As the title says, I'm trying to lift my 305 out to rebuild it after a failed cam break-in led to an excess of bearing in the oil. I've got aluminum heads with angled intake bolts and an aluminum intake. Will an intake-mounted lift plate work, or do I risk ripping the studs out of the intake/bolts out of the heads?

 

The lift plates work just fine just make sure the bolts are snugged up.

 

I use a piece of bar stock with 3 holes bolted to the roller cam retainer plate boses on the roller cam engine in my Express van. I fabricated the bar setup and added a compact U-bolt in the center for the hookup. Not enough room to use a chain across the heads much less with an intake installed. 3 x 5/16-18 bolts easily supported it.

 

I've never trusted those threaded holes in aluminum intakes for supporting that much weight. I used an engine cradle that attaches 4 short chains to 4 of the intake manifold bolts. Yeah, that other way may work 99 times out of 100 but that one time it fails, you don't want to be that guy...

 

 

Can't tell you how many motors I've pulled, back in the day, with one of those plates that goes where the carb would. Whole entirely cast-iron BBC hanging from the 4 carb studs. No problem.

 

I don't like it. It scares me.

I'd prefer 4 steel eyelets attached to the head studs before the intake.

 

Neither the Intake-Manifold or the Cylinder-Head Aluminum-Threads should be used to support the weight of the assembled engine.

Can you get away with it... yes, absolutely!
But it usually only takes one Bolt to pull-out... and down she goes!
It is actually funny... the Engines topple over and roll around like they hardly weigh anything at all.

The Engine should really only be supported by appropriate fasteners in the Cylinder-Block.
I do not like the stresses that the Cylinder-Block has forced upon when lifted improperly.

The Engine was intended to be supported at the Motor-Mount locations, and the Bell-Housing.
Not by the Cylinder-Heads... especially aluminum.

Technically the front of the Cylinder-Block was also intended to support the Engine (Four Bolt-Holes above the Oil-Pan Rail)...
However Cylinder-Blocks produced with Motor-Mount Bolt-Holes, make for the better method to use.

 

Ditto. Just make sure the bolts you use are long enough to get full/near-full thread engagement with the plate bolted snuggly in place and you'll be fine.

 

"Entirely cast iron" is the thing here. I'm not worried about the studs; I've used carb studs as exhaust studs before, they can take it. What I'm worried about is the threads pulling out of the intake, or the intake bolts pulling the threads out of the heads.

 

I'd use a carb pad lift plate anytime on alum intake, provided that the intake isn't heavily ported. Also like mentioned in previous post, bolts that engage enough threads & are properly tightened.

 

It amazes me how you guys believe that Boring a Cylinder-Block without the applied stresses of a Torque-Plate can allow for misalignment/ untrue dimensions.
And that torquing Cylinder-Head Bolts in the "wrong" order can allow for warping/ shift/ untrue dimentions...

Well what do you think happens when Aluminum-Heads or an Aluminum Intake-Manifold has stresses applied (from holding the Engine up) that were not intended for these parts to deal with.

Anyone here ever see how easily an Automatic Transmission Valve-Body will warp/ shift/ or become untrue...
Just from a few Bolts being tightened a matter of Inch/ Pounds more than intended?

 

Is that why my carb baseplates are always warped?

 

When I did my TPI swap in my Monte Carlo SS I installed the engine/with alum heads the same way GM did it. GM had plates that installed to the front and back on the cylinder heads, opposite corners. Back in the 70's GM left those plates in place on the engines since they did not interfere with anything. When they went with TPI, the plates would be in the way and they must have removed them after installation. I installed chains at the front, both passenger side and DS cylinder heads front and back. They formed a "V" at the front and back of the engine I then attached the chains to an engine tilter. I used grade 5 - 8 bolts in the connection.

 

Yes they did.

