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Engine support bar for gearbox and clutch work

Updated: 22 October 2026

You are planning a transverse clutch or gearbox drop with the engine still in the car, and it can sound as if one bar above the bay finishes the job. It does not. The engine support bar holds the engine while mounts or the gearbox connection come free. The gearbox still needs its own support for the short drop. The [engine support bar comparison](/hub/lifting-equipment/engine-support-bar) holds the seven rows and the prices from 19 October 2026. Peter F. checked those listings and UK workshop patterns. There was no lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. If the engine is coming out for a bench rebuild, read [engine support bar vs engine stand](/hub/lifting-equipment/engine-support-bar/sub/engine-support-bar-vs-engine-stand) instead.

You are planning a transverse clutch or gearbox drop with the engine still in the car, and it can sound as if one bar above the bay finishes the job. It does not.

Our top picks

US PRO US PRO under-vehicle support bar 400 kg

Best overall

US PRO US PRO under-vehicle support bar 400 kg
6.5/10about £94.99
View offer
Draper Draper engine and gearbox support 13350

Rank 2

Draper Draper engine and gearbox support 13350
8.8/10about £110.28
View offer
US PRO US PRO engine support beam 500 kg

Best value

US PRO US PRO engine support beam 500 kg
7.2/10about £69.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What the bar is doing on a clutch job
  2. 2.The short drop still needs a support underneath
  3. 3.When a wing bar will not seat
  4. 4.Which listing matches this job, and when to stop

What the bar is doing on a clutch job

Draper describes the 13349 and 13350 as positioning the engine when you replace mounts, and as an aid when you remove transmission parts and gearboxes. The powertrain stays in the car. You unload the mount or bellhousing side, and the bar keeps the engine from tipping once the gearbox no longer carries its share. The bar is not a crane, and it does not walk the gearbox across the floor. BGS and Neilsen listings use the same broad engine-or-gearbox wording. Read that as holding what remains in the bay, not as lifting both masses on one chain. None of these pages prints a combined hang weight. Ranks for each shape are on best engine support bar.

The short drop still needs a support underneath

Professional Motor Mechanic’s Renault Trafic clutch piece lists a vehicle lift, an engine support and a transmission jack. The support goes on before the gearbox mounting comes off. The jack takes the gearbox when the last bellhousing bolts are out. The Ford Focus article supports the engine with a brace or a subframe tool, lowers the assembly slightly, then moves the gearbox onto a transmission jack. Something holds the engine from above or through the subframe. Something else carries the gearbox for the inches it must move. A wing beam does the engine side when the feet can sit in a sound gutter. You still need a transmission jack, or another rated support underneath, for the gearbox. A higher kilogram on the bar does not replace that second support.
US PRO US PRO under-vehicle support bar 400 kg

Testsieger

US PRO US PRO under-vehicle support bar 400 kg
6.5/10about £94.99
View offer

When a wing bar will not seat

Professional Motor Mechanic’s Skoda Octavia clutch article notes there is no inner wing for a beam on that layout, so the workshop used two transmission jacks, one for the engine side and one for the gearbox. If there is no sound inner wing, do not buy a wing bar and hope padding will create a rail. Foot placement, where a gutter does exist, is on how to use an engine support bar. The under-vehicle listing here is the US PRO bar at about £94.99, stated at 400 kg, titled under-vehicle gearbox support. It prints no span and no detailed setup line. Laser Tools and Sealey sell separate under-car frames outside these seven listings. Claims that those frames replace a jack or a top beam are not copied onto the Draper or BGS wing rows.

Which listing matches this job, and when to stop

Match the stated load to the engine you will hold, not to engine plus gearbox, unless you have weighed that combination and it sits under the printed figure. A 500 kg Draper 13350 or Neilsen is a different cap from a 300 kg Draper 13349 or a 315 kg BGS 8515. A bay beyond 1,550 mm does not fit the BGS 8515. Use the under-vehicle US PRO row only for support from below, and confirm the adjustment in the box. Use a wing row when the gutters are sound and inside the printed range. Stop if the gearbox must drop with nothing safe underneath, if the lifting point is unknown, or if the rails are too damaged.

Common questions

Can I remove a transverse gearbox with only an engine support bar?
No. Hold the engine, and support the gearbox separately for the drop. The bar stops the engine tipping when the mounts or bellhousing bolts come free. It does not carry the gearbox across the floor. The Trafic and Focus workshop pieces both keep a transmission jack, or another rated support, under the box.
What if the car has no inner wing for the feet?
Do not force a wing beam. The Octavia example used two transmission jacks because that layout has no inner wing for a traverse. An under-vehicle prop is the other option in this comparison, the US PRO listing at 400 kg, and that page does not print a span. Padding on a wing beam does not create a rail that the car does not have.
Which listing is the under-vehicle prop rather than the wing beam?
The US PRO row B0GWRL5VR2, titled under-vehicle gearbox support, states 400 kg at about £94.99. It says fully adjustable and prints no span. The Draper 13350 and the US PRO 500 kg beam are wing supports. Do not swap them because one was out of stock.
Is a 500 kg bar rated for the engine and the gearbox together?
Only if you know the combined mass and it is below the printed figure. Listings in this comparison describe holding the engine as an aid to gearbox removal, not a combined hang weight. A 500 kg Draper 13350 or Neilsen beam, a 300 kg Draper 13349 and a 315 kg BGS 8515 are different caps for the engine you will hold. This page does not weigh your powertrain.
How far should the powertrain drop?
Only as far as the procedure needs to clear the mounts or bellhousing bolts. The Focus pattern is a slight lower, then the gearbox moves onto a transmission jack. This page is not a model-specific sequence and gives no universal drop. If the engine itself must leave the car, that is a crane and stand job.

Related pages

Engine stand

Engine support bar

Best engine support bar: match the listing to the job

Engine support bar buying guide: span, load and feet

How to use an engine support bar: feet, chain, load

Engine support bar vs engine stand: which job fits

Sources

Public UK sources named below. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts on these seven listings were read on 19 October 2026. Page updated October 2026.

  1. HSE: Working under vehicles (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. LOLER 1998 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. HSE OC 803/69 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. HSE INDG422 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. Draper 13350 engine and gearbox support (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. Draper 13349 and 13350 instructions (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. BGS 8515 universal engine support (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. BSI BS EN 13155:2020+A1:2025 (retrieved 19 October 2026)