Engine Lift Plate Myth Buster

[Chris Cogan]

Many people have concerns about using an engine lift plate on an aluminum intake manifold. See the myth busted at http://www.kaizen-ms.com/lift_plte.html

Click on the "Tech page" link to view testing results

Chris Cogan
www.kaizen-ms.com

[Tim H]

I have often questioned these lift plates , which many people use. I guess my concern is focused on the integrity of the $3 carb studs that would be holding the engines weight . I still prefer my old chain draped across the intake manifold from corner to corner.

[FE Rory]

Yesterday I installed the iron head 428 Ford FE in my Fairmont bracket car, complete with flywheel, Lakewood scattershield, clutch assembly and starter, using a manifold lift plate on my 40 year factory Ford aluminum "Sidewinder" intake. I too used to be afraid to use these plates, but after using one, I`ll never go back to chain. I pretty sure that 4 5/16" carb studs in a straight pull, are capable of carrying more weight than 2 3/8" bolts, being loaded in shear. With the car plate, the engines pivot point is centered, and very manuverble, much more so than fighting with a chain trying to turn the engine sideways, and then trying to remove a bolt threaded into the head, pinned against the firewall.

[Chuck Norton]

I have no interest in discussing the precise details of the situation but I saw a big block Chevy aluminum manifold that suffered catastrophic failure in the area of the runners about half way between the carb plate and the heads. The plate was still firmly attached by its four, 5/16" studs. I don't know exactly how much it took to break the casting but it was less than was required to lift the front end of a '69 Camaro convertible off the ground.

[Chris Cogan]

FE,
You are correct. (4) 5/16" studs in tension can handle more than double the load of (2) 3/8" bolts in shear. (given that they are made of the same grade of material)

The studs used in the testing were ARP. After breaking the lift plate at nearly 9000lbs, the studs could still be removed from the aluminum manifold by hand. I was surprised by this. I suspected that the studs would pull out of the manifold before the plate failed. I used an aluminum Edelbrock BBC dual plane manifold in the test. It survived the testing and shows no visible signs of stress.

I designed the features into this plate for several reasons. For one, I could not find a lift plate that had all the carb bolt patterns (4500, 4150, 2300, carter, q-jet, 2 bbl rochester) on one plate. If you are working with various types of engines, a TRULY universal plate sure makes life easier. My dad uses my prototype installing and removing engines from the dyno. So no matter what carb the application requires, he's got it covered. Also, I incorporated a swivel eye to eliminate chain binding and so you can work on the engine while it is hanging from the hoist,(flexplate, mounting brackets, etc) without tripping over the cherry picker legs or banging your head on the boom. You can effortlessly bring the work to you. And finally, the load leveler reduces the amount of man handling required to get dowl pins lined up or disengaged. Between not fighting chain bind and not needing a 3 foot pry bar, my engine compartment paint sure has fewer scraps and nicks. I also reduce bloody knuckles and my language has cleaned up a little. : )

Take care guys.



Chris Cogan
www.kaizen-ms.com

[Chris Cogan]

FE,
You are correct. (4) 5/16" studs in tension can handle more than double the load of (2) 3/8" bolts in shear. (given that they are made of the same grade of material)

The studs used in the testing were ARP. After breaking the lift plate at nearly 9000lbs, the studs could still be removed from the aluminum manifold by hand. I was surprised by this. I suspected that the studs would pull out of the manifold before the plate failed. I used an aluminum Edelbrock BBC dual plane manifold in the test. It survived the testing and shows no visible signs of stress.

I designed the features into this plate for several reasons. For one, I could not find a lift plate that had all the carb bolt patterns (4500, 4150, 2300, carter, q-jet, 2 bbl rochester) on one plate. If you are working with various types of engines, a TRULY universal plate sure makes life easier. My dad uses my prototype installing and removing engines from the dyno. So no matter what carb the application requires, he's got it covered. Also, I incorporated a swivel eye to eliminate chain binding and so you can work on the engine while it is hanging from the hoist,(flexplate, mounting brackets, etc) without tripping over the cherry picker legs or banging your head on the boom. You can effortlessly bring the work to you. And finally, the load leveler reduces the amount of man handling required to get dowl pins lined up or disengaged. Between not fighting chain bind and not needing a 3 foot pry bar, my engine compartment paint sure has fewer scraps and nicks. I also reduce bloody knuckles and my language has cleaned up a little. : )

Take care guys.



Chris Cogan
www.kaizen-ms.com

[Chris Cogan]

Sorry for the double post. Too much coffee this morning has me a little twitchy.

Chris Cogan
www.kaizen-ms.com

[Bruce Fulper]

Yep - engineering shows that those four 5/16th studs of a good grade will do the job.

NEVER will I try it.

But, I also use a four point chain/tilter that works like a dream. With our without a trans - it works great.

I miss step.

[Chris Hill]

Going from memory here, but "generally" the male thread strips before the female thread, given you have the female thread being 1.5x's thicker than the thread diameter.

If you look at the engineering side of fasteners, its really amazing how much clamping load or tensile load they can take.

Chris Hill
Spec 125 Light