Engine stand

[arcturus]

Hi, so i bought an engine stand thinking that my troubles re' engine work were over but there are no instructions with it as to how to mount engine. has any body used this kind of thing and if so advice would be welcome. It looks as though the engine is mounted to the black plate but should the engine be mounted via the engine block direct or through the bell housing when fitted?
Help!

[Steve121]

I have a very similar stand, I used some long bolts with the same thread as them there holes for the bellhousing.. think I may have used some old cylinderhead bolts, with spacers to take up the slack, bolts go through those tubes at the end of the 4 arms.

[classicswede]

I have a B18 on one of my stands at the moment, will try and take a pic for you

I extend my stands a few inches to improve the position of the engine for working on as a normal height person

[grahamwatson]

I am assuming that the mounting bracket (i.e. the whole black part in your pics) fits into the stand on a largish diameter tube? Most of them are like that. If so, fix the bracket to the engine whilst it (the engine) is still on your hoist. Then slide the stand on to the bracket (having put some grease on the tube) so that it too is hanging from the hoist. Finally lower the engine and stand as a complete unit on to the floor.

Much easier than trying to get the engine in the right position to match up with the stand on the floor. Will also be easier to get the locating pin (which goes through the large diameter tube) in a good starting position.

And, when it is all on the ground, don't be surprised how much leverage is required to turn the engine on the stand, even if you have remembered to grease the tube. The little lever usually supplied with the stand is not adequate. Be prepared with a longer lever (trolley jack handle?) before you take the pin out!

[arcturus]

Thanks everybody. Got it sussed out now.

[arcturus]

As a matter of interest the dynamo fixing bolts to engine are a perfect fit! Of course not every B20 B18 uses dynamos. Would be better if they were high tensile but beggars can't be choosers.

[classicswede]

Another tip is to grind a taper to the end of the locking pin to help with fitting

[yelnif]

Am I right in thinking that, as I view the block from the back (where I'll mount the mounting bracket when I've acquired an engine stand), I'll need to use the unthreaded bottom hole of where the starter motor will mount? Because this bolt would need an washer a nut, it would have to be a good deal longer than the others, which begin threading at the back "face" of the block.

I have some 7/16" 3 1/2" UNC bolts that I think will work, but as mentioned I don't yet have a stand and so don't know how much of the length is used by the mounting bracket.

Another thing ... I notice the bolt goes quickly from turning easily to more difficult in the other "through holes." This suggests to me that I might have to stack a lot of washers on the back of the mounting bracket to get just the right engagement. Can a mere mortal ruin the threads of the hole by overtorqueing these?

Thanks!

[Derek UK]

An engine stand has arms to make it suitable for most engines. They usually also come with a long bolt kit to suit the four arms but these are usually very spindly and IMO not really safe to use. Because of the bell housing bolt pattern and the starter bolt holes, which might be plain or threaded, you have to do the best you can. As you say you may need longer bolts and if these have full thread you can wind a nut and washer down to the block to hold it in. Adapt what you need. Beware that if you mount the engine so that the crank is lined up with the stand pivot, a full engine will be top heavy and likely to catch you unawares when turning it. Worse case the whole lot will tip over. A short engine with no head isn't so much of a problem. Be careful any time you turn the engine. Stands with 3 wheels aren't very stable when turning the engine. The Volvo one is a heavy lump so a 4 wheel one is better and more stable. Currently I have a full B18 on a 3 wheel stand and am very aware of the above!
Some holes that are threaded right through the block only use a part of this length when in use. It means that the part that hasn't been used is still fresh cut and will tend to feel tighter when turning a bolt into it. The threads are also likely to be dirty and this will also cause tightness. A quick spray with brake cleaner will help but don't worry too much about it. Just make sure you are using the correct thread bolts!

[yelnif]

Thanks for reply and cautions. I've acquired an engine stand now and share the following observations in case of use to somebody:

The tubes on the engine stand arms measure 1 1/2". Possibly this is typical.

On my B18-D engine:
Threaded all the way through holes provide 3/4" of threads.
The unthreaded "through" hole near the starter motor is 1 1/2" long.

So in my case, it looks like the following will secure the mount:
3 x 3" bolts with 4-5 stacked washers for the threaded holes
1 x 4" bolt with washer and nut for the starter motor hole

Possibly I could stack fewer washers and a 2 1/2" bolt would suffice, but the bolt starts required a surprising amount of torque even after thoroughly cleaning the hole.