Proper tool or way to support engine and ****** for mounts changes

[mikey03]

I did an oil change on a family car yesterday and noticed the oil pan had a small bend in it no big deal it’s a steel pan and the bend is small and it’s not leaking or anything

I think it’s from when my uncle did a mount change a while back he likes to use a block of wood above a regular floor jack and I seen him put it under the oil pan or ****** pan before depending on the mount

im guessing there’s a proper tool for this or a better method and he’s just a bit of a hack sometimes. So if you don’t got a hoist how do you do this properly?

 

[Omnirod]

It all depends on what you're working on.

 

[tjansson]

There's lot of ways. A few are:
engine hoist
engine support bar/beam across the fenders.
Jack on something that isn't the oil pan, like a beefy accessory mount

 

[richfinn]

I did an oil change on a family car yesterday and noticed the oil pan had a small bend in it no big deal it’s a steel pan and the bend is small and it’s not leaking or anything

I think it’s from when my uncle did a mount change a while back he likes to use a block of wood above a regular floor jack and I seen him put it under the oil pan or ****** pan before depending on the mount

im guessing there’s a proper tool for this or a better method and he’s just a bit of a hack sometimes. So if you don’t got a hoist how do you do this properly?

You can support the engine from the top with an engine support beam that attaches to the engine lift points.

A transmission jack is very useful on front wheel drives.

An engine crane or overhead crane might also work.

 

[mikey03]

It all depends on what you're working on.

Don’t got any cars currently that need mounts and I work on a variety of stuff my family has but nothing too new that’s under warranty still

You can support the engine from the top with an engine support beam that attaches to the engine lift points.

An engine crane or overhead crane might also work.

I never seen one of these before in person whats the cost with getting into something like this and is there something that isn’t too big? I live with my parents so I can’t do too much crazy stuff to the garage but if it’s something that can fold down and doesn’t need to be mounted to the wall or roof of the garage I could look into that. maybe this is overkill just to do mounts though?

A transmission jack is very useful on front wheel drives.

What makes a ****** jack different from a regular jack? I saw them at HF and looked just like a regular jack with some extra rubber and I wondered if I could just get some rubber piece to put on a regular jack or if there was something else special about it

also how come it’s just for FWD would it be different for AWD or RWD?

 

[richfinn]

Don’t got any cars currently that need mounts and I work on a variety of stuff my family has but nothing too new that’s under warranty still




I never seen one of these before in person whats the cost with getting into something like this and is there something that isn’t too big? I live with my parents so I can’t do too much crazy stuff to the garage but if it’s something that can fold down and doesn’t need to be mounted to the wall or roof of the garage I could look into that. maybe this is overkill just to do mounts though?


What makes a ****** jack different from a regular jack? I saw them at HF and looked just like a regular jack with some extra rubber and I wondered if I could just get some rubber piece to put on a regular jack or if there was something else special about it

also how come it’s just for FWD would it be different for AWD or RWD?

Engine support beams are pretty cheap nowadays maybe HF might sell one

FWD or transverse mounted AWD vehicles use both gearbox and engine mounts to support the whole drivetrain

Good transmission jacks come with an adjustable cradle

 

[manwithtools]

What makes a ****** jack different from a regular jack?

Let me try to explain this.
So...
Err...
It's like this...

Oh, never mind. I'll get in trouble no matter how I say it.

 

[whateg01]

What makes a ****** jack different from a regular jack? I saw them at HF and looked just like a regular jack with some extra rubber and I wondered if I could just get some rubber piece to put on a regular jack or if there was something else special about it

A transmission jack has adjustments to tilt left right fore aft.

They usually have the ability to lift from around the flange if the pan instead of just the bottom. The cheap ones are often just that though. I prefer to lift by the flange.

You can jack on most oil pans without any issues but I wouldn't do that with a plastic one.

 

[whateg01]

Don’t got any cars currently that need mounts and I work on a variety of stuff my family has but nothing too new that’s under warranty still

Please don't start asking about all manner of tools you'll never need but are buying just in case you ever do need to work on a 747.

 

[mikey03]

Please don't start asking about all manner of tools you'll never need but are buying just in case you ever do need to work on a 747.

LOL nah no plans to work on a 747 and honestly I’ve been selling tools that I don’t use because when I see a good deal on a snap on tool I don’t have it’s hard to say no and i figure I can always resell it and break even or make a few bucks

i dont need to change any motor mounts right now but I’m sure I’ll have to change some over the next few months sometimes my family is cheap and wants me to just junk mounts from auto zone and honestly I don’t mind because I like working on cars and need the experience and they donate to my tool fund each time I do work so if you want me to change your mount every 6 months because it’s cheap **** I don’t mind honestly

personally I think just use factory ones even though they’re more expensive they last longer and work better but if it’s someone else’s car and they don’t want to buy the nicer mount then what can you do

 

[Fedwrench]

here's an example of a front wheel drive engine support bar.

