HELP!! Brain Teaser??! 4 Post Lift Limitations

[hpfiend]

Ok all thanks in advance for any of your suggestions. I am in a bind here. I am in the midst of LS3 swapping my Porsche Cayman. I have been using my Titan 4 post lift with rolling jack so far but now have discovered that the cradle assembly on my hydraulic lift table does not fit between the rails (even rotated). I was going to cut a section out of the inside horizontal lip of both rails and reinforce with angle iron facing the other direction but I don’t think it will fit be able to squeeze through even after those wild and potentially unsafe modifications.

I can’t see how I can lift the rear of the car high enough to roll the cart with engine over the rear cross brace.

Strapping and rotating the cart assembly somehow to try and fit one wing over and then shift and do the other is logically possible but practically difficult.

One fellow suggested I support one side of the car with tripod jacks and then unbolt the ramp without the hydraulics and cables and then bolt it back on- that seems insanely dangerous but maybe possible

I have a 12k pound 2 post challenger lift that has never been used but has been stored in anticipation of building a high ceiling height 3 bay garage. It has over 14’ post height so I can not physically install in my current garage. While we will be building that garage down the road it is a long w ay off.

Looking at low ceiling titan 2 posts now but seems absurd to buy a THIRD lift just for this project. Towing engine and car to another shop and paying it done would be absurdly expensive and not an option I am willing to entertain.

Thank you!

 

[RPH]

What can you remove from the assembly to get it above the ramps? Reassemble once above ramps. Pia but doable?
Twist, turn, r&r to get it to fit.

 

[ronr80]

I think I agree with RPH, it may be a little longer process but do-able. Maybe need more hands to help. R
Maybe tilt it.

 

[MFortie]

I did something somewhat similar pulling the frame from under my Chevelle.

I bought some HD tall jackstands, used a rolling jack to lift one end of the body off the frame (then the other) high enough to slip lumber between the frame / body (lumber on the stands, body on the lumber), then lowered the four post to roll the frame out.

That said, I wasn’t overly thrilled with that method and just bought a MaxJax to handle reassembly. Mounted the MaxJax alongside the four post so the arms would swing under the body / over the runways.

Some pics here:

Working on a 4 post lift?

I decided to edit my question because I think this is more valuable - for those of you who work on your 4 post lift how do you like it? Are the rails a big issue when working on suspension? Original: I've seen a couple threads from ~5+ years ago but wanted to bring it up again to see if anyone...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[firebirdparts]

Move the Porsche to some cribbing.

 

[gorilla]

Is there a reason that you can't just roll the car off the lift and do the engine install on the ground? vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

 

[wssix99]

If you took the transmission off, could you rotate the engine and frame up over the rails and then reinstall the transmission at that point? (Then lift the assembly up into the car.)

 

[slidehammer]

Four post lift engine drop - Page 2 - Pelican Parts Forums

This is done on a Ferrari but the Porsche would be about the same.

forums.pelicanparts.com

Dropping engine with 4 post lift - Page 2 - Pelican Parts Forums

Originally Posted by Tcrate I just recently dropped my engine with a four post lift. It was bought locally from a company called Aresco, EFP8XLT. The

forums.pelicanparts.com

 

[ycgoat]

There may be DIY garages around where you can put it up on a 2 post

 

[kbeefy]

Can you remove the subframe, install the engine, and reinstall the subframe?

 

[pbon]

I had a 2 post but move to a house with a wood floor barn so I had to get a 4 post. I searched for the widest space between the runners and bought a Bendpak HD9XL. It offers a few more inches. You run into the issue whether the wheels will still be on the runners with smaller cars. Bendpak offers 2 settings — regular and wide, achieved by unbolting the inactive runner (the one without the hydraulic ram and cables) and sliding it over. If you have the rear track width and your inactive runner could be unbolted and slid over, would that give you enough room?

Otherwise, I would be inclined to try to angled approach if I could find a way to secure everything so it would not fall over.

If that is not possible, I would get the rear of the car higher. Maybe using 6 ton jackstands. Might have to also lift the front end of the car. Then try to slide the engine over the crossbar from
behind the lift and onto the lift table that is inside of the lift. Could the rear bumper and other rear end parts be removed to make this easier? I don’t know what is back there on a Cayman.

Cayman with aluminum V8 would be fun!

 

[Yankeefarmer]

I maybe missing something, but I‘d be getting some steel and fabbing up a cradle that would bolt up to your engine/trans and fit on the lift table and fit between the rails.

 

[pbon]

That is a good idea but I think it is the engine carrier/subframe that is the issue. Something that would stabilize the engine up on the lift cart so just the engine is lifted through the runners might work if the subframe could be attached once the engine is above the runners.

 

[CraigStu]

Put the engine on the lift w/o the subframe. Run it up to position. Hold it there w/ something like this.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LMQPR4R/?tag=atomicindus08-20

or like this

Amazon.com

Drop the lift table, put the subframe on it, raise it and bolt it back onto the engine. Installing a new trans onto a front wheel drive car like a Camry I used a similar support dozens of times over 20 years.

 

[hpfiend]

What can you remove from the assembly to get it above the ramps? Reassemble once above ramps. Pia but doable?
Twist, turn, r&r to get it to fit.

