>Also, be very careful on supporting the rear of the engine. I'm not sure
>what to suggest. The rear of the oil pan is angled, so you really can't
>get a good spot for full support.
Terry suggested:
>Use a piece of wood that
>straddles the back of the oil pan.
I agree with Terry 100%. I also did that. It was just that the wood block was also on the same angle. So the spot where the jack hit the wood was not a flat surface, but the tip of the jack pad hitting the wood. I did not have any problems occur with it. But I was always anxious about the precarious balance, the lack of solid connection, and the torque the weight was putting on the tip of the jack pad.
I would also like to point out that I did not list everything to do this, as others had pointed out some of the other stuff, like disconnecting the exhaust pipe and removing the oil filler spout or the entire valve cover. I am surprised at the different experience Terry had. I know for certain my valve cover came up against the fire wall before I had enough clearance to pull the transmission out. I think it is possible that the fan never would have hit. But, I know I had to take the radiator tubes off, because I didn't at first and they interfered. Mine is a SV too (albeit a very late SV), so I would have expected the same result as far as the valve cover. Maybe my engine sits back farther for some reason.
One thing I did was raise the REAR of the car so that when I finally got the engine lowered, it might be closer to horizontal with the ground. That would allow a straight back pull ontop of a jack. I was not able to get the car up high enough to accomplish that horizontal, and still had to deal with it hanging down. Maybe you can get it even higher.
One thing I do not have is a real big floor jack - you know those shop type ones with the long, attached handle that sticks up a good 4 feet. I have one of the smaller ones. Maybe there is a difference in the ability to balance things. And, maybe that explains the ease some had with the job, and the troubles I had. Just a thought. But, I really did have a bad time trying to get the tranny back in at an angle. I had to both tip the tranny on the jack at the same time as I was pushing it forward, at the same time as I was adjusting the angle to get it aligned, at the same time as I was trying to stop the tranny from rotating to the side. Maybe I did something wrong. Maybe I just need a larger jack. Hmmm, it is that time of year, Honey . . . .
Jay