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Thu Nov 20, 2008 5:30 pm

im getting ready to take the engine out of my 74 super and after measuring i have figured out there there will not be enough clearence under the skirt to slide it out. i already have the car up on jackstands and still not enough room. :? Anybody have some ideas on how i can get the car higher? i do not want to remove the skirt. Also, any tips/words of wisdom about taking the motor out and disassembling it? anything helps! thanks!! :D

Thu Nov 20, 2008 5:52 pm

Remove a wheel and slide the engine out the side.

Thu Nov 20, 2008 6:07 pm

thats a good idea! any others?

Thu Nov 20, 2008 6:13 pm

If you cant get it up any higher, take the wheel off and slide it out. Thats what I did.

Thu Nov 20, 2008 7:17 pm

Do you have a hoist? I ran a railroad tie in front of the rear wheels and nailed a strap to one side, ran it over the top of the car and nailed it to the other side. Attached the hoist and picked the car up. Then just stuck a floor jack under the engine and dropped her out. You could also raise up as high as you can with the floor jack. Block it off, drop the jack, block the jack and raise it some more.

Thu Nov 20, 2008 7:20 pm

Thats a little dangerous though.

Thu Nov 20, 2008 7:55 pm

vwracerdave wrote: Remove a wheel and slide the engine out the side.
Endicott jb wrote: If you cant get it up any higher, take the wheel off and slide it out. Thats what I did.
Me too, so X3.

Thu Nov 20, 2008 8:05 pm

Here's my "one man" engine removal/installation system:

With the Beetle on jack stands, I then put four 2x4's stacked up under each heater box (or J-pipe) in order to get the floor jack out from under the engine. Then, alternating sides, I tip the motor side to side and pull out one 2x4 at a time. This gets the motor down to the floor, onto a piece of carpet.

With a stock engine, I usually turn it sideways, so the top of the shroud fits through one of the tailpipe cut-outs in the apron and slide it out.

For a big engine, I tip it back on the J-pipes (put some packing tape on them to protect the ceramic coating) and use a piece of carpet to slide the motor.

Thu Nov 20, 2008 8:11 pm

what i did was put the jack stands on a pair of 2x4 stacjed 2 high on the torsion bar covers, then i put a jack in the center of the tunnel on the drain plug and had a friend stand on the front bumper which got me anothe 1-3 inches and it slid right out. Hope this helps. Or i know a guy that has a pit dug in his yard and he just pulls the car over the pit drops the engine out and pushes it off. Pretty simple. But me personaly i like to work on the driveway.

Thu Nov 20, 2008 9:04 pm

we use a method like neil68's but with rear of the car on ramps with the front wheels chocked.(dont ask me why that is important) after the engine is down and on a piece of sheet metal. we use a floor jack to lift the rear of the car at the transaxle and slide the engine out.

Fri Nov 21, 2008 2:09 am

this is always an option

but seriously, I use a Motorcycle/ATV jack I got from Sears.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00950190000P

I originally got it for my '74 bus one-man engine removals but it works for the beetle too. Just lift the jack to the motor, loosen the bolts, pull the motor out, lower the ATV jack and with another (floor) jack, lift the car. You may have to use wood blocks to stabilize the motor on the ATV jack but it works pretty well for a one-man engine removal.

Fri Nov 21, 2008 5:20 am

I did this on a 74 super that I had a while back. Once i got the engine down, I stripped the fan shroud, alternator, carb and intake manifold, distributor, and oil cooler off of it, then I was able pull it out.

I was planning on rebuilding the engine anyway.

I have another solution. Using some 2x6 blocks, I was able to get the car up higher with the jack. But I need the jack for dropping the engine.

So I bought a mover's dolly. I modified it so that I could remove one side, and added 2x4 strips on the carpeted sides so that the engine, sitting on top, would be high enough to slide the jack underneath. I drop the engine onto the dolly, pull out the jack, jack the car up higher and wheel the engine (on the dolly) out from under the car.

Here is the movers dolly I mentioned.....

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=38970

Fri Nov 21, 2008 7:02 am

I use 2 jacks to lift the car from under the bottom shock mounts ('73 Super) put my jack stands under, let the jacks down, add 2 bricks raise it back up and put the jack stands on their highest setting. Gives just enough room. The easiest though is to just pull a rear wheel and slide it out the side. :wink:

Fri Nov 21, 2008 8:57 am

the easiest way is to get the right stuff and be safe i have a long lift jack
and two 6 ton jack stands i jack my car up and put on stands
then use my jack and pull motor out my jack does lift to 46 inches high
it was made for 4x4 trucks i got it off eBay for 100 dollars all I'm saying is be safe and work smart :lol:

Fri Nov 21, 2008 10:42 am

69 bugin wrote: the easiest way is to get the right stuff and be safe i have a long lift jack
and two 6 ton jack stands i jack my car up and put on stands
then use my jack and pull motor out my jack does lift to 46 inches high
it was made for 4x4 trucks i got it off eBay for 100 dollars all I'm saying is be safe and work smart :lol:

I think safety in a lot of situations is relevant to the abilities (mental and physical) of the user. Whats perfectly safe for me to do, may be a disaster for someone else. Although I've had my fair share of disasters too! :lol:

Fri Nov 21, 2008 12:26 pm

thanks for all the tips! i think im just gonna slide it out the side while the wheels are still off. :D

Fri Nov 21, 2008 12:35 pm

I simply lower the engine and take the jack out from under it, roll the jack under the car 8" forward of the front trans mount and jack it up higher turn the engine sideways and slide it out with the fan shroud clearing one of the exhaust cut outs.

Fri Nov 21, 2008 2:13 pm

DrDarby wrote: I simply lower the engine and take the jack out from under it, roll the jack under the car 8" forward of the front trans mount and jack it up higher turn the engine sideways and slide it out with the fan shroud clearing one of the exhaust cut outs.

I do what Darby does.

Fri Nov 21, 2008 3:42 pm

Endicott jb wrote: Thats a little dangerous though.

How so?