Don Hundt wrote:

 when I removed my engine, rather than use a jack or engine crane, I built a stout sawhorse out of 2 x 4s, attached a come-along to the sawhorse and engine, raised the rear of the van and lowered it out the bottom. better than balancing it on a jack.
Don
p.s.if anyone worried about the strength of my sawhorse, the 2 x 4s are  doubled into a t cross section on top, reinforced heavily on the legs. a friend of mine also used it to remove an 800lb.+ detroit diesel block from his school bus : )

Paul Borghese wrote:

 Hi, Recently my 1985 Vanagon started idling rough (that is an understatement).  I bought a compression tester and checked the cylinders.  It turns out cylinder 4 has a compression of 75 while the others are >130.  After dumping some oil into the spark plug hole, the compression jumped to 175 then slowly fell back down.  So I want to remove the engine and take a look. Here is a few questions about the removal of the engine: 1.  How heavy is the engine.  Once I get it off the van, is it staying put?  Or can I move it around? 2.  What type of jack(s) should I use to remove the engine.  I have a hydraulic jack with a 6 inch plate on top.  Will that work or should I buy something else? 3. Once I remove the engine, does it take any special skill or expensive tools to rebuild an engine?  Is it something I should be able to do with a copy of the Bentley Manual?  Any ideas on where to buy replacement parts? Thanks, Paul Borghese