Lift body off from the drivetrain

[SeattleTom]

I have a 712K that is leaking in several spots at the drive train. Also the transfer case bearings might be going bad (there is some play at the input shaft where the cardan shaft is bolted on - I am guessing that this is not normal)

I am planning on taking the axles off and replacing the boots and seals and checking the transfer case as well and I want to repaint and restore everything as best as I can while I am at it. Originally my plan was to follow the repair manual and do the rear axles first and then put them back and do the front. Now I am thinking that it might be better in the long run to lift the body off completely and do everything at once. That way I can sandblast and repaint everything at the same time and also check over the engine and steering components (there is some creaking when I turn the steering wheel)

A couple of problems with this - the body has to be lifted much higher (enough to clear the engine) and I don't know how I can lift the front without causing damage. According to the repair manual the the body can be jacked up by the rear bumpers, but the front ones are bolted to the central tube and so I will have to take them off and lift another way.

The front bottom of the tub where it is reinforced for the bumpers looks pretty strong but would be strong enough to jack up under these points? Maybe with U shaped steel plates formed to fit on the outside of these would be better? I don't have a crane or a forklift and will be working in a small residential garage that the truck barely fits in sideways.. Luckily it is long enough that I can roll the drive train out after lifting the body up..

Has anyone here done this?

Thanks!
Tom

front_body_lift.png (976.2 KiB) Viewed 4536 times

[Heinkeljb]

I know nothing about Pinzgauers as i own and run a Haflinger, but just as a general mechanical exercise taking the body off does present a few challenges.

You say your garage is long enough for you to be able to roll the chassis out , so presumably that means it is at least twice as long as the Pinz?
How about height wise? Could you for instance use a hoist and lift the body high enough that way in order to roll the chassis out from under it?

Do you have space outside the front of the garage to be able to park up long enough to build a double "A" frame contraption from which to put two chain hoists and then roll the chassis into the garage. Lower the body work down on to a suitable wheeled dolly to allow you to roll it into the garage after the chassis?

The double "A" frame system could probably be made from scaffolding tubes

Just remember that when taking a vehicle apart and storing the bits, they take up far more space than when they are on the vehicle!

John

[Heinkeljb]

Sorry, double post for some reason. Delete second one.

John

[Stekay]

The areas you indicated are NOT strong enough to lift from. The one's circled are usually fairly rotted from the in side. Check the drain holes just aft of that area. The outer areas are also not that strong. I know someone will chime in with a solution soon though.

[Haf-e]

Hello Tom - This is Christopher from up in Mount Vernon WA - I think you came up to my shop when Andre was out.

I've lifted the front of my pinz a couple of different ways over the years - I also recently noticed that the website for the company Gut-automotive has a photo that shows them lifting an entire 712 camper by the side rails with a hydraulic lift - So I don't think it will be that hard to come up with a workable solution.



http://www.gut-automobile.ch/uploads/Im ... ufLift.jpg

I think the key is using a block of wood to spread out the spot loading to a larger area. If the engine/drivetrain stays on the ground as the body is lifted then the weight should actually be relatively low.

If you don't have the height then lifting it outside and rolling out the drivetrain into the garage and then putting the body on a wheeled pallet and rolling it inside should work.

I'd be up to give you hand when you do it - so let me know what the plan is. Having a few extra people around for something like this is always a good idea.

[TechMOGogy]

Just remember that when taking a vehicle apart and storing the bits, they take up far more space than when they are on the vehicle!

John

Yup - I can attest to that and a Pinz will take up even more space!

[Profpinz]

I'm lucky enough to have a gantry crane in my workshop to lift the bodies/platforms on my rebuilds, but recently I had to lift the rear of the body on my 712 slightly to gain access to the handbrake housing (and replace the brake linings) ......I couldn't get the vehicle into the workshop as the 718 body and driveline is taking up most of the spare space, so I simply undid the mounting bolts and lifted the rear of the body with hi-lift jacks.
At that stage it would have been fairly simple to unbolt the rear bogey and wheel it out.
I'm guessing that I could have supported the rear then done something similar at the front.....mind you if the motor was still in the vehicle the it's height might have been an issue.

