:50 AM
>> >> Subject: Re: Sears Cycle Jack reduced to $69
>> >>
>> >> > Kragen has one on sale now in the SFBay area for $49.95 pre-tax.
>> >> > Not
>> >> > sure if it's any good.
>> >> >
>> >> > What I really want is a better engine stand.  I got an engine stand
>> >> > from CIP1 for $99.95 and it tends to fall over all the time.  This
>> >> > is
>> >> > a "T" type of 2" square tubing.  The weight of the engine in the
>> >> > rear
>> >> > seems to push the base of the stand to the left or right.  I would
>> >> > prefer a four-wheel or point engine stand base.  I want to mount the
>> >> > entire engine with exhaust/muffler on the stand for ease of
>> >> > assembly.
>> >> > Any suggestions on where to buy such a stand?
>> >> >
>> >> > Right now, I've added significant bracing to the base of my engine
>> >> > stand with 1.5" x 4" wood pieces, metal bolt-on braces, and two 1.5"
>> >> > diameter wheels. Right now, it's holding okay, but the wood has some
>> >> > flex due to compression of the wood and I want something that is
>> >> > solid
>> >> > as a rock.  I've heard people put the "U" part of the VW engine
>> >> > bracket (the piece that bolts onto the drive plate bell housing)
>> >> > onto
>> >> > another engine stand.  I went to Kragen and they only have something
>> >> > that looks about the same level of el cheapo base that I got.
>> >> >
>> >> > Any advice, thoughts?
>> >> >
>> >> > -- Craig
>> >> >
>> >> > On Mon, 20 Dec 2004 19:41:01 -0500, Carl Hansen
>> >> > <carl_hansen@ieee.org>
>> >> > wrote:
>> >> >> I was at the Berlin N.J. Sears Hardware store this weekend, and the
>> >> >> Sears
>> >> >> Motocycle Jack was reduced to $69.95.  Looks like it ought to work
>> >> >> just
>> >> >> fine to drop a motor out of the Vanagon (SyncroBeast).  The lift
>> >> >> height
>> >> >> is
>> >> >> 16 1/2 inch.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Thought the lists might appreciate the heads up.  I don't know if
>> >> >> the
>> >> >> price
>> >> >> is the same elsewhere, but it's probably worth a look see.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> This jack was selling for as much as $119.95 last summer and I've
>> >> >> seen
>> >> >> it
>> >> >> for sale before the Holidays at $99.95, with an extra $10.00 off
>> >> >> now
>> >> >> and
>> >> >> then.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Never have I seen it as low as $69.95.  I tell ya, the sucker
>> >> >> weighs a
>> >> >> TON!!
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Hope this helps someeone else.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Ch
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Carl Hansen
>> >> >>
>> >> >> 609-268-8595 - home
>> >> >> 856-866-6387 - work
>> >> >> carl_hansen@ieee.org - personal
>> >> >> carl.hansen@lmco.com - work
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Absence of Evidence is not Evidence of Absence  SETI
>> >> >>
>> >> >>   We do not stop playing because we grow old;
>> >> >>                we grow old because we stop playing.
>> >> >>                               Never Be The First To Grow Old!
>> >> >> I need a new tool dear!  Ch
>> >> >>
>> >> >> If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called
>> >> >> research,
>> >> >> would it? - Albert Einstein
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Scientific Doohickey Company. Proprietor, Kermit
>> >> >>
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >>
>>