are we talking a 50lb hitch carrier installed on a subaru with a typical subaru 200lb max tongue weight (giving you only 150lbs of weight to put on it, before working towards breaking / bending the uni-body just behind the rear wheels).


a cheapo little harbor freight equipment trailer is even better, as you can get the weight right over the trailer axle(s).

 

No, you'll need to put it in the back, which means you'll need to protect the floor with something like plywood.

Most N/A motors are upwards of 300lbs.

 

I have lugged 300lbs of industrial equipment like generators,...in the back of my wagon anchored with ratchet straps to the plastic loops,...worrying about stopping short and it breaking loose from its moorings.

(= Peab Loops
http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/61-general-discussions/52269-vocabulary.html#post2519546).

I think I am just going to break down and install a hitch and get a tiny trailer.

 

It's really hard to use a cherry picker and get them in the back back, the hatch/tailgate, interferes with the crane to lower it in.
Take out the front passenger seat, put the seat in the back, then open passenger door front, and cram the sucker right there.

How much weight is the roof rack limit ?

 

i'd find another option.

if you're driving 1/2 mile down the street then sure, tear it up.

you could partially disassemble it and just put the short block on there if you're really stressed to do it this way. put heads, intake, flywheel in the car and just the short block on the hitch.

 

Actually, the carrier would go onto a Toyota 4runner. I am told just put it in the cargo compartment. Sound doable?

 

I know someone that was hit with a chevy 350 in the back.

he was driving a chevy pickup with the engine on a tire and chained in the bed.

he was rear-ended by another truck that mushed the bed of his, ... the engine broke loose and smashed through the wall of the cab.

he got better eventually.

grossgary rebuilds cars, I know he puts the engines on a trailer when he uses a H6 wagon to go interstate.

bheinen74 who also rebuilds cars reported it is a bitcch to put a engine crane into the hatch,...(of anything).
and a 4 runner is not really a tall cabin space a as typically the ladder frame sticks way up over the axles. = whereas the land cruiser has a lot taller glass.

so if a 4 runner can take 450-700 on the hitch I guess you are OK to put it there, (depending upon the vehicle)...but I would be out to put it on a trailer

what happened to your EJ253 that you actually need a replacement engine for it? everyone does head gaskets on 2000-2009 EJ25 engines,...the donor "hopefully" is listed as already done with multilayer steel gaskets.

 

I have a fairly noisy (what I think is a rod) noise from it until it gets nice and warm. It has had the right side HG done before I bought the car. BTW, I have only about $600 out of pocket into this car. So, when I saw this motor available, I decided that it would be to my advantage to buy a motor, rather than call AAA to come get me and the car. This way I can do a swap and not worry about a rappy bottom end leaving me stranded.

 

I have a fairly noisy (what I think is a rod) noise from it until it gets nice and warm.

knocking that goes away when warm is typically piston slap. drive it another 100,000 miles without issue.

i'm fairly certain rod knock does not go away due to temps.

check the timing tensioner - they can rap hard if the hydraulic mechanism looses oil/tensioning ability. sounds catastrophic as you get metal on metal rapping noise when the tensioner bounces up an down. although i wouldn't expect it to consistently quiet as the car warms - but i haven't seen a ton of failed ones.

i wish i had a trailer EE. i have borrowed a few but not for an engine. i have a boat trailer and tow dolly (no tag or inspection needed). i've put them in trunks of a sedan, back of my OBW, or back of my truck.

for a wagon, lift it up and in. if you can't, take a helper. i manhandled an H6 in my OBW by myself this year. act like you're 22 again, wait until your wife is watching, then talk trash to the engine when you're done. you can make fun of me and my blown out back in 10 years.

 

true, lifting heavy is a terrible idea.

 

and I would have to look at the NY state trailer law, about what is a
un-plated tow dolly vs. a trailer.

The last item I recall lifting that I could actually feel the discs bulging in my back was a normal size girlfriend. (groom carrying bride style).....piggy back style would put more weight on the legs,...a living person "may" adjust their weight to make them easier to carry vs. a engine block though.

________


So Gary if you lug engine blocks in the back of your subarus, do you have any custom steel anchor loops to try to get the weight affixed to the unibody? or are you just driving "happy go lucky",...wife in passenger seat staring at the engine.?

