Engine Removal - Elan +2 130/5

[ericbushby]

Hi Veg,
I have an aversion to hiring anything because in my case at least everything takes longer than I expect or longer than it should. This gives me a time pressure which I do not like. If you have a hoist or can borrow one cheaply I would recommend that route.
The disadvantage of using a roof mounted hoist is that I had to put the car back down on its wheels and move it away from the suspended engine, remembering to sling the bell housing from the body somehow. I measured how far the front bumper was from the bench so that it went back in the same place for fitting the engine.
The main advantage is that you can take as much time as it takes for you to sort out the other things which you know will occur even though you do not know what they will be yet.
Best of luck
Eric in Burnley
1967 S3SE DHC

[The Veg]

Eric, Mark, you both make some excellent points. And there is a Harbor Freight near me. Will definitely give their hoists a look.

The point about things taking longer than planned or other problems is particularly relevant, as I'm about to attempt the five-speed install and while it SHOULD be a fairly straightforward job, how often is anything with an old Lotus ever actually straightforward?

[JJDraper]

Eric, No offence taken. Getting the engine out sans head is the easy bit, once you have realised the hoist won't go in from the front - 2 tonne with a longer reach is the way to go. 30 minutes to hoist it out of the car and into the back of the waiting car in the photo. Note, once free in the engine bay, the engine is likely to swing around/rotate, especially if you use rope to hold it. Get ready to hold it and let it do its thing without hitting your nice shiny paintwork.

Getting it back in is much more of a faff, as lining up the shafts is critical, hence using the jack under the gearbox. Also, worth jacking up a rear wheel, putting the car in gear and wiggling the engine while the willing helper turns the wheel back and forwards slightly. After a lot of swearing and thinking this was all a Bad Idea, it will suddenly just slide in... Its all coming back now..

Getting all the ancillaries such as the head is pretty straight forward, although hard on the back.

+1 on buying stuff, because if you have enough mates who do that, someone will have the tool/hoist you need that you can borrow for a suitable incentive, as I did. If no-one has one, then it's your turn to buy the tool and be in demand. The hoists do pack down nicely, but be careful that they are not standing loose - use a strap to fix it to a wall or some such - I know now..

Jeremy