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New engine lifting

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olderthandirt

Well Known Member
I just picked up the Rotax engine and wondering how others have lifted it from box...also lifting while working on it and installing it to firewall..thanks
 
Get the sides of the box removed and get it all unbolted from the mount. It pretty easy for 2 people to lift it.
 
The instructions say remove an exhaust bolt and use that as a lift point, but I wrapped a Kevlar sling around the cylinders and lifted it with a shop crane I got at HF. I left the mounting angles attached so it could sit on my work table while I made all the changes and shroud specified in the KAI.
 
Two of us

Picked it up an set on on the bench. An engine hoist (someone in a nearby EAA chapter has one) is just about requited to bolt it to the airplane-- lots of tweaking required to get eveything aligned.
 
I had the fuselage on 3 inexpensive 4 wheel dollies from Harbor Fright, the wheels fit perfectly into them.
When I was ready to mount the engine I put it on 2 saw horses, leveled and shimmed for height, then moved the fuselage in position and mounted it.
It was an easy one man job.
 
There are two bolt holes in the case behind the reduction unit. Those holes take the same bolts as the carbs (not where the pitot mounts). I took a carb bolt down to the HW store and picked up a couple bolts, nuts, washers and a foot of chain. Screwed the bolts in, backed them up with the nuts and had the chain at the bolt heads with washers. Since the lifting hook for my O-235 is one AN3 case bolt this had to be over kill. Once I had the ring on I followed Vans directions for lifting since this area is covered by the cooling shroud.
 
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lifting engine

I made a bracket that fit on engine where two holes are behind gear case..lifted engine out of box and placed on bench, then removed bracket and fitted fiberglass air box to top of engine, now engine is hung from engine hoist by two straps, one on engine mount in rear and one around gear case..all balance nicely and made installing engine easy...;)
 
I just sling the engine with a strap or rope looped through the two intake manifolds.
I balances relatively well at that point.
All stripped down the engine only weighs about 130 lbs so it is not much load on the manifolds.
 
olderthandirt said:
I just picked up the Rotax engine and wondering how others have lifted it from box...also lifting while working on it and installing it to firewall..thanks
Click to expand...

It was a fairly easy two man lift onto a 1000 pound pneumatic rolling table.

engine3.jpg
 
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