@Sous asked me about some details on using an engine stand and flipping a 7.3 PSD upside down.

Ive done this a few times with good (safe) engine stands and a couple of times with sketchy, under rated HF junk. I still have all of my fingers and toes - but I don’t recommend the ‘1000lb) HF stands.

Here’s the only pics I have located so far.













Finding the center of mass is a challenge and with the standard engine stand attachments, I’ve always had to compromise good balance to get the brackets attached.

Obviously, the COM is waaay above the crank. The bare heads are 75lbs EACH.

That being said, I have often used the engine hoist to help flip the engine upside down and then back. Then. Although not demonstrated in any of these pics, I leave the hoist hooked up for ‘safety’.

I want to be clear - I DO NOT recommend using the HF so-called ‘1000lb’ engine stand. It’s scary.

Sous specifically asked about bolts. I think you’ll see some engines above with the 4R100 adapter plate and some without? Usually, the (4) long engine/trans bolts will work if you do not use the adapter plate. If you need to use the plate, you’ll need longer bolts. Probably Grade 8 or better. Thread dia and pitch are the same as the head bolts.

If I ever decide to work on these trucks a lot, I will design and build a head for the engine stand that is specifically for the 7.3!!! FWIW, I’ve stopped saying ‘this is the last one’..... Clearly nobody believes me anymore when I say I can quit anytime I want.

Anyway, maybe this generates more questions than answers - but let’s get the party started!!

What have y’all done and what did you learn?

Any questions about what I did? (Let’s keep the discussion about engine stands here and not the engines - pm/txt me or copy and paste pic and start a thread if you’d like)

 

Sous, feel free to add links to my other threads if you think they are relative. If there are questions about what I did back then or you wanna know what I’ve learned since then - ask in those threads and we’ll bring them back from the dead!!

 

I used HF’s heavy engine stand, rated at 2,000lbs I believe and it worked great. When I flipped my engine to install the pan I didn’t have the heads on it at the time so there was that much less weight, still turned easy but I think it tried to walk the mount forward in the tube. Had to pick up on the engine to put the locking bar back in place. I’ll have to track down my pics of the engine on the stand

 

Sorry I don't have any pics, but a good friend of mine has an engine stand that came from a military sale, it's made from some serious gauge materials & has a geared hand crank mechanism for rotating the engine assembly. Because of the gearing ratio you can rest it in absolutely any position & although the biggest motor I've seen on it was a big block Mopar I don't think it would deflect with a fully assembled powerstroke on it.
I'd guess it was designed for the motors in some serious machinery.
Image from Google is similar to my friends stand.

 

Jason, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule in order to show those of us interested how you accomplish mounting an engine to the stand. I know of at least two FTE'rs that are facing this task as I write this and I think your words and images and the words and images of other will help immensely. I will be including this in the 7.3L PSD Tech Folder for future reference.

I encourage anyone and everyone to pitch in a bit of information, even if you feel it is minuscule or a small detail that may seem a bit irrelevant. What is a small detail to you may be a point of concern for someone else...

EagleScout94 posted additional pictures of an engine mounted to a stand, and I thank you for that.

The recommended mounting locations for the bolts going into the engine through the stand bracket were something that I wanted cleared up and I think we are on the right track for that to happen.

The bolts of choice and the lengths used to go through the stand bracket and into the engine were something else that would be useful for someone facing this task. Jason has told us the following...

Does anyone know what the diameter and pitch of the head bolts (engine/trans bolts as well) are in case someone wanted to use new and fresh bolts to hold the engine to the stand?

In addition, I have read that a "worm screw" style stand is a much safer choice than some of the others regarding having the ability to rotate the engine, thoughts?

 

Youll have to either have a massive stand or get the engine mounted in such a way that center of mass is balanced. Those crank style things are awesome on a small block Chevy or a Toyota engine.

They make a stand that the engine sets in the middle (secured at motor mounts) and flips with a crank. It’s HUGE and out of my budget!

 

OK, so unless you have cash to throw away or have a huge shop and do this for a living, then the worm style stands are out of the question. In addition, the Harbor Freight 1,000 lbs stand is scary to use and should be avoided. Based on what Eaglescout94 has told us, the Harbor Freight 2,000 lbs stand is up to the task of holding the 7.3L engine with safety a priority in order for maintenance tasks to be accomplished.

Shovelheadrob has also provided information about a military grade engine stand that is somewhat uncommon, but a great way to mount the engine on a stand.

If anyone has any model recommendations for specific stands they are welcome to post them here. Pictures are always good too, especially if the engine is on the stand and we can see what mounting holes you may have used with that particular stand.

I am looking around the internet for head bolt diameter and pitch in order to start the ball rolling on securing that front. Currently looking through ARP and Mahle documentation.

 

Here's the details. This guy actually built this Stand from scratch.
http://www.alloyavenue.com/vb/showth...Stand-Project&

 

@countrycar , is that a stand that you have or just one you are dreaming about? Do you have a manufacturer and/or model number you can provide us?

 

No It's not mine. I was looking around on the web and came across this one. I attached the forums that I found it on. The old boy that built it is obviously and amazing fabricator/Machinest. If I was going to build a stand which in the future I will be, I'm going to copy this build.

 

Yes, the HF 2000b engine stand is adequate.

I’ve pulled a lot of engines with a ‘2 ton’ HF engine hoist as well.

Does anyone remember the story about this picture? (Btw, that is 8yr old Jordan. Time flies!!! )

 

From what I could gather, the head/transmission bolts are 1/2" diameter at 7" in length. The only information I was able to find regarding pitch was in an ARP instruction sheet which indicates a M12 x 1.75 thread chaser should be used prior to installation of the head bolts.

Going forward I searched the interweb for 7.3L PSD M12 x 1.75 and found that the 1994-1997 used M12 x 1.75 bolts in order to mount the transmission to the engine. I believe that all 7.3L blocks were the same for the most part and especially regarding mounting locations and dimensions.

Searching further via Google for 7.3L PSD M12 x 1.75 I ran across a post on the FTE from 2016 written by @Tugly indicating that the bolts were in fact M12 x 1.75 and the following gems of information...

I think this is a great resource to have in the Tech Folder that will be useful for many years to come for those venturing into removing their engine to mount it on a stand. I know that if I ever have to do this task, I will certainly be inclined to look here in order to ensure I have all of the suggested tools and fasteners available to me.

 

One could also get M12 threaded rod and wind the nuts down as far as they need to go.

This info should be added to the bolt thread list.

 

Sous, you are very thoughtful to be putting this together. I appreciate they way you run things around here. Keep up the good work.

 

It sure ain't pretty... but it ain't Harbor Freight.








On the long lost list of round tuits, is an idea I have about adding a ratcheting crank mechanism with built in catch pawls that can stop rotation without relying on the torque of the T screw. The extra stick out of the shaft behind the stand (to the right in the photo immediately above) is there to accommodate this mystery ratcheting apparatus which I have yet to scrounge. I have a couple of toothed flywheels saved for the purpose, but beyond that, am open to suggestion. And such mechanism has to be able to live outdoors though, cause this cobbled together from scrap steel stand doesn't fold, and relies on residues from the oils previously dripped on it for corrosion control.