How to mount 308 on engine stand.

I've always been a bit off-center towards the differential, but can't get far enough to actually get to the center of rotation due to the tranny input shaft.

The transmission & differential are a big % or the drive train's weight. So the center of rotation is actually offset quite a bit from the crankshaft center. Be sure to put a washer between the engine stand arms & the Al engine surface. Otherwise the cylindrical ends of the arms will gouge up the surface around the studs.

Another alternative is to mount the engine using the motor mount studs. That's how I mounted the tranny I'll be rebuilding.

Suspect you got one of these HF stands:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=47304
or
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=4420

They both have front & rear rollers that are far enough apart so that even with things off-center there's no danger of tipping.

I chose this stand from Northern Tool for it's wide front & rear stance:

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200305217_200305217

Not quite as heavy duty as your stand, but more than adequate to the job.

You may find that the cylinders on the arm ends are too long. There are several alternatives:
- Mount the cylinders to the stand's plate, & use washers to hold the studs thru the slots in the arms.
- Get pieces of 1" square steel stock & drill holes where you need them. This lets you get around length problems with the arms.
- Cut down the cylinders, but remember that they need to remain about 1/2" long so the bolt heads mounting the arms to the stand's plate don't hit the engine.

 

David, i still got block on the stand. I got some shots of it, i'll post them in a little while.






Having dinner. Some nice pasta with meat sause. Mmmm..... with a glass of wine to go with it.

 

Ok David,

First pic is when we first took the motor out and placed it on the stand.

Last 3 pic's is how it is now. Verell's idea. But you can't flip it the way it is.

Hope this helps.

If you need any close ups, let me know.


Chris
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You can 'flip' it mounted this way, but only in 1 direction w/the tranny on as the input shaft hits the stand's upright as shown in the 1st picture.

We were mounting Chris's engine on the stand as a preliminary to dropping the tranny.

 

Once we had the tranny off, we didn't plan on rotating engine upside down, so just made sure the boss around the blind hole was pressing firmly against the end of the arm. At this point the engine is amazingly light even with the heads on it.

The stud at the bottom of the front bank head (ie: the left middle one) is so high that it won't add any support if the engine were rotated on the stand. If I needed to rotate the engine, I'd keep that 4th arm as close to it's current location as I could by making an L shaped bracket that picked up a couple of the tranny mounting studs & the end of the arm.

 

The term "light" being relative. LOL

 

The engine stand we got from Harbor Freight had a wider plate and infinitely extrendable and adjustable arms to accomodate four bolts. It worked great, never dropped an engine and I could rotate it easily. Since I retired from racing, it sits in the tools room in the barn.

 

Well, I call it light when an over the hill 61 year old & a 45 year old w/o straining can lift an engine w/heads & cams out of a pickup & carry it over to a workbench. Not many V8s, or even V6s out there light enough for that.

BTW, was flipping thru some FSBs & came across a picture of the recommended factory approved shop engine stand. The stand's mounting plate attaches to the triangular stud pattern on the side of the engine (always wondered what it was far & why all F* engines had them). There's another plate that goes from the stand's mount to the flywheel end of the engine, apparently to help steady it.

 

It seems that a lot of Ferrari and Lamborghini engine stands are designed to mount the engine "sideways" and support from each side without depending on what are frequently pretty small bellhousing bolts or studs. I've built a few over the years.

The engine is well supported and there is free access to the rear seal/flywheel while mounted on the stand.

 

That is a pretty good idea

 

You're kidding............ if you don't know how to even hang an engine on an engine stand, you sure don't need to be working on it! Tutorial 1.01, "this ***** will never run right after this."

 

Your kidding, right? I dont believe asking if anyone has a better idea or procedure is any sign of incompetance, quite the opposite in fact. Asking before plowing on aimlessly would be far worse IMHO as well as showing great ignorance. Really, why even have this forum if people cant ask intelligent questions of how to best repair these cars.

Something I would add is that I dont believe the bellhousing studs are strong enough to hang the engine on except as a short block. Also, be careful of some of these engine stands, some really arent capable of handling any real weight. Mark had his bend down a bit when he hung that 400 V-12 on it. Even though its a longer engine, the 308 with a gearbox attached is a lot of weight. I dont know if a 308 would hang from either side with a dual mount setup as shown above with the gearbox attached, but that is probably a more correct and secure way. Just always be considerate of physics, leverage, and the weakest link, and NEVER get underneath a stand mounted engine.

I found a hydraulic lift table/cart from one of those semitruck load sales, but I believe HF carries one simular. It has about a 2 X 3 foot table and maybe a 750 pound lift capacity. I put the engine/gearbox unit on it and jack it up so im not down on the floor to work on the lump. I think it lifts to about a 30 inch or so working height which is pretty handy. Certainly you can wheel it outside to wash it down on, and the wheels do have brakes. I left the gearbox on the table and put the shortblock sans heads on the engine stand.

 

Still a little bitter are we?

Given what you do & the forum you are on (ie.. potential customers), I would think a more cordigal/helpfull response might be better in the long run for you and your business.

JMWO

 

Exactly!!!!!!

Unless you're comfortable with the thought of pulling studs, or buying someone, or yourself, a block...because you (or worse, someone "helping you") didn't take the time to look at the WSM's drawing on how Ferari intended these engines to be mounted to a stand, don't even contemplate hanging an engine/tranaxle assembly off one end! This is an (expensive) and avoidable accident just waiting to happen!

Sorry for the rant, but the mere post, just suggesting hanging an aluminum engine off the studs is acceptable, just makes me cringe! DavidDriver, mount your engine as the factory intended...and you'll do just fine.

Regards,
David

 

Sorry about my earlier post. I had to deal with a customer earlier in the week that wanted to adjust his valves himself, and after telling him 3 times the correct procedure, he still didn't grasp the concept. And I know d*mn well he will still attempt to adjust them himself. Anyway, that situation has nothing to do with this thread, but I let myself make a smart*** post.
Yes, this is an excellent forum to find advice, and I have respect for the do-it-yourselfers that tackle tough jobs on their own and do excellent work. What I don't want to see is someone get in over their head and end up breaking a block. For safety's sake, use a 4 legged engine stand if you're even the slightest bit worried about how it mounts on it. I admit, I've have an engine flip over and hit the floor, from not being locked down and rotating over on a 3 legged stand. I'm sure the OP will take every precaution and do just fine, there are alot of knowledgeable people on here to help.

 

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=95471&highlight=sick+engine+stand


A thread with pic's of my engine stand picking up on the triangle details on the block (which aren't tapped . .. actually one hole is for the starter motor).

Only bummer is you can't put the diff in the tranny while it's on the stand . .. I'll be doing another itteration one of these days to solve that problem.

Sean

 

just a FYI the engine/trans lump weighs in at 550lbs. back to the scheduled program.....