shade-tree talk...

[jsmith564`]

man.. i'm glad i can do most of my mechanical work, saves me a ton of $$$$$$$. but when it comes to swapping engine/transmission i'm stuck because i don't have a garage. I know some of you do work in you're driveway. I just don't have anywhere to do that kinda work. I've hung truck bodies in tree limbs ) before and maybe i could have pulled the engine that way but i doubt it. i've also pulled/installed transmissions with a regular jack (FML) wallering around in tranny fluid and dirt, yuck...

how do you guys who don't have access to a garage do you work? i'm just wondering. I hate to pay someone to do something i can do, but this time i'm letting it slide because of the amount of work involved and my lack of resources at the moment.

stories, tips and pics welcome....

[Knight]

Make friends with someone who has a garage


Honestly, I've never been without access to a garage. But, I have done plenty of work outside. Investing in a portable canopy may not be a bad idea. If you have access to a place to store tools/parts, it really shouldn't be too rough to do most projects. And having friends helping always makes things easier and quicker......usually.....

[SMWS6TA]

Walt's right friends make a huge difference. I'm lucky because as a retire vet I can access the base and use there auto shop. If I don't have it they do.

[NE-Firebird]

I did a lot of engine/tranny swaps and engine rebuilds on my parent's driveway. You only need ~20feet in front of the car for the hoist - to pull it back.
After that, you use a furniture dolly, or engine stand for the engine. Cover it well with plastic traps between days, and a light spray of WD-40 helps to keep rust from starting in places.

After that, it's similar to what I do now with my portable garage at my house - the PITA lugging of tools/etc to/from my house to the area. I don't leave anything of value in my portable garage.

When I did an engine swap in my parent's driveway (with the same engine hoist pictured below, which is now rather old),
It was:
haul the hoist up in parts from the basement to yank the engine,
assemble the hoist,
yank the engine,
disassemble the hoist,
put hoist back in basement,
do engine parts swap/rebuild/etc,
haul the hoist up in parts from the basement to install the engine,
assemble the hoist,
install the engine,
disassemble the hoist,
put hoist back in basement,
finish the engine install.

Yes, it was a PITA and time consuming. But, doable. And, as you said, saved me a lot of money.

As for doing a tranny, I have a full-size jack (that sucks big time to haul up from a basement!) and a tranny holder adapter.



Now, I have a portable garage at my house. Not nearly as great as a regular garage.
But, it keeps the rain, sun, snow, etc off of me. If needed, I can use a fan in the summer. If needed in the winter, I can use a kerosene heater (I keep it away from the plastic cover! ).