francis,

I sure hope my advice didn't cause you any grief. I have lifted a number of engines in the manner I described with no problems. I would've never thought that you couldn't lift this engine by the oil pan.

Good luck,

------------------
Larry Bible
'84 Euro 240D, 516K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles