Transferring engine from hoist to stand

[LeighWebber]

Great suggestions, everyone!

Quick update -- I used the rig shown in my photos to remove the engine from the stand and gently lower the hoist legs to the floor with that 2 x 12 lifting board + long maple handle. It went smooth as silk. I now have my flywheel off, and am getting up the nerve to remove the bell housing. All the bolts are off, but I think I have to tap it with a wooden stick to free it from the block. I'll tie it to something so that it doesn't fall to the floor when I pop it off. With the bell housing off, I'll re-attach to the engine stand. Fortunately, the bolts that hold the BH to the engine block are the same size as the bolts I used earlier to attach the engine stand to the BH, so attaching the stand to the block will be easy. I'm not usually so lucky.

[LeighWebber]

Oh -- for anyone doing a similar engine rebuild (especially rookies), there's one annoying thing about working with the flywheel, pressure plate, etc. When you try to loosen the bolts, the crankshaft turns. Ditto when you try to remove the front crankshaft pulley. My solution was to remove the starter and use a 3/8 bolt with a washer fastened to it. I slipped the bolt+washer into the BH opening where the starter used to be, and slid the washer into one of the teeth of the ring gear. It held the flywheel securely while I loosened the flywheel bolts. No need to hammer in a wooden wedge, and zero damage to the ring gear.

And one other miscellaneous point, while I'm talking about taking things apart. To remove the front crankshaft pulley, there's a ginormous bolt that holds the pulley to the front end of the crankshaft. PB Blaster, wait, apply heat, lock the flywheel as described above, and off comes the bolt. But not the pulley -- it is press-fitted to the crankshaft, and you have to use a wheel puller to remove it. That's pretty obvious. What I forgot was when you use the wheel puller, nothing seems to happen as you tighten the wheel puller, until -- POP!!! The pulley flies off suddenly, along with the wheel puller. Make sure your face is out of the way, and be ready to catch all that when it flies off.

[AKA-None]

An impact driver can remove bolts without the flywheel turning

[jimbunyard]

Originally Posted by LeighWebber

....And one other miscellaneous point, while I'm talking about taking things apart. To remove the front crankshaft pulley, there's a ginormous bolt that holds the pulley to the front end of the crankshaft. PB Blaster, wait, apply heat, lock the flywheel as described above, and off comes the bolt. But not the pulley -- it is press-fitted to the crankshaft, and you have to use a wheel puller to remove it. That's pretty obvious. What I forgot was when you use the wheel puller, nothing seems to happen as you tighten the wheel puller, until -- POP!!! The pulley flies off suddenly, along with the wheel puller. Make sure your face is out of the way, and be ready to catch all that when it flies off.

Typically what you do is just loosen the pulley bolt 4 or 5 turns, and then press on the head of the bolt. That way when the pulley pops free, the washer keeps it from flying off. You need to have an appropriately sized to puller though.