Lifting a car to get a FWD eng/trans out - without a lift?

Here is how we did it with Saturn and we could change a whole subframe in an hour in the shop or 70 minutes at the track (some QD wiring was added):

Chock rear wheels
Jack from middle of subframe as high as it will go
Place jack stands
Place two jacks, one under each rear subframe mount and two people jack simultaneously and evenly
Add 7" plinth boxes under Jack stands
Reposition jacks so they are just rear of the sub frame mounts so the subframe can be lowered but the jacks are back-up support for the jack stands

NO ONE puts more than hand and a tool under the car in the high position so we do the disconnecting of things that require being under the car in the first lifted position...we had checklist for each member of the 4-member team.

You can now hook up the hoist and lower the subframe onto the legs of the hoist and roll it out.

Edit:  Forgot...rolling it out meant realloing it out through the wheel well sidways so the intake/valve cover could clear.  This works on 4-cyclinder but maybe not on a V motor...though we have done it (in a much longer time) with the 3800 in our racevan.

I've often pondered if we could do a swap on the saab at the track. We've pulled the assembly out a few times with a lift. It's a tight fit on our car, and I"m not sure what would happen when introducing the angles that come from not lifting straight off. We've kind of accepted that we're just not up to the task of swapping at the track. Even with a lift it's a long process.

One other way, instead of picking the whole thing up then lowering the engine/trans/subframe. You can disconnect everything, then set the subframe onto supports, remove the last bolts holding it together, then lift the car off with the engine crane. This has potential to let you lift the nose of the car higher, but adds the complication of not letting you roll the engine out because the crane legs are in the way. Not sure this is a better way.

Oh, in our case those bolts had been in and out so many times we eventually had to tack weld the driver side body nut.

So like I said, I've only ever done it with a lift. And I don't know what major differences there are between the 93 and 95. But it's not that hard to do, it's just time consuming. Most FWD cars you can drop the whole subframe and drive train, so steps are similar. Make sure you disconnect everything and go slow. You'll find that the car needs to lift higher than you think to clear the engine. I don't know if the 93 uses a shift rod or cables (or if you're automatic). If it has a shift rod be very careful not to catch and bend it. We did that our first time and it messed up shifting completely. We had to pull a spare from another car and swap it in because we couldn't get it bent back correctly.

The hardest part is always lining things back up during reassembly. Even with a lift and the subframe on a pallet stacker it takes a ton of time getting it lined up so the bolts go in again. I think if I was going to even attempt to do it without a lift I would get the car over the subframe and situated flat on jack stands in the air. Then I would find all thread rods the same thread as the subframe bolts and thread in an ~8in section to each bolt location, bonus points if they're tapered/pointed. Then I'd use an engine crane to pick the assembly up from the top so you could have one person lift while others guide the subframe onto those threaded rods which would align it. Then when it's 95% raised, one by one remove the threaded rods and replace with the actual bolts.

I don't have any helpful pictures, sorry. But feel free to shoot me questions here or through email. I'll do my best to share what I can, if I have specific answers.

I think if I were going to do this in a garage without a lift, I'd look at getting an overhead hoist, not an standard engine crane. One of these style:
https://www.harborfreight.com/material- … 41188.html
Because with that you can lift the nose of the car itself without having the engine crane legs in the way of sliding the drivetrain assembly out. Plus it will lift higher.

Just remember if you're dropping the whole subframe you're likely unbolting a bunch of suspension, so you can't support the car on the front wheels. You can still use them, but place them at your front pinch seam jack points instead. Put hockey pucks at the contact so you don't split the 2x4 with the narrow contact area.