Hey, Guys. I have an '87 N/A. I'm getting ready to pull the motor, but I don't have an engine lift.. Someone told me it's possible to pull the motor out with two people, can anyone confirm that?

 

the block w/out anything on it is about 225lb. So, you better be some big guys. You can rent one at the local renatl yard.

 

or if you are in a garage find a comealong and secure one side to a beam in your garage and pull the motor with that. . that's how i pulled mine. . worked like a charm. . if you don't ahve a garage find a nice tree in your yard, if you don't ahve a comealong. . buy one it will be worth it.
Dom

 

2 People can definately do it, but having 3 or 4 helps (you want to make sure you don't smash the radiator pulling it out). Get a nice 2x4 or beefy 4x4 and pass it under the chain secured to the motor and you can pull it out with little problems

 

I just did this yesterday... i weigh in about about 120 lbs and my friend at about 125... we (mainly me) lifted it out no problem

 

aren't you exaggerating a little bit too much there 86gxl? i really recommend you get a lift...unless you want a really painful back problem that is.

 

sorry no exagerating here... i'll admit that it does create back problems... but hey... i stand for 9 hours a day at work... so my back is already skrewed

 

Rent a hoist or somthing. Save your back. I wish I had been more careful.

 

i bought a hoist for this soul purpose, $119. well worth the money IMO and for the fact its going to make getting it in a lot easier and not having to bug my friends all the time, is really worth buying it.

 

Well, the radiator's crapped anyway.. it's clogged.. and it's gonna be out of the car anyways. I just needed to know if it was possible for 2 people to pull/carry it because i live in an apartment with no garage. And I'm on the second floor. Not to mention I wouldn't have anywhere to put the hoist.

 

Yes it is possible. With the motor "hanging" from a lengthy 2x4 or 4x4 you can do it no problem. If 2 people can't lift 200 or something pounds together, then you got problems.

 

it's not an exxageration, i lift my engine onto my holding fixture by myself, i wouldn't try to pick it up myself but the short block is not heavy at all. 2 people could pick it up without too much trouble but one wrong move could net you both in the hospital. it is much easier to pick up a rotary short block on the ground rather than out of an engine bay.

 

BBBBZZZZZ....wrong. The block with nothing on it is 120lbs. I can pick it up myself and theres no way in hell I can pick up 225 lbs. Taking the engine out with 2 people is a bitch...I wouldn't even try it just because of the angle. Just rent an engine lift.

-Joe

 

Bzzzz... have you weighed it? A S4 N/A shortblock is 191 lbs. Ive weighed a few myself, and confirmed this with others. Ive been pulling rotaries for years, and have shipped more than a few, so Ive had to know what they weigh.

 

yeah i thought with the intake manifold and those goodies it was around 225

 

bmfdbsdfdhhzhxfzzzzz.... You sir are correct. These motors, stripped to short block are still almost 200lbs. I can't lift one by myself an I weight about 240 and I consider myself pretty beefy in the shoulders and chest. Now with someone else in tandem we can make fairly short work of it.

If you don't have a lift it will be a little difficult. You need to completely remove the motor mounts with the engine in the car (because the posts there require you to lift the engine and THEN pull it forward if you are using an engine lift) so once those are removed you can pull the engine straight forward and away from the input shaft so that the clutch and flywheel clear the bell housing of the transmission and then lift striaght up and out.

 

Ok.. All the other crap is gonna be out, too(radiator, accessories).. will that make it easier since there'll be more room to work with?

 

Bzzzzzzzz I must be stronger than I thought then Are you saying its 191 without the flywheel/clutch assembly? Thats what I consider the "short block"...I could be way off base there though. I have not weighed it, but I read somewhere that it was around 120 and it felt like that much to me when I lifted it.

-Joe

 

"it is much easier to pick up a rotary short block on the ground rather than out of an engine bay."

Lifting the engine with 2 people is easy... doing it from inside the engine bay will be a bitch. how are you going to get it back in later on down the road?

 

Yes I *ALWAYS* remove the rad first to avoid a swinging motor punching a hole right into the rad.

 

The only thing that was on the engine was the flywheel.

 

Today at work.. I got the idea of polishing the inside of the motor while it's out, too... any suggestions on that?

 

hehehe. You can port your intake manifolds but there isn't going to be much polishing of the internals. Wait till you crack it open and see what I mean.

 

polish the rotors, super shine. My auto tech teacher did a complete polish to his entire 3 cylinder Geo metro and gets over 75 mpg and plenty more power on tap. Every internal part of the engine is polished like the crank journals, pistons,valves, combustion chamber, crankshaft(even the counterweights). I do here this polishing stuff takes for ever though. I always thought of putting a spiral in the intake manifold like the briggs and stratton engines, not like those stupid tornado inserts.

 

Cool.. Thanks everyone!