How am I getting engine into boot of Golf?

[CoolHands]

If I take engine out of a car (modern mini) with an engine crane, how will I get it into the boot of eg a VW golf? As I know I won t have the height, the big arm will be in the way even if the engine will fit.

Engine going to engine builder for rebore / crankshaft bearings etc.

I suppose I could take head off to lighten, maybe take sump off?

Working on my own

Edit I suppose I could hire a transit van if necessary, might be easier all round.

[droopsnoot]

If you can get it so that the engine is as close as possible to the crane arm, will that give you enough room to get the arm under the tailgate?

Hiring a van will save a lot of hassle, not least if the engine tips over and drops oil all over the place.

[njw1]

Just lift it in with a couple of mates.

Edit; Didn’t read the the op properly (d'oh!), are there definitely not a couple of strong men that you could borrow for five minutes?

Edited by njw1 on Friday 12th December 21:53

[cliffords]

I smashed the tail gate glass of my car doing exactly this some years ago . I think you should hire a van .

[tux850]

For the last engine I transported on my own I took the front passenger seat out and popped it in there...




(I had to lift the car up to get the crane legs underneath)



I do seem to recall having to reset the airbag warning light afterwards though as I think it detected the missing seatbelt pretensioner and wasn't content it just being plugged back in.

Edited by tux850 on Friday 12th December 22:43

[GreenV8S]

Check the dimensions to confirm it will actually fit first, also agree with the recipient how you're going to get it out at the far end.

If you have an engine crane you can use that to place it on a board at the right height for your boot entry, then slide it along until it's in the boot. A workmate or similar saw horse can support the far end of the board at about the right height. If you have a high lip into the boot you'll need to slide it down another board to get into the boot. Getting it out will usually be the harder job and may involve putting a board under it and using the boot lip as a pivot to lift it up.

[DaveF-SkinnysAutos]

Often removing the supporting gas struts on a hatchback boot lid and getting someone to push and hold the boot lid back further allows enough room for the engine crane upper arm to fit far enough into the car to drop the engine cleanly into the boot.

[ARH]

Why not just hire a van?

[normalbloke]

Engines, awkward buggers.

[Hondapower]

You can get a k20 in the back of a 205



I did this single handed with an engine crane. Had to attach the beam as low as possible to the engine, and remove the exhaust manifold to get it close enough to the back seat to be able to shut the boot lid.

Did the same a few years later but with a Fabia VRS and the back seats down.

Edited by Hondapower on Saturday 13th December 20:22

[paul_c123]

You need to have a good idea of what the height of:

engine crane boom +
engine crane chain +
connections, eg spreader bar, hooks, etc +
engine

is. If this is smaller than the height of the boot opening (with protection for the floor, eg wooden boards, rubber mats, etc, AND the engine crane's legs can go under the car's bumper/lower trim and not be obstructed by the wheels, you should be okay.

I've loaded an engine into the back of a Merc E class estate in the past, AND been able to also take the engine crane itself. Ie, visit a place where they had the engine on the floor to collect it including loading. I doubt if a folded engine crane would fit into the back of a Golf though.

[fooman]

Van, it's probably not as expensive as you think and you won't go dinging your car swinging an engine about.

[Novexx]

Crane makes for a pain in the ass & the potential for much damage.

Get a shot of a pair of hands for 5 minutes, two guys will lift it off the deck or from the crane & get it in without too much trouble. The narowness of the boot (wing to wing) may be a problem, but with some carefully placed wood or whatever the engine can be temporarily sat on the rear bulkhead while people rearrange themselves.

[chris1roll]

2 guys to lift it in, 2 guys to lift it out.
Sure you havent got a neighbour who would help for 5 minutes?
Its much lighter if the ancilliaries are removed of course, but this is how it was when I picked it up. Iron block never going to be light though.



Also make sure it is well strapped down, and go steady - in anything other than a low speed bump, that fker is going through the seats, through you, and probably through whatever you hit too.

[catso]

Do you have an engine stand?

I got a Rover V8 into the back of my Audi S4 Avant (Estate), single handed using a wheeled engine stand, simply strapped a pallet onto the bottom of the engine whilst on the stand and slid it in, the wheels of the stand going under the car and then removed the engine from the stand, by sliding the rotating bracket out of the stand, luckily the height was just about perfect.

I have an engine crane but the problem of the tailgate being in the way prevents that just as it would in a Golf.

Obviously helps that the estate has a flat load space with no 'lip' but you could pack the boot up to get a flat entry. It also helps that a Rover V8 engine is fairly light (and flat-bottomed once the sump is removed) but I can't imagine a Mini engine is particularly heavy?

At the other end we (2 of us) simply lifted it out.

Edited by catso on Monday 29th December 09:48

[Mabbs9]

I managed a stripped down K series in a golf. Solid ply underneath and a two person job, one was my very understanding Mrs (It was a bargain you see).

I wouldn't try it with anything heavier. Which is virtually everything.

Good luck and don't put your or your mate's back out. A bad back isn't just for Christmas.

[CoolHands]

Yeah great pics everyone. The Hyundai coupe passenger one is good! Turns out they will pick up if I get it on a pallet, cost about £100. That meant a) I had to get a pallet! And take it to where my mini is.

FYI I found a full size British standard pallet (1m x 1.2m) does just about fit into a mk5 golf:



But then I found a approx half size pallet (maybe euro ?) which will still be sufficient to strap the engine to, so I ve opted for that: (the pic is a bit deceptive, it looks almost as big here as the full size pallet):



Comparison:


Today I got started and got the entire front off, see pic. Problem now is it seems all the hire companies are closed for entire Christmas break ie until at least this Friday! Which I hadn t anticipated, as they mostly do plant hire. I thought I d get it out tomorrow. Will do what I can, and phone around a couple of other hire places to see if any are open. Only need to get it out and onto a pallet!

Edited by CoolHands on Monday 29th December 19:11

[chris1roll]

It'll involve two people again, but since you've got all the front of the car off - back in the day I've pulled an engine out by putting a scaffold bar (length of 4x2 would suffice) across the wings, extending past either side, strapped the engine to it then get under either side of the pole and lifted it up and forwards like that.

[CoolHands]

I’ll have to rope the old man in!