when I removed my engine, rather than use a jack or engine crane, I
built a stout sawhorse out of 2 x 4s, attached a come-along to the
sawhorse and engine, raised the rear of the van and lowered it out the
bottom. better than balancing it on a jack.
Don
p.s.if anyone worried about the strength of my sawhorse, the 2 x 4s are
doubled into a t cross section on top, reinforced heavily on the legs. a
friend of mine also used it to remove an 800lb.+ detroit diesel block
from his school bus : )

Paul Borghese wrote:

>  Hi, Recently my 1985 Vanagon started idling rough (that is an
> understatement).  I bought a compression tester and checked the
> cylinders.  It turns out cylinder 4 has a compression of 75 while the
> others are >130.  After dumping some oil into the spark plug hole, the
> compression jumped to 175 then slowly fell back down.  So I want to
> remove the engine and take a look. Here is a few questions about the
> removal of the engine: 1.  How heavy is the engine.  Once I get it off
> the van, is it staying put?  Or can I move it around? 2.  What type of
> jack(s) should I use to remove the engine.  I have a hydraulic jack
> with a 6 inch plate on top.  Will that work or should I buy something
> else? 3. Once I remove the engine, does it take any special skill or
> expensive tools to rebuild an engine?  Is it something I should be
> able to do with a copy of the Bentley Manual?  Any ideas on where to
> buy replacement parts? Thanks, Paul Borghese

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