On my f23a1, do i really need an engine hoist that lays across the engine bay?
Will a cherry picker work to?
Also does any know if autozone or any of these places let you borrow an engine hoist?

 

The engine hoist / support is the correct way to do it (safest too) but a cherry picker will work, (as long as you trust the cherry picker).
What you want to avoid is the "block 'o wood under the engine trick". It has the nasty habit of crushing the pan up into the oil pump pick-up (Bad)

P

 

A floor jack or bottle jack with a piece of wood under the flywheel side of the engine CAN work. As P_Adams said it can easily damage the pan and ultimately the pick up. I've done this several times and it has worked just fine, just use extreme caution. Make sure whatever you use between the jack and the pan has a lot of surface area and go towards an edge. Common sense when doing things you technically shouldn't but can get away with, haha.

 

thanks guys for the reply, accordvt would you mentioned a bigger surface area, like a bigger piece of 2X4?
thanks again!