Where to put pulled engine?

Longhorn84

Longhorn84

TJ Enthusiast
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Aug 20, 2018
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Houston
Starting my 5.3 swap and thinking through logistics. I’ll buy the donor engine soon with trans attached. How do I put it on the ground? If I use my hoist, I won’t have a hoist to pull the 4.0. Then I want to sell the 4.0 but not sure how to actually store the engine prior to sale. Can I rest the engines on their oil pans or is there a better solution?
 
Steel City 06 said:
Best solution is an engine stand. Harbor freight sells a cheap one for $60.

Makes your life easier because it's now on wheels.
Click to expand...
I understand but in both cases I think I’ll have the transmission attached so trying to think of a solution where I don’t have to separate them.
 
Typically when they're still together they're shipped in a crate. You could use an old pallet and rig up some supports. I would not set the engine on the pan unless you plan to trash the pan. Also if the pan collapses the engine could fall over
 
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I'd put it on an engine stand and separate the transmission and engine. It's not that hard to do, and I'd want to separate them anyways to inspect and replace anything (i.e. rear main seal, which you'd be stupid not to do while it's already out).
 
You could weld up or screw together a cradle. Search Google images for engine cradle for a few ideas. Some of them leave the engine and transmission together
 
Separate the engine and trans.
If all you’re doing is storing these pieces for later sale you only need to worry about something that is easy to store, not that makes it ez to work on.

Pick up a couple of these:
https://www.harborfreight.com/mater...n-1000-lbs-capacity-hardwood-dolly-63098.html

For the engine screw, screw thru the dolly into a couple of 2x whatevers set on edge. Space this lumber wide enough to contact the oil pan rails where they screw into the block. Add some braces as required. The width of the 2x’s only has to raise the engine enough clear the oil pan sump. Center the engine as necessary and secure it with a ratchet strap or two.

For the trans, just screw a piece of plywood to the dolly and let it rest on the pan, (if it’s an automatic). It sounds as if this is only for temporary storage.

You’ll thank yourself for the casters that let you move the pieces around the garage. As an added bonus, after you sell the power train, you can remove the added lumber and you still have the moving dollies.
 
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Buy some furniture trolleys/dollies from Harbor Freight. I've used them for V8/automatic tranny combos for years. Works fine. Get true hardwood ones, or "plastic". They're stronger.

41698_2000x2000.jpg
 
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