Very little as I can’t lift the engine off of the assembly/table as there is little room for the engine hoist under the car and being aluminum block lifting without the valley plate hook makes me leery. Iron block/heads I would use the corner exhaust manifold bolts for sure. I may be able to pull the transaxle but the w ay the cradle is designed rotating it any further than it is won’t help as it will hit elsewhere

 

[hpfiend]

Move the Porsche to some cribbing.

I like this!

 

[hpfiend]

Is there a reason that you can't just roll the car off the lift and do the engine install on the ground? vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

It would have to be quite high off the ground and may be possible with cribbing as suggested above. Thanks

 

[hpfiend]

I had a 2 post but move to a house with a wood floor barn so I had to get a 4 post. I searched for the widest space between the runners and bought a Bendpak HD9XL. It offers a few more inches. You run into the issue whether the wheels will still be on the runners with smaller cars. Bendpak offers 2 settings — regular and wide, achieved by unbolting the inactive runner (the one without the hydraulic ram and cables) and sliding it over. If you have the rear track width and your inactive runner could be unbolted and slid over, would that give you enough room?

Otherwise, I would be inclined to try to angled approach if I could find a way to secure everything so it would not fall over.

If that is not possible, I would get the rear of the car higher. Maybe using 6 ton jackstands. Might have to also lift the front end of the car. Then try to slide the engine over the crossbar from
behind the lift and onto the lift table that is inside of the lift. Could the rear bumper and other rear end parts be removed to make this easier? I don’t know what is back there on a Cayman.

Cayman with aluminum V8 would be fun!

Good ideas! unfortunately the back of the cayman is not removable, but doesn’t mean some creative blocking won’t do it. I am going to see how much a spare inactive runner would be today to modify to a reinforced half width!

 

[hpfiend]

Put the engine on the lift w/o the subframe. Run it up to position. Hold it there w/ something like this.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LMQPR4R/?tag=atomicindus08-20

or like this

Amazon.com

Drop the lift table, put the subframe on it, raise it and bolt it back onto the engine. Installing a new trans onto a front wheel drive car like a Camry I used a similar support dozens of times over 20 years.

I like this idea and considered it but don’t know what to mount the engine support to with the intake installed as it has an aluminum block and heads and weighs just under 500 lbs

 

[hpfiend]

Four post lift engine drop - Page 2 - Pelican Parts Forums

This is done on a Ferrari but the Porsche would be about the same.

forums.pelicanparts.com

Dropping engine with 4 post lift - Page 2 - Pelican Parts Forums

Originally Posted by Tcrate I just recently dropped my engine with a four post lift. It was bought locally from a company called Aresco, EFP8XLT. The

forums.pelicanparts.com

This is an excellent idea! Thanks! The Porsche transaxle is a lot longer than that Ferrari and the 911s are ahead of it but doesn’t mean I can’t pull the transaxle somehow and reinstall. It wasn’t easy to put on but not impossible.

 

[hpfiend]

I did something somewhat similar pulling the frame from under my Chevelle.

I bought some HD tall jackstands, used a rolling jack to lift one end of the body off the frame (then the other) high enough to slip lumber between the frame / body (lumber on the stands, body on the lumber), then lowered the four post to roll the frame out.

That said, I wasn’t overly thrilled with that method and just bought a MaxJax to handle reassembly. Mounted the MaxJax alongside the four post so the arms would swing under the body / over the runways.

Some pics here:

Working on a 4 post lift?

I decided to edit my question because I think this is more valuable - for those of you who work on your 4 post lift how do you like it? Are the rails a big issue when working on suspension? Original: I've seen a couple threads from ~5+ years ago but wanted to bring it up again to see if anyone...

www.garagejournal.com

Very creative usage of the lumber outboard of the lifts. I am going to look into the maxjack - there is no possibility of mounting my 12000 lb 2 post lift in current garage -

 

[vavet]

A humble brag if ever I saw one.
LS3 swapping my Porsche...
My 4 post lift...
My 2 post lift that I haven't even opened yet because it's waiting for my new garage.

Don't mind me. I'm just jealous of your vision, talent, and resources.


How much room is behind the car? Does the engine lift's cradle come off? Most 4 posts I've seen have pretty long ramps and a Cayman is not a very long car.
Roll the engine/lift out from underneath the car and 4 post lift.
Use a cherry picker to remove the engine and cradle from the lift.
Roll the lift back under the 4-post lift, but still behind the car.
Extend the engine lift up.
Use the cherry picker to put the engine/cradle back on top of the engine lift's extended ram.
Now you can lower the engine enough to roll under the car, but the cradle is still above the 4 post lift's ramps.
Maneuver the engine/cradle as needed to set the engine.
Reversing the process to get the cradle off should be easier since you don't have an engine on it.

 

[oltruckag]

Set the engine/cradle assembly on the lift from behind the car with an engine crane. It’s already sitting on wood blocks on the lift, add cribbing as required so the assembly can slide under the rear bumper. Build additional cribbing on your lift table to raise the assembly as required to lift it into (drop the lift down to) to bolt the engine cradle into the car.
Use chokers from the engine hoist to the cradle to lift it vs bolting a lifting plate to the block.