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NLE7917125

there are other variants. It depends on what the family car is

 

[mikey03]

here's an example of a front wheel drive engine support bar.

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NLE7917125

there are other variants. It depends on what the family car is

Thanks man it’s not just one car I do work to some amount on about 7 different cars and as I get better and my family trusts me more I get more “customers” lol

I never had any idea how that tool worked I always thought it was connected to some chain on the ceiling of your garage. Thats a real cool tool!

Is there any other job this is useful for other than mounts? Can you do the ****** mount too or does this only lift up the engine? I’m not too sure if most trannys have hook lift points on the top?

Im going to wait until i get asked to do another mount before I pick one up though so I don’t wind up with too many tools. Usually mounts aren’t going to be so critical it can’t wait a day or two for me to get the tool since they should be able to keep driving a little bit at least with one bad mount tbh

 

[mikey03]

Oh wait in the YouTube video the comments he says could he used for oil pan replacement in some vehicles. So I’m guessing that means some cars the oil pan is wedged between the car frame and the engine and the engine is keeping pressure on the lip of the pan and you got to unscrew the pan but also lift the engine slightly to take the pressure out and slide the pan out?

 

[whateg01]

Oh wait in the YouTube video the comments he says could he used for oil pan replacement in some vehicles. So I’m guessing that means some cars the oil pan is wedged between the car frame and the engine and the engine is keeping pressure on the lip of the pan and you got to unscrew the pan but also lift the engine slightly to take the pressure out and slide the pan out?

Some vehicles you have to lift the motor for the pan to clear the crank.

 

[Snapped-off]

Floor jack for a Mk4 VW Jetta

 

[P0234]

There almost always is an area to get a jack under, a bottle jack gets in a lot of places. But I have had to use the wood block on the oil pan trick a time or two. As long as you aren't really cranking on the jack, it should be fine.

 

[M635_Guy]

Engine support beams are pretty cheap nowadays maybe HF might sell one

FWD or transverse mounted AWD vehicles use both gearbox and engine mounts to support the whole drivetrain

Good transmission jacks come with an adjustable cradle

They have a Pittsburgh one for $80. Looks like this:

(not sure that's the exact one)

 

[bbrins]

I've used a chunk of 4x4 post with a couple of 2x4 scraps to space it up above the top of the engine and a ratchet strap as a topside engine support. I've also just used a block of wood and a floor jack on the oil pan. It really just depends on what you are working on, and whether or not what you are trying to support the engine from can handle it or not, you don't always need a special tool as a diyer. I'd expect a mechanic in a professional shop to use an appropriate tool, which in some situations, may very well be just a block of wood and a floor jack. I wouldn't bother with buying that type of tool unless I felt like it was necessary, and I've done a number of engine mounts, oil pans, clutches, etc.(in my driveway) where the engine needed to be supported or lifted, I've never messed up an oil pan doing this.

 

[gearhead1]

I’ve used a block of wood on a jack for years and never had a problem. I make sure to use a 2x6, 2x8, or big scrap of 1/2” thick or thicker plywood to spread the load out. If you look real close at the dent on the pan, does it even match the cup of the jack? The car could have run over something to cause damage to the oil pan.

I like the engine supports previously posted from Napa and HF. I like how the Napa one has the third leg. I’ve seen people use these by putting the feet on the outer surface of the fender. I try to put the feet on the inner lip of the fender to prevent damage to the outer surface of the fender.

When changing engine mounts, I do one at a time.

 

[joshmodelskidoo]

Correct tool is an engine support bar. I pulled the transmission from our traverse and use an engine hoist and a jack stand under the oil pan as it drifted down over night. It was in the way so I used a 4x4 and ratchet straps and that worked great. Hopefully the only fwd vehicle I have to use it on.

 

[Ricksfix]

Dad and I built a jack post attachment. It had 1" tubing on sides welded to a flat plate and a bottom post. We would pull the circular plate out of jack and drop this one in the hole,straddle the ****** pan sides along the bolts .Easy to make and use same jack. There are ones you can buy or make that are adjustable. But if you don't need it that often this worked nice for us.

 

[bwringer]

The best methods for doing this vary tremendously based on what vehicle you're working on and what you need to do.

One thing I'll point out is that it's usually pretty easy to sell things like jacks and cranes on CrackList or FaecesBook. So you could, for example, buy a Harbor Freight shop crane or transmission jack for a couple hundred bucks, use it for a few weeks or months, then easily sell it for a little bit less to get it out of your way. Much cheaper than renting in the end, although it ties up a bit of capital.

I've done this several times with bulky equipment I don't want to trip over permanently. However, the hydraulic press earned a permanent spot...