Re: Brute force Engine Removal

[Jay Mackro <jmackro@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 12:39 PM 10/2/98 -0400, Bruce Giller wrote:

>	I'm contemplating an engine rebuild of my Spider's engine this
>fall/winter.  The
>decline and driveway rule out an engine host so I was thinking that I could
>remove it in two pieces; the head first and then the block.  I've removed
>the head before with two people but never the block.  Can this be done
>without a host?  

Bruce:

If you and some friends can muscle an engine out of a car without a
hoist, then I sure don't want to mess with you guys!  Although the
Alfa block is aluminum, the steel crankshaft, flywheel, and liners
weigh an awful lot.  Add that to the awkward position - you'd
need to reach up over the fender, and down into the engine bay -
and the need to tip the front of the engine up over the sheet
metal, and .... I think you would either hurt your backs or your
sheetmetal in the process.  Sure, you could disassemble the block
in situ, dropping the pan, crank, removing the flywheel - but you
wouldn't want to re-assemble an engine that way.

No, you will need some mechanical help!  A simple 2X6 tripod with
a come-along would be a big improvement over the "gorilla" approach,
though you'll need to back the car away from the tripod once the
engine has been tilted and raised - that may be hard on a sloped
driveway.  Perhaps it would work if the tripod was on the uphill
side, and the car was rolled downhill.

Well, good luck.  And' don't forget to remove the center tie rod
(easiest to just pop the steering arm off the steering box shaft,
and push the rods down below the flywheel).

Jay Mackro

------------------------------