And they also have said not to machine a new Valve-Job on Cylinder-Heads that require a Valve-Job...
90% Loss on the Leak-Down.
Slap some Valve Grinding Compound on the Seat, toss the Valve in an Electric-Drill, and go to town...
Only 50% Loss now... Perfect! ...Ship it!!!

They have done many, many things just like this...
To save as much time and money as possible!

I was given front row seats to that "****-Show" for the better part of Two Decades.

 

Heat helps when alum parts warp while Tightened, alum looses a lot of strength with heat since it melts so low. Alum has a tendency to creep. So don't leave your engine hanging from the lift plate for a few months while over a fire.

Castings generally are pretty stiff/hard/rigid I'd be more worried bout it cracking and I'm not. Cold cast alum is pretty strong, lots of suspension pieces are made out of alum that see more load than the intake being lifted by a plate will.

 

LOL!

 

I use to have several sets of those from cars I had or scrapped but peeps would load up or barrow n not return them. Only have one precious set left!

 

I have one or two brackets somewhere. GM performance parts still has them in their catalog.

 

Assume these are what you mean https://www.gmperformancemotor.com/parts/12363238.html

But this is what I'm talking bout the larger two bolt bracket, use to have several https://www.classicindustries.com/product/1256601.html

I'll cut n weld up my own out of various old random scrap brackets when/if needed. I actually have one of those four point levelers but sometimes it's gonna be too high and hooks n a chain will only work.

 

I'm not worried about the strength of the heads or intake manifold themselves. I simply don't trust the four 5/16" threaded carb stud holes in an aluminum manifold, for supporting 600 or more pounds of weight. Do whatever you like, but it's not hard or expensive to use the hoist cradle that I like to use, which attaches to 4 points with 3/8" grade-8 bolts through the manifold into the cylinder heads. It also has an angle adjustment which makes the job even easier. I dropped the engine and transmission into the car together...

 

The lift plates have been around long enough that we'd know if they were not a good idea. The forums would be filled with "Lift Plate Ruined My Intake!!!" post or crushed oil pans, Feet & Dogos!

There is no question the 5/16 bolts with popper thread engagement can do the job, just have to do some research and I'd bet you'll find the same about the alum threads. In my experience alum threads fail due to corrosion or over torque more than pulled out by a high load. I lifted a full sbc with a engine stand on it by lift plate and it didn't fall or damage the intake but the intake was in good condition, even was a china vortec 8 smaller bolts into the heads intake.

I'll admit I haven't used them a ton and Everybody has to do what they comfortable with doing. I sure as heck made sure that I had good correct strong properly tightened bolts with washers.

 

Like I said, SBCs can definitely be lifted this way...
It is just not ideal, and could cost you extra at your Machinist to return everything to being as square as possible before the next rebuild.

The majority of Engines, that have come through my Shop with issues that were most likely a result of hoisting the Engine this way...
Have been (Customer Built) Turbocharged, Stock Aluminum Gen-4 SBCs, that the Customer could not get any type of Head-Gasket to seal...
Right after assembling the Engine.
Some of these Engines had been Decked and Bored just before assembly (and yes verified that the Machine Work was correct).

 

I've personally witnessed one break (the plate itself) and the engine plummet to the ground, crushing the oil pan. Granted that's only one, and the plate may have been used countless times before that (this was at a junkyard), but I'll stick to the method I use...

 

So how & where did the lift plate break exactly? I'd bet it's most likely a manufacturing defect depending on how it broke. I have a HF engine stand that was welded terrible! There is a huge gap where it should of been welded, only noticed when I built a handle extension and I'll fix/weld it someday if I remember LOL

 

Actually was looking for the style lift hooks that I have on ebay, to see if there was some cheap and found those GM catalog ones USED for just under $12 shipped +tax for a pair of them. He had several more sets here is the link for any interested.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/19375485165...torefresh=true

 

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???????....

 

Yeah, I was going to throw in my two cents but it seems the topic has been covered well enough.
Then I double posted.