You put the picker in the front. I used 2 floor jacks and rolled the cradle out the side
Different Headgasket Question
If I were going to drop the cradle for the repair, I know to raise the car up with a cherry picker by the front. What I can't figure out is how I am going to slide the cradle out with the picker in the way. How high does the car need to be to clear the engine? Probably higher than what clearance I can gain with jack stands. How did you guys do it in your garage?
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I bow to anyone who has or will do that in their garage. :worship:
I put the cradle on a pallet jack (which was actually the perfect size!) and rolled it out through the wheel well. The only problem this posed to me was when my dad told me to change the oil pan gasket too since the engine was out. I had a hard time getting to the bracket going between the oil pan and the tranny (to remove the engine and suspend it with the cherry picker). I managed to do it though.
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Now THAT is the way to do it if you have access to a pallet jack.
Thanks guys. I thought the picker's legs would be in the way. Out the side is diff the way to go. I didn't even think of that. Thanks again.
:thumbsup:
:thumbsup:
As you can see, out the side is the way to go. The wheel wells give you clearance so you don't have to raise the body as high.
I used some scrap 4x4"s that I had to support the body high enough to roll it out the front. Used jacks like Tateos. It took a lot of wood to keep it high enough!
Make sure you have the cradle supported before you remove the bolts. Either on jacks or blocks. It will drop if it's raised when you loosen the bolts.
Make sure you have the cradle supported before you remove the bolts. Either on jacks or blocks. It will drop if it's raised when you loosen the bolts.
I like that pallet jack idea also, if/when I need/decide to do another one of these I will have to try to find one to use.
I did things probably not in a good way but i lowered the cradle onto a piece of plywood then used my backhoe to slide it out on plywood. then i lifted it with a chain to my bucket and was able to drive it into my barn and set it on a rolling wood movers dolly. of course then i used a cummalong to pick up from ceiling joists to raise motor to access oil pan etc. It was a lot of work and it took me about a month to complete. just take your time and be creative, and theres no sense skimping while its out. buy gasket set for water pump, oil pan, main seals etc. You wont want to do this again any time soon. I spent about $1200 for all parts,gaskets, timeserts etc. car has been great for 10k now,
The creativeness is just great in this forum. Most of us figure out a different way depending on the location we have and the tools. I used a cherry picker to lower the car onto an appliance dolly removed the 6 bolts and raised the car with the cherry picker. I then used 4 jack stands to hold the car up high enough to remove the cherry picker and pulled the dolly out the front. I just had to make sure the car was high enough to clear the engine coming out before i removed cherry picker. after I got the engine out I used the cherry picker to lower the car back down so that it wasnt pointing skyward for the 6 months I had the cradle out.
I love the pallet jack though. I think that would be easiest.
I love the pallet jack though. I think that would be easiest.
The creativeness is just great in this forum. Most of us figure out a different way depending on the location we have and the tools. I used a cherry picker to lower the car onto an appliance dolly removed the 6 bolts and raised the car with the cherry picker. I then used 4 jack stands to hold the car up high enough to remove the cherry picker and pulled the dolly out the front. I just had to make sure the car was high enough to clear the engine coming out before i removed cherry picker. after I got the engine out I used the cherry picker to lower the car back down so that it wasnt pointing skyward for the 6 months I had the cradle out.
I love the pallet jack though. I think that would be easiest.
I used a motorcycle jack and myn was only four bolts for the subframe. I left my back wheels on with the parking brake set all the way down. After I got the motor out I set it on jack stands at the front.
The motorcycle jack is just what I had available, Ill prolly use a tranny jack to put it back in. The cycle jack goes up and down at a slight angle so it could pose problem when trying to bolt the frame back up.
Sounds about right on but I wouldn't mess with the gasket's for the half case and oil pan. They really seem to like to leak. My motor had less than 10K and 2 years on it and had an excessive oil leak from the pan and half case seal.I did things probably not in a good way but i lowered the cradle onto a piece of plywood then used my backhoe to slide it out on plywood. then i lifted it with a chain to my bucket and was able to drive it into my barn and set it on a rolling wood movers dolly. of course then i used a cummalong to pick up from ceiling joists to raise motor to access oil pan etc. It was a lot of work and it took me about a month to complete. just take your time and be creative, and theres no sense skimping while its out. buy gasket set for water pump, oil pan, main seals etc. You wont want to do this again any time soon. I spent about $1200 for all parts,gaskets, timeserts etc. car has been great for 10k now,
I would go the rtv solution route. someone posted something from fiero forums that had the procedure on how to use the rtv type sealant that doesn't leak again.
just go and borrow a Home Depot orange flatbed cart for a couple days. Im sure they wont mind. Thats what i did and it works very well:thumbsup:
Be very very careful with that method. Just ask Chazglenn. Apparently someone before him tried that and used too much. It oozed out and pieces eventually broke loose and got stuck in the oil pump pick up. You can fill in the rest.Sounds about right on but I wouldn't mess with the gasket's for the half case and oil pan. They really seem to like to leak. My motor had less than 10K and 2 years on it and had an excessive oil leak from the pan and half case seal.
I would go the rtv solution route. someone posted something from fiero forums that had the procedure on how to use the rtv type sealant that doesn't leak again.
When I replaced my dads headgaskets, I also replaced that oil pan gasket. I used a new oil pan gasket, but I ran a bead of RTV sealant on the Outside of the gasket. It's too early to tell if it will leak, but I really doubt it will.
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