Car on jack stands for engine removal?

Doing the clutch and lots of extras. Found the great checklist for removing the engine & transmission in the library (Thanks Tom!!!).
I seem to remember a thread, but couldn't find with search, suggesting that having the car on stands with the rear higher was the easiest way to have the car situated when pulling and installing..true?

I did find that elevating the rear when removing and re-installing the C engine made the process a little easier and probably it would help with the B also.

Drew

I have usually done it that way, with jack stands at all four corners. Just makes life easier when you have stuff to do underneath - and you will. Sometimes things you hadn't anticipated. And, when you drop the rear of the tranny, it has some extra room to drop, creating a steeper angle on exit or entry into the engine compartment, which is useful too. The car is narrow, so if you use a roll around crane to lift, be careful! On some rental units, stability can be a bit compromised if the legs end up being too short because you couldn't pull them out as far (usually the form a Vee) as intended. Just take it easy and best of luck! :)-D

Keith,

Engine and gearbox come out at a fairly steep angle, so easier to achieve that angle with the rear axle on stands. But only if your hoist is on wheels so you can pull the assembly forward. Not a terrible job with the car level, either...

Dick

excellent post by Bob.

I also start to pull the engine / gearbox get it partly tilted in the air, and then crawl underneath to remove the speedometer cable fitting at the gearbox. I put it back in the same way.

warmly,
dave

Raising the rear is definitely the way to go. Not too sure about raising the front. The idea is to be able to slide the engine/tranny out smoothly. I actually put the rear wheels up on blocks - I was kind of afraid of the stability of jack stands.

If your using a engine-lift with legs, you may have to raise the front so the legs clear the wheels (or remove the wheels).

Another YES from me!

Raise the rear end. I use a trolly jack so that I can lower it as I need the angle to change.

Remember though, a man has to get underneath to guide the tranny past the crossmember for ease of install so be careful and use backup blocks along with the jackstands.:)-D
Cheap insurance.

Mark

I pump up the front tyres hard (and wedge them) so as to clear the legs of the engine crane, Stands at the back placed just forward of the rear springs. Placed in the hanger, so there is no chance of them slipping. Raising the back raises the transmission tunnel and lowers the front of the car. Unless there is an inspection pit under the car you cannot get the engine and gear box out otherwise.

I dunno about jack stands. They're a little too unstable for me when I'm jostling an engine in and out of a car...any car. I jack up the rear and put ramps under the rear wheels. Remove jack and get to work without any worries about stands tipping over.

Just another point of view.

I use 4 x 12x 18L blocks under the wheels at the front to clear the hoist and provide back relief. Jack stands in the rear. When the rear goes up the front goes down. Ask me about the first time I wedged the hoist after raising the rear to get clearance to free the tranny mounts!

...or pull the engine without pulling the tranny. You'll still need to jack the front of the tranny up a bit so that the engine will clear the steering rack.

For mine, I put the rear up in the air and left the front on its wheels. Of course, I had previously lifted the front to remove anything attached to the engine/trans. I also used a load leveller to tilt the engine as it came out. I highly recommend using a load leveller as it made the job very easy. I picked one up from Harbor Freight for cheap.

Eric

I'd use ramps. More stable.

I'd also pull the engine by itself, which doesn't need to have the car jacked up so long as you can get a trolley under the g'box.

Thanks everyone! Great advice, I have ramps for the rear and I'll use blocks for the front. Just bought a 2 ton capacity rolling engine hoist that is just an inch narrower than the front wheels. It also has a nice rotating engine stand that you can bolt on. I'm a member of Minnesota MG Group so I can lend the thing out to the members when I'm done.