There are several reason why I like my method.  One is the simplicity of
letting it down on the floor or lifting it to the transmission.  The other
is, I don't have to lift the car up only one side a little and I pull the
engine out on the side not toward the back, on a drip tray that I made holes
into to be able to tie ropes there to pull the engine around.  It is a
little heavy but not too bad.
So, I don't have the struggle with the fitting to the transmission and the
lifting of the car and the moving around of the engine.  And it is a tiny
equipment, the drip tray is used anyway and it fits behind the cabinet.
Zoltan

----- Original Message -----
From: "mdrillock" <mdrillock@COX.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, August 17, 2008 5:00 PM
Subject: Re: 2.1 running again, thanks, list!

> For lifting the back of the van higher I make my own wooden stands out
> of 16" lengths of 4x4 to put under the back tires.
>
> I nail 2x4 blocks on the top near each end of the 4x4. These act as
> wheel chocks so the van can't roll off. Then I jack up each side in turn
> with a floor jack under the lower control arm until the wooden stand can
> slide in from the side under the tire and lower down onto the wood
> stand.  For even greater height I have some with 2x4 nailed on both
> sides, using slightly longer pieces sideways on the bottom for more
> stability. I often put a set under all 4 wheels and  this is great,
> especially for Syncro drive train work .
>
> When putting things like these under the wheels jacking up just the
> wheel is the way to go. With a piece of wood on the floor jack for
> protection you can learn to lift under the lower control arm, front or
> rear, and slide the wood stand into place under the tire with a minimum
> of jacking. If you jack on the body you must raise the whole van quite a
> ways before the tire lifts high enough. No need to do this.
>
> Mark
>
>
> Jim Felder wrote:
>> I'm talking about lifting the vanagon rear end enough to lower the
>> motor--with a hoist hanging from a saw horse sitting over the back
>> hatch--and lowering it to the floor. Sounds like we're all doing the
>> same thing, just a bit differently. I have to get my motor from the
>> garage hoist to the car on a furniture dolly, so I have just figured
>> out how to lift the van  high enough to accommodate the motor and the
>> dolly. The plywood with broomsticks is a good idea. If I had not had
>> to make a trip to a store for a bag of marbles, I was going to use
>> marbles. They would be omnidirectional--not that it matters once the
>> engine is off the ground.
>>
>> I did use a block and tackle so I could fore-and-aft the engine with
>> one hand while I used the hoist for up-and-down.
>>
>> Jim
>>
>> Jim
>>
>> On Sun, Aug 17, 2008 at 5:56 PM, mdrillock <mdrillock@cox.net> wrote:
>>
>>> I agree, lifting from above has too many advantages to go back to floor
>>> jacks. I built my first version to do it that way about 10 years ago and
>>> I still use it.
>>> I have 4 floor jacks and a tranny jack but for engine
>>> removal/installation the hoist method is preferred.
>>>
>>> Another thing I use is a piece of plywood about 2' x 4'. I put 2 holes
>>> near one short edge and put a rope handle into those holes.  This is
>>> what I lower the engine down onto. Then I pull the wood with engine out
>>> from under the van with the rope handle. I put the engine back the same
>>> way but I use some broom stick pieces under the plywood to help roll the
>>> engine/plywood  back into place. The end of the plywood with the rope
>>> should be as far from the engine as practical to help with sliding the
>>> wood. Lowering the engine onto any kind of cart requires the vehicle to
>>> be raised higher than just a piece of plywood does.
>>>
>>> My device is more like a sawhorse with room below it for a come-a-long
>>> type hoist. The added height is required for some Vanagon engines though
>>> not waterboxers. My sawhorse is made of square steel tubing.
>>>
>>>
>>> Mark
>>>
>>> The Westy man wrote:
>>>
>>>> Amaizing how little recognition that simple device I made, to take out
>>>> and
>>>> istall the engine to make it a joy, received.  And for me to read about
>>>> double jacks and all kind of obvious struggles with platforms and what
>>>> not,
>>>> is really a puzzle why most don't realized the simplicity without
>>>> lifting
>>>> the car both sides.
>>>> Well, we are not all the same, I guess.  I went through my struggles
>>>> myself
>>>> too.
>>>> Zoltan
>>>>
>>>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
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