Okay, I have become convinced, and am gonna drop the engine on my air
cooled to fix up the head problems. This ain't about the problems, its
about the how2 for dropping the engine.

Done my homework in the archives and the write-ups that are available
on-line, and posted a lot of questions on a lot of different lists.  Ben
put up some great pix on the process for which I am grateful.

Not really afraid of the job, as much as wanting to learn from those who
have actually done it to avoid to many 'awshits'

I tend to do what I have decided to call, "virtual work" long before I
actually get down and dirty. That means, given the time, I do the whole
job in my head, over and over. Read, look at pix, stand and stare at the
engine, and even lay underneath and consider what has to be done. This
can go on for days, until I manage to convince myself I am ready and
have all the info I need :-)

For those who have actually done this task, particularly on an air
cooled, can I ask a few questions? If you have done it, and are not
against being harassed about "how did you do it" I sure would like to
set up a little give and take here, or in pmail.

How high do I have to get this thing to do it right? Bentley doesn' seem
to say, Clymer says at least 12" but I think that is too low, based on
just trying to eyeball it, and the pix I have seen online.

Where on earth does one find jack stands that go that high? I was going
to put cinder blocks under the wheels, for stability, and then put some
stands on either more blocks, or find some wood to pile under them, to
enable em to reach that high. Would never just leave it on stands, or
cinder blocks alone. Gotta have backups. Standard ramps would be great,
but they are not high enough, even tho I don't as yet know how high, is
high enough.

The Clymer and Bentley say the trans can be allowed to drop about 3.5"
when the engine is lowered. There is a write up by Matt Bulley in the
archives wherein he says "5 to 10" but no more" That's a big difference,
and these are the kinds of things I want to know before I even start. I
am sure Matt has done the job before, and knows what works, but when I
see a conflicting number, I tend to want to ask for more input from others.

In my mind, I have the van up about in the air, and I cannot get through
the part about lowering the engine to clear the rear deck, as I only
have 'standard' 2 and three ton hydraulic jacks on wheels. Do I need a
trans jack, to allow it to get up that high, and come down enough to
pull it out? Obviously if I have to put the jack on some kind of wood
block, the engine won't come down low enough. I guess it all ties into
how high I have to get the beast up in the first place, but you can see
that sometimes, I overthink things <g>

My biggest concern is in putting it back in, aligning the input shaft,
and being able to rock it back into place. Hard to picture that process,
never having done it on a van engine. Do I need a shaft alignment tool
to reinsert the trans main shaft, if I never touch the clutch assembly?
I am thinking that if I don't alter the clutch, I won't need it, but I
am not sure.

Any words of wisdom, regarding how high for the van, and how low the
trans can drop before I screw it up, would be much appreciated.

Patience for all the up and coming dumb questions, would also be
appreciated  :-)

Thanks,

John