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MG MGB Technical - Removing donk... technique

Hi all

I was wondering what everyone's preferred technique was for lifting the engine and tranny from a late MGB. I have a decent crane and engine stand ready to spring into action, and have a few ideas regarding technique which I thought I'd run by you all for comments, critisism etc. etc.

First option... use the rocker studs (longer ones) with large washers from the rocker cover nuts/bolts and a load leveller to lift the engine.

Second, use the rear-most manifold stud and the alternator bracket as securing positions. Again use chain and simply position the lifting hook at the appropriate link to provide the correct lifting angle - no need to use leveller.

Third, and finally, using well-rated rope and sling one edge in-between the tranny and engine and the second edge around the water pump.

In all cases I'll remove (or at least tie-back) the bonnet, raise the front of the car slightly to allow access of the crane and maybe lift the rear of the car to help with the angle.

What do you think? I need to buy some chain/rope... any suggestions of what type and where I could buy some? I was thinking of visiting my local B&Q/Homebase/Focus etc.

Thanks in advance,
Rick.
R Sims

Rick,

I use a load leveller on the rocker studs. Rather than buy the one from machinemart I made my own. It does not have the chains so it uses less height which is important in my garage. I lift engine and box this way. As I have the gearbox cross member mod that makes unbolting the mounts easy I take both out together. Before that I took the engine out on its own once and found the bell to back plate bolts a pain.
David Witham

I take out the engine on its own and support the front of the gearbox on a trolley jack. I find little difficulty with the bell housing bolts. Quite frankly I prefer your third option i.e. with a rope going aronnd between the rear of the sump and the backplate coming up and going round the hoist hook and then going down and around the crank pulley. If you wrap the rope a couple of times round the lifting hook it will maintain the engine level and obviate the need for a leveller. The gearbox is then dragged out from underneath complete with crossmember and reassembly is the reverse of dismantling. You also have the advantage of assembling the crossmember to the gearbox on the bench which is much easier than wrestling with it under the car.
Iain MacKintosh


Font of the car low as possible,wheels chocked. Back of the car as high as possible secured on stands. With the car level there is not enough ground clearance to tilt the engine/gearbox enough to get it over the front of the car. If the back is not high enough the gear box will contact the ground and front of the transmission tunnel and stop you lifting the engine higher. There also needs to be room for you to crawl under there to undo various bolts; driveshaft gearbox etc.

You can undo the bonnet prop and tie back the bonnet. Much easier than trying to refit and align it.

Trolley jack and axle stands. Also wheel chocks.

You need a reasonable trolley jack for lowering and controlling the gearbox height. they are cheap enough nowdays. You don't need a full professional garage style jack (be nice to have one though), but a little one won't do, not a chance. The mid range ones are around $60-$80 (Australian) in K mart. You also need this to jack up the back of the car by the diff' and place axle stands. Radiator must come out, if you leave the grill on, put a bit of carpet over to protect.
I do not trust the tappet cover bolts. In theory they should be OK, some people use them but after all these years they may be fatigued or corroded. I expect that if they were to break it would be when the motor was poised high in the air over the front of the car, or possible you, or both. Murphy's law. I put a couple of loops of strong very strong cord that I happened to have(8mm SPECTRA, "strong as steel" cord from a sailing shop) around the engine front and back and adjusted the loops to position the lifting hook over the rear tappet cover bolt. If you use the bolts I would suggest you have a safety rope in place just in case.

I suggest you spray WF40 or better, penatrine on all the bolts you intend undoing a little while before you start, it all goes with a swing then.

A bit of rubber camping mat or carpet to lay on helps as does swearing a blue streak from time to time.
Have fun and don't forget to empty the oil out of the gear box before you start, like I did once . Very messy.
Peter

Hi Rick,

I split the engine from the gearbox, and left the gearbox in the car.
I used a rope loop round the water pump and under the sump as Iain and Peter suggest.
There is no problem removing it (radiator has to come out for safety), but you need a very long crane to get it back in, or take the front bumper off. My Machine Mart folding crane is too short, and the engine will not go back far enough.

Do change the engine mounts whilst you have the chance, do use new nuts, or run a tap through the nuts, there is very limited access underneath for a spanner.
Martin Layton

Thanks for all the information guys, its mucho appreciated.

I have decided to go down the rope route and have just bought some heavy duty rope rated to 565kgs which is ample for the engine and tranny. I am now deciding on how best to tie the rope and am thinking of using a zeppelin bend (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeppelin_bend) to join the two ends of the rope together to create one large loop that is able to loop around the engine a few times.

What knots do you use/recommend?

Cheers,
Rick.
R Sims

I had a couple of loops around the gearbox to engine join. This took most of the weight.
A loop forward and around some front protuberances. I tied the front loop to the back with a some loops of cord that I could adjust the tension in. A primative engine level. Aim to have the lift around where the rear cover stud is.
Bowlines are always good, and you can get them undone later.
http://www.animatedknots.com/bowlineboating/index.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com

Double Reef knots etc

Inflate the front tyres hard. The forward legs/wheels of my hoist only JUST fit between the MGB ones.
Peter
P.N. Sherman

One other thing to watch out for when you are buying your trolley jack. Some of them have a good lift height, but don't go as low as the others. You need one with a small minimum height as well as a reasonable maximum height.
MGB jacking points are very low to the ground. Particularly under the middle of the front cross member.
Of course I must dutifully remind you not to depend on the trolley jack alone to keep you safe. A jack slipped with me once and if it wasn't for my suddenly acquired powers of teleportation I'd have been squashed. Missed by a hairs breath. Use stands.
P.N. Sherman

OK, I get the gist of the thread, but where does 'donk' come in?
Paul Hunt 2

Hey Paul!

Never heard of a donkey engine!
P L Hills

Having removed hundreds of engines - some with gearbox attached - I have always put the hook of the chain lifter around/on/under the rocker shaft between the center - 4th & 5th rockers when lifting engine only and between 6th & 7th when removing the gearbox as well. NEVER use a rope to lift an engine as they can slip - an engine being refitted by a customer after I had rebuilt the engine shifted in the rope sling and fell on him breaking his leg - badly. When refitting to the car you can either use a crow bar under the front rocker by the water outlet to lever the gearbox up over the cross member or use a trolley jack under the drain plug of the gearbox. If only replacing the engine you will need to put a bar into one of the cylinder head ports to tilt the motor to the left when lining up the bell housing bolts. To realign the gearbox onto the motor back plate use 2 x No3 phillips screw drivers (5/16" dia) in the locating bolt holes - top left & bottom right. Fit the other bolts & then those two. Some engine lifters do not have a swivel hook so you will have to use a piece of chain and shackle as well. The rocker shaft is 5/8" dia and most 1/2 ton lifters only have a 1/4 bolt through the end of the chain so the rocker shaft will never bend with this small load
Garth.
Garth Bagnall

Destructive load testing has shown that weakest point of a load lifting device is the bolt that connects the load chain to the hook. It is commonly made from grade 12.9 alloy steel. A grade 12.9 cap screw, greater then the load chain material diameter may be used. Anything else fails below the safety factor of the hoist.
To many accidents have being caused by this bolt having being worn and or replaced by an inferior mild steel or standard high tensile grade 8 bolt.

Sorry gents, I have being in the lifting industry a long time and have being exposed to many accidents, some fatal caused by this bolt. I feel obligated to warn people about its dangers.

Richard Davidson.
RH Davidson

I'm still using the orrigional but if anyone has doubts about theirs 316 grade stainless is good.
P.N. Sherman

This thread was discussed between 01/08/2007 and 06/08/2007

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