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I'm finding different load levelers around with various weight ratings. From 1500# to 4000#. Obviously I would be better off the higher the weight rating but I'm curious from a "bang for your buck" perspective what rating will be needed to hold a 5 cylinder aluminum engine and an auto transmission still attached.
Offhand I would think most 5-cylinders with an auto trans attached would weigh less than 1500#, if it's a 5-pot I guess you are working on an Audi?
If you got a load leveler rated for 2000#, unless you get into something really heavy-duty, I would think this would handle all you will want to work on.
You could divide pound rating by price and come up with a "bang for the buck" figure there, but at the same time 2 conflicting thoughts:
1 I have never regretted going with something that's "overkill" in terms of heavy-duty.
2 The bigger load levelers are probably physically bigger and so may be less handy when working on a car, rather than an 18-wheeler.
I have a harbor freight 1500# one now, there is a 2-ton unit but it's not in my area. So I have to order out, and that severely ups the price. Just wondering if I can get by on 1500# or not.
My initial impression is it's too nice to part out. You could, just for grins, put your existing load leveler on the engine, and pull up until you can tell the engine mounts are in mild tension (being a pilot, you no doubt have a good feel for this sort of thing...there are some people I would never suggest this to as they will keep pulling till they break something or pull the front wheels of the car off the ground!) and see how it holds up.
What does the car weigh - probably no more than 3000# I would think - I would expect the engine and trans to be half that or less.
Northern Tool has some pretty decent load levelers as well, as do Eastwood. They cost more but strike me as nicer kit than Harbor Freight. Although Harbor Freight certainly does deliver bang for the buck, and for guys like us who don't do this for a living sometimes the HF is more than good enough, might not hold up to being used weekly for 30 years and might slow the job down enough to drive a good pro wrench nuts, but for us they are fine...
Are the front discs pretty rusty, or maybe I am just seeing the caliper?
Have you decided on used, rebuilt, whatever if you put an engine in it?
Good luck in any case on what should be a good project!
A quick search on Google (Volvo 850 transmission removal) reiterates what I said in the other thread - drop it out the bottom complete with the subframe instead of pulling it out the top.
I do agree that it just seems too nice to part out, but then I see the wagon in the garage too, and in my book, wagons > sedans.
Dropping it out the bottom probably won't happen due to space issues. It can be done out the top with the engine and tranny taken out at the same time. I think the reason the manual has you do it from the bottom is because when you replace the tranny all you want to do is replace that one unit and not take apart the whole front end of the car. I'm just unsure as to the weight. I was thinking about emailing some ebay sellers what the two components weigh to see if I can get an idea.
I looked at northern tool and they only sell a 1250# leveler.
OK disregard, called Harbor Freight and they got a bunch of 2 ton load levelers in. Picking one up in the AM tomorrow. Sweet! Ok that is settled. On to the next check box...
My initial impression is it's too nice to part out. You could, just for grins, put your existing load leveler on the engine, and pull up until you can tell the engine mounts are in mild tension (being a pilot, you no doubt have a good feel for this sort of thing...there are some people I would never suggest this to as they will keep pulling till they break something or pull the front wheels of the car off the ground!) and see how it holds up.
I actually was thinking of doing something similar. I pulled on it today to see how it was holding up and I agree with your assessment - the weight of the car is around 2800# IIRC (at least that is my wagon, so the sedan would be less) so the engine/tranny can't weigh more than 1000# or so you would think.
Quote:
Are the front discs pretty rusty, or maybe I am just seeing the caliper?
Yes they are rusted but that is typical of non-zinc coated rotors on these cars (and any car I suppose). The rust knocks right off when you use the brakes for the first time though. My wagon sits for 4-5 days at a time sometimes and there is already rust buildup on it.
Quote:
Have you decided on used, rebuilt, whatever if you put an engine in it?
Good luck in any case on what should be a good project!
Not sure. The car does have a dent in the pax side front door so I don't want to put anything too expensive in. I might end up parting it out, and keeping a lot of the components for myself (I have another 95). Just pulling the MAF, coil, alternator, newly installed radiator (mine has a slight crack), tranny, two almost new tires (two of mine are low on tread), battery (fairly new, mine is 5+ years old), radio (mine had a short), and two speakers I've already gotten what I paid for it out of it. Putting money into the car to keep or sell I won't make much and I'm not sure my wife would want to drive a slightly dented car for another 3-5 years.
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