Rotating engine on stand

[rockdogz]

I have an engine stand rated for 1000lbs. I have a 502 big block on it, and I need to turn it over to replace the oil pan. I'm very nervous about doing this - the whole thing is just held on by 4 (grade 8) bolts. Doesn't seem like enough to support something this massive. Anyway, do I need to be concerned at all? Is the engine relatively balanced so that it won't be too difficult to rotate?

I've been keeping the engine chained to the hoist while it's been on the stand, just as a fallback. If someone could let me know if I have anything to worry about then I'd be most grateful.

Thanks,
Tom

[Matt@RFR]

It's done every day. Depending on what engine stand you have, they can be top heavy, so make sure you have a good hold of it as it's going past 45 degrees. Watch the back of the stand to make sure it's not trying to come out of it's reciever.

Try an all iron early hemi and you'll love spinning that big block!

[zbugger]

Like Matt said, just make sure it's not sliding out of the reciever. If you have a set of cast Iron heads on it, you will want to be careful. It will want to spin itself. Shouldn't be too difficult to control though.

[rockdogz]

Thanks, it actually has aluminum heads, so it's that much lighter. Ok, I'll probably spin away tomorrow...