Safely raising 383 motor while still in a body!

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LovetheA's

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I need to get to all my oil pan bolts to make sure they are snug. If was thinking I could put a floor jack at front edge of motor, loosen the two engine mounts, block it with a piece of wood to not damage block and raise motor carefully to get to all oil pan bolts. My concern is how high can I safely jack up the engine without putting too much stress on bell housing, transmission and drive shaft while still connected underneath. I don't want to crack my bell housing etc.

Carl
 
until the bell housing is stopped by the trans tunnel, or until your fan hits the shroud (assuming you have one).
 
LovetheA's said:
I need to get to all my oil pan bolts to make sure they are snug.........
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If it's leaking, tightening may slow it, but to me, just never seems to stop a leak.
ragtopfury said:
until the bell housing is stopped by the trans tunnel............
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Or possibly tight exhaust clearances. Additionally, the car will raise some as you take the weight of the engine off giving the appearance of lifting the car. Watch it carefully. You may also want to keep an eye on any stress to the radiator hoses.
 
Daves69 said:
If it's leaking, tightening may slow it, but to me, just never seems to stop a leak.

Or possibly tight exhaust clearances. Additionally, the car will raise some as you take the weight of the engine off giving the appearance of lifting the car. Watch it carefully. You may also want to keep an eye on any stress to the radiator hoses.
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I should mention that the car is raised up about 12" on jackstands at 4 corners. In front under lower control arms and in back under rear axle. It isn't leaking, maybe occasional oil residue around some of the bolts but I've never been able to make sure the bolts are torqued to spec.
 
just some food for thought - I was able to reach all of the pan bolts with a 1/4" drive, a few assorted extensions and a "wobble" extension and/or a wrench... I admit I was working on a 360 and it was tight - but is it really that much worse with a big block?
 
I would think it would be easier to buy or make wrenches to fit. Over my years, I've bent several wrenches. I think the largest I bent..........with only a common propane torch..........was 5/8
 
67Dart273 said:
I would think it would be easier to buy or make wrenches to fit. Over my years, I've bent several wrenches. I think the largest I bent..........with only a common propane torch..........was 5/8
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nice!! - like the 1/2" Crapsman wrench that I bent to get to the distributor bolt.. ya gotta do what ya gotta do :thumbsup:
 
FWIW
I have lifted the front of the car right off the floor using the lift-plate on the carb pad. Yeah the D was out and the fan was off, I'm not a total dufuss,lol. And the 318 had spool mounts.
 
LovetheA's said:
I need to get to all my oil pan bolts to make sure they are snug. If was thinking I could put a floor jack at front edge of motor, loosen the two engine mounts, block it with a piece of wood to not damage block and raise motor carefully to get to all oil pan bolts. My concern is how high can I safely jack up the engine without putting too much stress on bell housing, transmission and drive shaft while still connected underneath. I don't want to crack my bell housing etc.

Carl
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I do that all the time. I just run the hook from the bridge crane to the lift plate and lift the engine up an inch or two while I pull the motor plate off or change the oil pan or do whatever I need to do. Only takes a few minutes to do.

DSC_0997 (Large).JPG
 
I've been checking out bridge and gantry cranes to use on jobs like these.
 
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