I am diving into the world of auto repair with both feet here. I have previously changed oil, replaced spark plugs, swapped alternators, and replaced valve cover gaskets, but now I am preparing for a full engine swap.

Background

My current car is a Dodge Neon. Back in 2012, I was rear-ended and the car was totaled. The other driver's insurance company paid me enough for the total loss of my car to get the frame straightened and keep it on the road until now, but it has been deteriorating rapidly in many respects. The most recent problem is the transmission. I have to hold the shifter to keep the car in 5th gear, or it will pop into neutral. Needless to say, this makes freeway travel no fun at all.

A transmission shop quoted an astronomical repair price that was almost twice what the car was worth before the collision. Instead of following that route, I bought another Dodge Neon from the same year with a half-completed engine rebuild. The block is under the hood, but the head was in the trunk. This other car is not totaled, and has what appears to be a fully-functional transmission! And for $200, how could I pass it up?

And so, we have the components for a project. Car A has a good engine. Car B has a good body, frame, and transmission. All I need to do is swap out engines. Simple, right? Well, obviously not. But I have most of the tools I will need, and all the parts, right here. All I need at the moment is a crane or hoist to pull engines...

The Crane

A nearby town has a Harbor Freight store. This shop is a bit of a gamble. Most of their merchandise is made-in-china knockoffs of big-name brands. The more complex the tool, the less likely it is to hold up, but the prices are dirt cheap. Basic wrenches, screwdrivers, and other hand tools are usually functional. If it's something likely to get lost or damaged, why spend extra? But if it's electronic, it's a crap shoot. I decided to give their 2-ton shop crane a shot when I found a coupon (they always have coupons, of course) that dropped the price to $175.

I also got a free multi-meter. Their ads in the local paper always have coupons for "Get one of these things free when you buy something else," and I calculated it was the best deal even if it doesn't last long.

Assembly

The crane came in two flat-pack boxes, clearly labeled with the contents.

All the nuts, bolts, and washers were in a neatly-divided bubble package backed with cardboard. The contents were nicely labeled. No parts were missing or left over when I was done.

The instruction booklet is well-written in clear English with step-by-step instructions, and the illustrations are mostly good. Another close-up image of a few parts might help aid clarity, and I don't think the bolt length boxes are 1:1 scale, but I had no problems. The exploded view and parts list is nice, too.

Assembling the base wasn't very difficult. A good socket set is necessary for fastening some of the bolts inside the square tubing to attach two of the casters, but that was the only potential problem I found here. Everything at this stage used a 14mm wrench or socket.

The crane proper was a bit more trouble, mostly because I needed to request a hand when putting the crane arm in position. The frame was loosely fastened, and the instructions helpfully suggested what I was going to do anyway, namely leave everything loose until everything else was in place. These nuts and bolts were larger than any of the wrenches I own, so I had to use a pair of adjustable wrenches.

The only part where a second person might be required is attaching the crane arm. It could be done alone in a pinch, but it was far easier to have someone else thread the bolt through the parts while I held the arm in position. Then I bolted on the bottom of the jack piston, pumped the jack a couple times to align it with the lowest point the arm would fall, and bolted the top of the piston in place.

Final step: Make sure everything is snug.

The next part of this process will be buying the proper chains to connect to the engine, and pulling the old motor out of the new car. Perhaps I will post about that project when it happens, but don't expect a lot of photos. I anticipate being far too dirty to be playing with my phone.

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All photos were taken by me, using my Android phone.

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