ok i am trying to rebuild my engine but i dont have a car hoist. any ideas. i have seen people using engine hoists to lift the body off. but where do they mount the hoist. can anyone help

[This message has been edited by sergioazevedo (edited 06-07-2004).]

Jack up the rear of the car as high as you can get it, put the stands under the body in front of the rear cradle. Support the enging on a floor jack and a block of wood to keep frm denting the pan. Remove the rear tires. Disconect everything and lower the rear frame to the floor. Slip the jack out and pull the frame out from under the car. Fix it and reasemble.

if you dont mind doing it backwards you can always lift the engine out of the car with a comealong: http://www.mtsu.edu/~mkr2c/fiero.htm

I would do it similar, however, I would disconnect everything, lower the rear of the car so the cradle rests onto a dolly, remove the cradle bolts, then jack the car back up. Then roll out your dolly with cradle assy.

Now, how are you going to get the engine off of the cradle?

If your under a heavy rafter, just use a block and tackle. Ive got a permanent chain there in my garage to install engines. Also used it to hold my 18' race boat up so i could paint it off the trailer. Its ez to even lift a 426 or 454 engine.

if you're smart, you don't! Rent a hoiest they're cheep and do use good jack stands, we don't want to lose another Fiero lover.

$25 a day will get you a hoist here... and a day is more than enough to get an engine out, off and on a stand...

PIECE OF CAKE. 4 hours from GO to engine on garage floor. Buy, barrow, steel, or rent a QUALITY 4 wheel furnature dolly. Remove rear tires, lower cradle entire rear of car onto dolly, ( always support car with wooded blocks, and never get under a car that is not correctly supported)
Unbolt all the necessary stuff, exhaust cross over pipe, cruise cnt, gas cable, wire harrness, disconnect it from the ECM and push it back though the fire wall, this way all neccesary wireing will come out with the engine. Unbolt and remove all four cradle bolts. The engine and cradle are now sitting on the dolly. Jack up the rear and of the car, so that the license plate is at face height, (this being based on i'm 5' 8'') now just roll the engine out from under the car, and put the car back on the ground. The procedure you can remove with or without rear suspension, I found it easy to leave the suspension attached to the cradle, and pull it out as one unit. I blocked up the front of car and 2 sets of 4x4 block, so that when the car tilted i had room to at the nose, to get the rear up enough. It is a little scarry to jack up a car that far, the first time.

i have seen people using engine hoists and i can rent any thing becouse i live very far from town. and i have a fiero for sale an 85 gt for 1000 been hit but it has 90000kms on the engine

No hoist

but also no car either

I got rid of it because it didn't handle right.

*not really, it supplied many spareparts to keep my 87GT alive *

Don't do it this way!!
http://ntahc.org/op/NoHoist.jpg

Please rent a host to lift the body high enough to remove the cradle.

Joe Sokol
85 SE 5 Speed 2.8 V6
88 Formula\GT 5 Speed 4.9 Caddy (Allante Intake almost done)

I' ve got 2" X 12" ceiling joists so I do it this way. I have a piece of 2" X 2" X 1/4" tubing laid across 4 ceiling joists with a 5/8" hook for the chainfall.

You can pick the car with a chain with a couple of hooks in the holes in the crossmember that goes across the top of trunk.

This also has the advantage vs. an engine hoist in that there is nothing to interfere with getting the dolly out from under the car.

[This message has been edited by sanderson (edited 06-08-2004).]

Two floor jacks and a dolly:

JazzMan

thanx to every one that supplied the pics i am going to attempt it so i will keep u posted. thanx agian

My version of a dolly:

Sorry but no way would i get under that !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Floor jacks can and do tip over pretty ez, not to mention Ive had them rupture a seal and collapse in a second. It needs to have nice solid stands under it or supported from above by chains. I know your going to say youve done that a dozen times with no problem, but it only takes once to take you out permanently.

quote Two floor jacks and a dolly: JazzMan

[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 06-10-2004).]

I wound up lowering the car onto a dolly, removing the cradle bolts, and then lifting the car. Because of the jackstand points I used, I wound up dragging the cradle out the left side. It worked, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Bar stools work wonders:

haha.. notice the jackstands in front of them

quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: Sorry but no way would i get under that !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Floor jacks can and do tip over pretty ez, not to mention Ive had them rupture a seal and collapse in a second. It needs to have nice solid stands under it or supported from above by chains. I know your going to say youve done that a dozen times with no problem, but it only takes once to take you out permanently.

Whoever said I got under it like that? I most certainly never did. That would be stupid. I just jack it up and roll the engine out.

JazzMan

quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: If your under a heavy rafter, just use a block and tackle. Ive got a permanent chain there in my garage to install engines. Also used it to hold my 18' race boat up so i could paint it off the trailer. Its ez to even lift a 426 or 454 engine.

Hey roger,
how about a pic of the race boat???? pm it to me.

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98 3800SC GTP motor,3.4 pulley, Getrag 5sp.
custom hood, trunk, side scoops, IRM front spoiler, 17" excel's , dk.Shadow Grey

quote Originally posted by JazzMan: Two floor jacks and a dolly: JazzMan

Hey JazzMan what r the dimensions of your dolly? I need to build one even though I still dont have a garage.

I don't remember off hand, though the length of the angles between the main members appears to be 27 1/2". I just measured the space between the rails on my cradle and had the shop cut me some scrap pieces that I then welded together. The '88 cradle has a nice flat bottom that makes this easy to do. An earlier year cradle will require some more pieces to mate the dolly up to it.

JazzMan

OK Jazz, thought you meant that was how you did the removal. You did use a long handle or chain to pull the dolly with though I hope. I wouldnt want to be very close if car fell one way or the other.

Heres the boat

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