Lowering the chassis after the body is supported is also an option........I'm planning on doing the reverse of this when refitting the 718 body because of the K's overall height. I'm going to slide the complete driveline (less wheels and motor) on 3 platforms with small casters, so the overall height of the driveline will be minimal, then lower the body onto it and finally lift the whole assembly/vehicle up so I can fit the wheels,

I know the above are fairly "simplified" descriptions of the processes and I'm sure there would/will be problems to solve, but when you have to work with the space, height, tools and equipment etc that is available, inventiveness is the key to success.

[SeattleTom]

Hi guys, thank you for the replies.

And hello Christopher - yes I remember you and thanks for the offer to help me! I might take you up on that..

I have seen the photo of how GUT lifted that truck and I thought maybe the tub would be strong enough to be lifted even closer to the front somewhere.. That would make it easier to make a stand or maybe even use commercial extra tall jack stands.

The garage is at least twice as long and it does have enough height to lift the body off completely - it is surprisingly tall inside but there is not much room at the door. It is just very narrow (about 10 feet wide) Outside there is no room either - this is in a condo that has a shared driveway so I cannot do anything there.

I almost considered buying a 2 post lift like the one at GUT auto, but apparently the posts need to be at least 3 feet away from the edges and I don't have that much room to work with..

For the rear I am planning on using a 6" x 9' I beam that I bought on craigslist. I made some V blocks that I bolted to the top to keep the bumpers from slipping off.. Originally I was just going to bolt on a couple of pieces of channel steel on the ends to keep it from tipping and stack cribbing lumber under it.

IMG_20141007_172436.png (752.35 KiB) Viewed 4476 times

But now I want more height and was thinking of making something like this with 3" square tubing:

PinzyRearStand.png (8.99 KiB) Viewed 4476 times

I guess the front one would have to look more like an air lift bumper jack of some sort..

But taking the wheels off first and then lowering the drivetrain onto platforms with caster wheels is a good idea.. I will have to think about this some more...

[Profpinz]

If you've got the height and an I-Beam to span the width, why not just put some tube up under the beam to support the vertical weight, brace it all to the walls, then lift the complete body with that......I lift the bodies with a single lift point attached to a basic cradle (3 metre X 100mm square X 3mm tube)

[SeattleTom]

why not just put some tube up under the beam to support the vertical weight, brace it all to the walls, then lift the complete body with that

Because I like to make things more complicated and time consuming than they need to be

Well it is not my garage actually and so I didn't want to make any changes there but I think I might be able to get the OK to do this - it would definitely simplify everything. Have you lifted a complete 712K body with the roof and everything this way? I am wondering whether or not I would need to get a stronger tube for the extra weight.

I noticed that Steyr had a special lifting device for the body though I'm not sure how they attached it - this is from the repair manual:

pinzy_body_lifting_device.png (135.84 KiB) Viewed 4455 times

[Profpinz]

Have you lifted a complete 712K body with the roof and everything this way?

Well yes and no! ....Let me explain.

When I built my new workshop I wanted to build it with a high roof but the local council wouldn't let me, so the roof is lower than what I would have liked....the end result is that with the crane trolley and air hoist in place I can't lift the completely assembled K body high enough to clear the chassis when it has the wheels on, hence I developed the previously mentioned system to fit the finished body.

I did a lift on the complete body about a month ago with a slightly modified approach....albeit very gently and then I only lifted it about 200mm to allow relocation of the body jig.
I slid lifting slings under the body and had the air hoist on one side and the chain block on the other....this system will allow me lift the body right up to the underside of the beam whilst the hoist and block lie parallel down the side of the body.