Engine lift for front cross member removal

[Patcon]

19 minutes ago, dmorales-bello said:

Many great points to consider in all your experienced comments. I will digest all the numerous tips before I decide which way to go. I don't have an engine hoist so the Unistrut route or a variant thereof might be my method of choice. I'll report back. Thanks for all the great help fellas.

You could probably rent a lift for the day fairly cheap. Or if you're like me you use it as an excuse to go by one"...but honey, it was on sale!"

If you already have the cross member to put back in, you would only need for a few hours.

[wal280z]

17 minutes ago, Patcon said:

You could probably rent a lift for the day fairly cheap. Or if you're like me you use it as an excuse to go by one"...but honey, it was on sale!"

If you already have the cross member to put back in, you would only need for a few hours.

Hi Charles @Patcon, I never needed a lift in the Uni-strut idea I posted. I attached the chains while the motor was mounted to the cross-member while it was still attached to the body and made adjustments to the chain sling (not shown) prior to removing the cross-member. I told ya I was cheap.... I can squeeze 6 Lincoln's out of a Jefferson nickle if need be...

It's too bad hat I scrapped THAT car as it had so many good bits and piece...

I sure wish that I could find that color code for that yellow... Not a Nissan OEM for that year.

Wayne

[gundee]

Interesting this came up now. I also found a much nicer cross member that is being powder coated. I want to swap it out without removing the engine.

Not sure of the method yet. I do have access to a engine lift to use if needed. But I would like to leave the hood as is if possible.

Its way too cold now in the garage so the plan is being a spring project. Looking into ideas now. I have lots of unistrut already.

 

[Mike]

10 hours ago, wal280z said:

 

@Mike

It appears as though since the last update in 2015, all previous images reside ONLY on the legacy site, is that correct?

@wal280z, all of the images were migrated over.  Your image was in the body work and paint gallery which is here: https://www.classiczcars.com/gallery/category/2041-body-work-and-paint/?page=29

If you want to see all the images you posted, here's the link:  https://www.classiczcars.com/profile/5508-wal280z/?do=content&type=gallery_image&change_section=1

[dmorales-bello]

Update: I decided to upgrade to a tubular crossmember beautifully designed by Apex Engineered. I also purchased new tie rods and steering knuckles from them but will not receive those for another 2 to 3 weeks. I changed my banged up OE oil pan for a cast aluminum one from Arizona Z Car.

With the crossmember and oil pan in hand we put the car up on a 2 post lift and held up the engine from the bottom with 3 heavy duty adjustable stands. I did let a pro like Erick Pons at "Z Pons Auto Service" here in Miami do the job since the risk of screwing up would prove way too costly. Once the engine was propped up, the crossmember swap went quite easily and took about 2 hours. Changing the oil pan was totally straight forward. I rushed the steering rack to another shop for rebuild and the strut housings, stock lower control arms, new SS splash pan and brake dust covers for media blast and powder coating. Should have all the parts back for assembly by next week but here are some progress pics.

 

 

[wal280z]

1 hour ago, dmorales-bello said:

Update: I decided to upgrade to a tubular crossmember beautifully designed by Apex Engineered. I also purchased new tie rods and steering knuckles from them but will not receive those for another 2 to 3 weeks. I changed my banged up OE oil pan for a cast aluminum one from Arizona Z Car.

@dmorales-bello Dave - You SERIOUSLY need to warn people of upcoming Z porn with those pictures you posted..

Those are some really SWEET parts. Nice... Drool... I'll be over in the corner looking at those pictures a little bit more...

Wayne

[dmorales-bello]

5 minutes ago, wal280z said:

@dmorales-bello Dave - You SERIOUSLY need to warn people of upcoming Z porn with those pictures you posted..

Those are some really SWEET parts. Nice... Drool... I'll be over in the corner looking at those pictures a little bit more...

Wayne

That's pretty funny Wayne! I keep sneeking in to take a look every now and then myself. My wife thinks I'm obsessed. Imagine that! 

[wal280z]

8 minutes ago, dmorales-bello said:

That's pretty funny Wayne! I keep sneeking in to take a look every now and then myself. My wife thinks I'm obsessed. Imagine that! 

Don't ever say to your wife or significant other -  "If you looked this good after 40 years".... Never ends good. Don't ask how I have acquired this knowledge...

[Captain Obvious]

LOL!!  

Nice parts!  So... Other than the obvious "because you can", is there a reason you changed the cross member and the oil pan?

[dmorales-bello]

23 hours ago, Captain Obvious said:

LOL!!  

Nice parts!  So... Other than the obvious "because you can", is there a reason you changed the cross member and the oil pan?

Ahoy there, Cap'n! The original plan was to take the stock cross member out to repair it (dented by PO, some rust and 40 years of wear) and powder coat it while the engine was somewhat perilously supported from beneath (see previous posts) . This had to be a quick operation to reduce risk but the repair /powder coat process would take a week to 10 days and I failed to find another adequate stock cross member and have it ready before the swap. The only one in great shape that I could find was priced at $1,000! I stumbled upon the Apex Engineered products, was very impressed with their quality and thus decided to upgrade to a stronger, more modern tubular steel design for about $495. By having the Apex unit at hand once the car was suspended on the lift, the engine was resting on stands only for a couple of hours while we did the swap. 

The stock oil pan was also dented (quite heavily) and a similar "improve rather than repair" rationale prevailed. 

This isn't an early series 1 car so I've taken several similar liberties throughout the build. 

 

Edited February 28, 2019 by dmorales-bello

[dmorales-bello]

4 hours ago, wal280z said:

Don't ever say to your wife or significant other -  "If you looked this good after 40 years".... Never ends good. Don't ask how I have acquired this knowledge...

In my case (being a plastic surgeon) I'd rather sit on broken glass than say that! ??

Edited February 27, 2019 by dmorales-bello

[Captain Obvious]

Ahoy Dr. Dave!

Makes perfect sense to me! I know your car is nowhere near stock. I was just curious if you thought there was some performance benefit to the changes above. I never even thought that beautiful fancy cross member might be cheaper than a stock replacement. Looks great!