sunbeamtiger.co.uk

Hi guys

Does anyone know how heavy a standard MK1 gearbox is and how heavy a 260 engine is?

How much headroom do you need to get an engine/gearbox out? ( I have a tiny garage with a low roof with beams not capable of taking much weight)
....and how much of a pain is it to get them out.

Any recommendations on the equipment to use, and anyone in the Midlands with a free standing lifter and engine stand they're not using at the moment?

Cheers

A 302 engine is 460 lbs and a Toploader gearbox is about 120 lbs. Total weight is 580 lbs or 263 kgs.

The Sealey 1 tonne engine crane is excellent and copes easily with the Tiger's engine and gearbox, even in the maximum reach position, which is rated (conservatively) at 250 kgs.
My garage has a central beam at 90 inches and I came nowhere near touching that.

There are plenty of new ones on ebay at about £150 like this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sealey-SC10-Foldi ... 20b4bed68d

Two lots of hire charges (weekend or week) will cost about £100 to £150 plus fuel costs so it is best to buy your own, or borrow from a local friendly Tiger owner.
If you buy one new you will be able to resell it without any difficulty, at a negligible loss. There is always a big demand for engine cranes, especially the Sealey 1 tonne.

Here is a used one in Crewe:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sealey-PH10-Foldi ... 3cb6b497d8

The key point is to get the Tiger high enough before you go any further.

Support it on 4 heavy duty (not the “easy bend” type) axle stands so that the front valance is at least 25.5 inches off the ground. (or front bumper at 30.5 inches).
Instead of using lifting chains go to the breakers and buy two long seat belts for a few pounds. The lump needs support at the front and rear.

You will need to remove the carb to reduce the effective height of the lump.
Also remove the water pump because the gearbox tailshaft has to move forwards quite a distance to clear the tunnel.

I've just checked and the bottom of the joists in 80 inches.

Thanks for the info, very helpful indeed.

Any recommendations for an engine stand?

Engine stands are much of a muchness really. You only really need something like a 350 kgs rated stand.

The new price for a 350 kgs one is about £45 to £50, such as this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sealey-350Kg-Engi ... 56350ea462

A used one in Wareham, near Swanage:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Engine-stand-/280 ... 41587d9e30

Maybe one of the Tiger owners visiting Swanage this weekend will collect it for you if you ask nicely!

There is a used 1000 lbs rated one in Wolverhampton:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HEAVY-DUTY-ENGINE ... 4158438c72

I put my engine and gearbox in from underneath as the front suspension was in pieces. Still had the rear axle fitted and lifted the front up very high, slid the engine in and then lifted it up and back a couple of times, and lowered the body, engine just cleared the valance and gearbox just cleared the mount bracket. All done in a normal single garage, possible a bit easier than swinging a heavy engine. If you have normal exhaust manifolds fitted they just scrape the chassis rails paint.

Just to add that I made a low-profile trolley by screwing a pair of appliance rollers to a sheet of plywood. The engine and gearbox were lowered onto this and rolled forwards and out.
With regard to exhaust manifolds it is best to remove one, if not both, to give more clearance.

Appliance rollers:
http://www.screwfix.com/p/appliance-rol ... et%20Steel#

These are much cheaper on ebay.

I can see the attraction of removing it by going under the car but I do have a severe space issue and will probably have to push the car out of the garage while I inspect/clean and tidy the engine and inspect the underside of the car.
The back of the car is around 8 inches from the garage door and around 18 inches at the front.

Thanks for the info on engine stands too.

I sympathise about the lack of garage space. There is never enough room to work comfortably.
Does anybody take the engine and gearbox out through the top these days, as per the Tiger workshop manual (Section B-Engine, page 53)?
Just look at the crane height and the height of the roof!
Not your everyday home garage and not your average engine crane either.
As far as I know virtually all Tiger engines and gearboxes are dropped out.

I've just had a look at the manual. I see what you mean.

V8 burble wrote:anybody take the engine and gearbox out through the top these days, as per the Tiger workshop manual (Section B-Engine, page 53)?

Did that once, in my naïve days - won't be doing that again.

Decided to take the engine out as a rocker had failed, if I only I knew then......

Whilst on the topic of engine removal. I don't think instructions on the way to do it come more to the point than this note by STOC man Owain Lloyd, posted elsewhere.

- Undo transmission/gearbox mount (all 4 bolts),
- Removing the driveshaft makes it easier but isn't necessary,
- Disconnect speedo cable (one 7/16 retainer bolt),
- Remove shifter from inside the car (2 bolts)
- Remove headers and engine mount brackets,
- Disconnect clutch slave hose,
- Disconnect coolant temp sender,
- Disconnect distributor wires,
- Disconnect hoses to heater core,
- Undo engine ground strap,
- Disconnect starter motor,
- Remove fanbelt, fan and alternator/generator,
- Removing the distributor cap and rotor helps a little too.

Drop engine a little and pull it forward out of the x frame. Drop it further, lift car a little more (I use the engine crane which is no longer holding the engine to lift the car about another 6 inches of the axle stands). Roll engine forward and out. I think that's it."

Graham

Thanks very much Graham, that's going to be really handy.

It does seem to be missing trapping your hand, crushing your finger, calling it a *******, banging your head a dozen times and the obligatory seized/rounded nut or bolt.

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Martin. Thats how I had the car when I took the engine out. Slide it out througfh the wheel arch. Just snuck through with the carby off.
Hope you have a bit of width to your garage.

Mal,

Oh to have a fraction of that lovely garage space!

Graham,
Owain Lloyd's instructions are fine.
For the benefit of those unfamiliar with Tiger engine/gearbox removal it is first necessary to remove the front suspension assembly as a unit.

Warning:
This unit is very heavy and because of the crossmember's horseshoe shape it is inherently unstable.

Please take extreme care to ensure that the jack does not slip on the crossmember, which it is only too ready to do, either when raising the car body initially, or later when supporting the crossmember as the suspension unit is lowered.
Fasten the head of the jack to the crossmember with strong cable ties or similar.

I strongly recommend that two helpers steady the suspension unit via the hubs as it is lowered on the jack.