Really want to drop my engine at home but, don't have a lift wondered how you guys do it safely? Or don't you?
Type 1 - last time I did it I had the benefit of a lift and a big garage now just outside and no lift!
Jack back of van up, put it on stands. Disconnect everything (don’t forget throttle cable), slide jack under engine, undo bolts/nuts, good yank and it’s out. Easy peasy.
Where are you based? I have a motorcycle lift you could borrow to drop the engine. Worked a treat for me. I'm down in in Woking area just SW of London by M25/M3.
Thanks for the offer but, in Lincolnshire, I do have a jack to drop it with. But I am worried about getting it high enough to clear the shroud. I am guessing I need a high lift jack or two just to get it on stands and thinking I will need to do same at the front to level it off first.
...or, once you’ve lowered the engine onto the jack/floor, just temporarily crank the van up a bit more so you can slide the engine out. I find having the van jacked too high is a pain when putting it back in again.
On a Beetle you can remove a rear wheel and slide it out to the left/right which helps with fan shroud clearance issue. Someone will be along shortly to say whether its a Bus thing, too. On my first engine pull with poor ceiling height I went all Roman by placing an engine-sized square piece of wood under a jack and lowering the engine down. I then placed spindles underneath the wood and slid the jack out. As I pulled the engine towards me I kept swapping the spindles from the back to the front. Got me out of a jam.
How I usually do it (if you’ve got two jacks)! Last time I had my SGS stands at full stretch, and the van was so high, the engine wouldn’t reach when I came to put it back in again...
Ideally get a trolley jack with enough lift, get it on ramps or axle stands then lower the engine down, but if your jack hasn’t enough reach you need to be creative with the axle stands and lumps of wood- I’ve got pieces of scaffolding plank for the job. That engine can be done with a bottle jack but a trolley is better. I got the Clarke CTJ3000G (not the 3000GB) at Machine Mart. It’s got a 520 mm lift.
How I have done it. A bit of ply wood on the floor, van on axle stands,Trolley jack on the engine to get it down as low as the jack goes then slide/walk it off the jack and out from under the van.
I lowered mine right down onto a sheet of contiboard that was hanging around. Then jacked the van up enough to slide the board out on a couple of pieces of pipe used as rollers. Saves lifting the van any higher than necessary. Then I could roll the board into the garage without needing a lift
In the past i've done it on a crappy little trolley jack and lumps of railway sleeper to get everything high enough , if you need to get it out use whatever is available or shell out money on the proper kit ... Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
If the ply is thin enough to lift a corner, it's easy to drag around. Type-1 engines are pretty light. I only have one jack so once everything is disconnected and I've removed things that need access from under the engine I pull the engine off and lower it onto enough blocks under the heat exchangers to get the jack out. Then jack up the van around it. If your jack can lift the whole rear at once, you want to put the engine to one side because the rear will go up at an angle. Same for putting it back, put it under but to one side, 3-4-5", so when you let the van down it ends up centred.
Where abouts if not too far will pop our atv jack and high lift over Sent from my SM-A405FN using Tapatalk
Drive back end up on ramps then its high enough already unless lowered. Dont risk stands on softish tarmac without plywood under stands. Use a high lift jack and bits of wood. Remove fan housing and carburettor while its inside the engine bay on the jack near the ground to reduce height.. Without a jack its doable Jenga block style.. If all I am doing is oil seal on my T1 its doable without taking the engine out from under the bus, just slide wood under engine and slide it back
Like the idea I think mine is lowered about an inch, so not too much. But, what worries me is that on ramps the engine surely will be pointing somewhat skywards so surely getting it out and back in on a jack will be quite difficult? Also I can't remember but, do I need to take the rear tin off to pull it out of the gearbox, I'm tbinking I do.
Thanks I am on tbe A46 at Swinderby. I am not in a position to do it yet anyway but, if you are close enough and I get myself organised that would be excellent. I do have a trolley jack but, its a Halfords special and not really up to the job.
no dramas, give us a shout by a pm when your ready may be able to pop up with the bits to drop engine out with you.
