It's a long way from the front bumper to carburetor pad!

Invested in a Duralast cherry picker and plan to pull the 318 from my '72 SSP project car today. This two ton rated cherry picker has four adjustable extension settings: 2 ton, 1 1/2 ton, 1 ton, and 1/2 ton. All the way extended is 1/2 ton and the hook just barely reaches the carb pad at that setting. According to the charts, the small block weighs in at 525 pounds. I guess I better at least remove the exhaust manifolds so I don't overbalance the darn thing.

Try pulling a big block with tranny! My HF crane is probably built on the same Chinese floor, but it hoisted my old iron headed 413 and trans no problem.

Don't worry about it I pull big blocks on the lightest setting

You will have better reach with the cherry picker if you go from the side, just have to remove the tire, and should be able to use the 1 ton setting if you are concerned about lifting on the 1/2 ton setting. This only works if you are not pulling trans and engine at the same time.

Just make sure the legs are extended at least as far as the hook, more if possible.

I've R&Red big block with the tranny a many a time on the 1/2 ton position.

Motor has been extracted, never thought about trying it from the side. The legs protrude about a foot past where the hook is hanging.

I am trying to find the oll leak after last months rear main seal replacement. It's fairly clean and almost dry around the back of the block and with the oil change the oil is clear and hard to see, not black and sooty. I do see one of the small rubber "tits" that hold the rear oil pan seal in place is not protruding from the tiny hole that is supposed to secure it properly.

All I can tell you is that after starting and idling the motor for 20-30 minutes (on two consecutive days) after the seal replacement, there was NO leak. Only after driving 10 miles in 20 minutes did it start to drip about every 3 seconds or so. Idling it a second time for 20-30 minutes the next day it was good and dry until I went out for another twenty minute drive, then it started dripping again.

Well, taking the entire motor back to my nephew's shop this week. He changed the rear main seal and oil pan gasket and it should be his problem, not mine. Pulling the motor was no big deal, i have been much more frustrated trying to change spark plugs on other motors.

Could very well be the pan gasket. Oh, 1/2ton=1000lbs.

Dibbons said:

Invested in a Duralast cherry picker and plan to pull the 318 from my '72 SSP project car today. This two ton rated cherry picker has four adjustable extension settings: 2 ton, 1 1/2 ton, 1 ton, and 1/2 ton. All the way extended is 1/2 ton and the hook just barely reaches the carb pad at that setting. According to the charts, the small block weighs in at 525 pounds. I guess I better at least remove the exhaust manifolds so I don't overbalance the darn thing.

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I think, considering the situation, you rent a heavy duty picker with longer reach and capable of more weight. This is not a place to gamble with "here say" unless you got a $hit load of spare parts. " Always time to do it twice, never time to do it right!"

The reach was just enough for extraction, hopefully I will have enough wiggle room to get it installed again. I taped some cardboard to the chrome front bumper just in case it rubbed.

Repeat entry

Hood off- good guess KK!!!!

Any chance its a leaky valve cover?

I have the engine out here on the garage floor and it is DRY everywhere above the circle of bolts that connect the transmission and engine. I wish it were a valve cover!

I have pulled the 426 Hemi with A/C out of my RR with a Harbor Freight 2 ton cherry picker with the boom set at the 1/2 ton setting with not problems.
Remember most all of the cherry picker Brands are all China made. If I remember correctly they must have a 50% over weight safety factor.

Back to the undiagnosed oil leak (rear main seal/oil pan gasket), isn't there a way to determine the origin of an oil leak using smoke of some kind? I have a faint memory of seeing that explained/discussed somewhere before.

YY1 said:

Just make sure the legs are extended at least as far as the hook, more if possible.

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^^^This for sure.^^^
You could add some ballast to the rear of the hoist if you find you're at the over center tipping point. Maybe beef up and lengthen the boom extension a whole 3 inches longer?
Lift the rear of the car to ease the angle.

Dibbons said:

Back to the undiagnosed oil leak (rear main seal/oil pan gasket), isn't there a way to determine the origin of an oil leak using smoke of some kind? I have a faint memory of seeing that explained/discussed somewhere before.

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Here is what I just posted on fABO:

OK guys and gals, this is the final solution: I used invisible smoke! Standby:
a) I cut off the top two inches (male part where the cap screws on) of a plastic 600ml coke container
b) I attached the "cone" I made from the plastic coke bottle to the business end of a personal hair dryer with wide masking tape.
c) i was going to connect a hose from the "cone" end of the hair dryer to somewhere on the crankcase of the motor, but much to my surprise, the male end of the "cone" made a good tight seal when I shoved it in the grommet of the valve cover breather!
d) I prepared some soapy water, a small paint brush, to help me make bubbles in any suspected leak areas. I also brought over a length of clean fuel hose to help me "listen" for any leaks.
e) I set the dryer switch on the "cool" setting, wondering at the same time if their was going to be any chance of a crankcase explosion from latent gasoline fumes.
f) I turned the hair dryer on to it's highest fan setting.
g) I put one end of the fuel hose to my right ear and the other end to the dipstick tube (with the dipstick still inserted). I could definitely hear air escaping at that point.
10) I put the hose in the drivers side, rear corner of the oil pan and I could hear some background air noise. But then I put the hose in some other areas and heard the same background noise. i figured I was not hearing a leak, just noise from the hair dryer being turned on.
11) I put the hose in the passenger side, rear corner of the oil pan (where I noticed earlier the locating rubber tab/tit was not protruding through the appropriate hole in the oil pan flange like it should). Here I heard a rush of air 5 or 10 times louder than before.
12) I put my fingers in the same spot as #11, and the force of air blowing on my hand was phenomenal!
13) i did not soap up the area to look for bubbles, it seemed obvious that I had already found an open passage from the crankcase to the outside world.
14) I guess my plans to "borrow" (engine swap) the rebuilt 318 motor in my '65 Formula S to begin the road trip in my '72 Satellite Sebring Plus won't be necessary. I will have the mechanic (my nephew) do the oil pan gasket over again and leave the Formula S vehicle alone for now. And this time I have a proven way to show the work was done right (or wrong).

pan gasket beats a rear main any day