 

in WV we can have a tow dolly and it flies under the radar - no tags or inspection which is what i don't want to deal with. i looked into getting maine tags like everyone else for a trailer but i think they want you to have one trailer in your home state first to be legit.

in a sedan the engine is nearly locked in place and can't move much, trunk sometimes won't close, so it's not going anywhere or easily braced.

truck, use tie downs or tires or both. i think i've only ever used a wagon once and it was a really short, low speed trip - for this most recent H6 headgasket job actually. i moved it from home to office. i don't know if my wife has ever been in the car when i have an engine in the back, i've bought far more parts cars than engines.

 

without a crane that 6" drop into the trunk floor is a real b;tch for big stuff on your back. I have hauled some big walkbehind mowers in both cars and I will never put one in the sedan again.

and although I hate putting stuff on wheels in the back of the wagon as it can break loose easier,...it is so much better on my back to get in and out.



______

hope you remembered if you got heavy crap and the back seats are up you can engage the seatbelts in a X pattern. (passenger side in the drivers side buckle etc) and engage the retractors.

even though gen2 sedans the seats don't open, the seat belt webbing can take a impact of a couple hundred pounds of human.

somewhere IIHS or NHTSA recommended this,...and showed tests of concrete blocks hitting sedan back seats with the belts engaged and without.

 

two men and a trunk

 

Save your car interior and save your back. Rent both a truck and an engine hoist.

Take the truck and hoist when you pick up the engine - there will be no problem loading and transporting it.

Use hoist to remove it from truck - now you're done with the truck, maybe costs you half day rental max. and $50.

Keep the hoist to remove old engine and install new one.

Trust me; I've picked up a Datsun L16 engine (with friend helping) and regretted it.

 

I had the timing belt and associated parts changed out about 1000 miles back; not knowing the service history of the car I thought that to be a smart thing to do. I was hoping the noise was the tensioner as well but it wasn't. It did however teach me that the ECU will do all manner of strange behaviors unless the thing is rebooted, so to say. It had a wonky idle the next few days until I reset it.
So, GG, you're of the opinion that what I'm interpreting as a rappy bottom end is actually piston slap? The motor has 169K on it, gets around 26MPG on average and doesn't appear to be using any oil through leakage on burning. Wouldn't piston wear and the associated wear on the rings allow at least some oil to go through? Good lord, this thing reminds me of my old powerstroke on these cold days!
I find that as I drive off, short shifting seems to keep the noise down some, it is loudest at 2500-2900 RPM, when I get to the big road I keep it at 55 to 60 for a few miles the kick it up for the ride. As it warms it quiets down, this is typical of piston slap? Maybe I'm obsessing over nothing, let's hope so.

 

So, GG, you're of the opinion that what I'm interpreting as a rappy bottom end is actually piston slap?

Sort of - I don't have much opinion on a car I can't see, hear, drive, or touch.

What is common knowledge is piston slap decreases as engine temps increase and rod knock does not.

It's up to you to take those facts, get some more feedback on piston slap/rod knock differences, and apply them to your situation.

And yes - piston slap can and does sound like a huge loud diesel engine sometimes.

 

So today I had the opportunity to drive the OB around quite a bit. She was pretty quite once warmed up and ran real nice- except for a bit of misbehavior with the idle, it wanted to idle down pretty low from time to time. So, I will still be picking up a spare motor and carrying it on a hitch hauler using the wifes 4Runner and a HF hauler. This motor will be cleaned up and I will do the timing gear and whatever else is needed. When the current motor craps out I will replace it with the new(er) one. Thank you everyone for your insights on this. GG- I believe you nailed it with the piston slap!

 

lots of things can make for a little low idle laboring

(I think it is supposed to be 750rpms when warm)

maybe some seafoam spray is in your future. (modern aerosol can into the intake)

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/99-do-yourself-illustrated-guides/14294-seafoam-h6-3-0-compiled-how.html#post2210418
@Kitesurfer805 made a nice pic thread here about his first head gasket job, his area of california had few EJ25 SOHCs around so he used a JDM. ...and he is working on a 2nd car.


http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/110-gen-2-2000-2004/165417-jdm-engine-swap.html

 

I've carried engines in the back of my OBW a few times. Bring an unmounted tire and heave it up in there, oil pan in the middle of the tire to balance it. . . or you can let it roll backwards and rest on the bellhousing studs if no tire available. Just make sure all the coolant is drained otherwise you'll have a mess on your hands. You pretty much will anyway but a little foresight helps.

Picking up a 4cyl isn't too bad. . . with 2 people it's not much worse than lifting a bag of cement.

I don't think I'd trust a hitch mounted carrier with that. If it breaks/breaks free you've got a 200+ lb mass bouncing down the highway chasing after you like the boulder from Raiders of the Lost Ark.