I have had the misfortune to have an exhaust valve head snapped off and drop into the cylinder, ruining the head and scratching the bore. Now, I am getting the engine block out soon and I have just spent half an hour under the Landy (Defender 300TDI) working out how to do it. I have a hoist to lift the block and a hydraulic jack underneath to take the weight of the gear box.
Now, do I:
- Lift the engine and gearbox together with the hoist so that it is clear of the engine front mountings, then support the gear box with the jack and then split the engine/gearbox currently held together with two bolts. This depends on the flexibilty of the rear mounts and transmission UJ's etc.
- Take the weight of the engine with the hoist, diconnect the two engine front mounting brackets from the engine then support the gear box with the jack and then split the engine/gearbox. This method does not rely on flexing the rear mounts etc. but could be more fiddly.
Both of the above must be considered with the task of replacing the engine, so that the optimum method is chosen.