Used to see homemade engine hoists all over the northwest. Made from 4 - 6" to 8" diameter log poles for legs and 8" diameter log for the hoist beam. Some 2x scrap lumber for cross and knee braces and a handful of 16 and 20d nails to assemble it. You'd see these along with used appliances in the front yard of a 5 acre parcel with a mobile home pretty regularly in these parts.

 

My neighbor was contemplating a big wooden apparatus because he needed a lot of headroom to yank the 454 out of his boat. I suggested we use the mighty oak tree between our properties.

 

I'm with the "rent one" crowd.

It'll likely be a better tool than you could purchase for any price approaching reasonable, and you can return it when you're finished and not have to store & maintain it. Remove the truck's front wheels to lower it if necessary, that's what I did when doing this job on my F350.

To add to that, you don't have to design, build & maintain a homemade apparatus, you can spend your time & money on the actual task/project.

There is absolutely no shame in renting seldom-used tools, e.g. transmission jacks, engine hoists, scaffolds, roto-tillers, carpet steam cleaners, auger drills, etc. Let somebody else worry about financing the purchase of said tools, their periodic scheduled maintenance & repairs, storing them when not in use, etc. You can just borrow (rent) it, use it for your project, then return it and be done with it.

 

Well, I broke down, opened my Scotsman's Wallet, and purchased a big beefy engine hoist. I found a good deal on a used model and am giving it a good once-over to make sure everything is good.

Now on to my next question. Pros and cons please, for the various methods of attaching the hoist to the engine.

A fixed plate where the carb attaches to the intake manifold?:




Or an adjustable leveler?:





Overall height may be an issue, so I'm leaning towards the fixed plate. Other options?

 

It's only $33.00 You maybe able to get one from Harbor Fright too. The chain length is adjustable. It does give you more options for adjustments.

 

Stay away from that adjustable leveler. Those plates that bolt to the carb can work fine. I made one that I used on a Chevy small block.

I prefer to use a piece of chain though. If you opt for chain, just make sure the lift's hook can't go sliding. Doesn't take much because it won't really want to slide. More just for precaution.

 

I love the leveler for installation purposes, I attach it to exhaust manifold bolts when both pulling & installing. It's been a while since I used it, but I think the chains can be shortened.

I've heard of people using the carburetor mounting bolts for this job, but they just don't strike me as being stout enough for the job (although I may well be wrong, as people do it and it seems to work).

 

I've been working on the used hoist I purchased. Looks to be no-name Chinese, but is beefier than most with extra gusseting and braces. Some of the hardware appears to have been replaced and looks somewhat suspect, so am replacing it with some Grade 8 stuff.

In all of this, I gets to thinking. I've decided to keep it instead of selling it when I'm done, but this hoist does NOT fold up for storage. Most likely I'll partially disassemble and put the pieces in the garage attic. Rather than use regular threaded fasteners (Grade 8), what about hitch pins for any shear-loaded fasteners, such as at each end of the hydraulic cylinder? I calculate the use of quick-release pins might save me an entire three or four minutes once every decade, so the math works out. The important thing is this mod would look really cool.

Is the shear strength of a hitch pin (used on a receiver hitch) anywhere close to a bolt of the same diameter? Is a Grade 8 bolt even the right thing to use? I vaguely remember hearing Grade 8 can be too brittle for a high-shear application, and will snap instead of deforming. Is that just an old wives' tale?

Here's the type of hitch pin I might use:








Or maybe even something like this, with a D handle:

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/pr...gth-s071021cts




Thoughts?

 

Shear strength is based on yield strength of the steel. Allowable shear stress is typically taken as 0.4 Fy. If the yield strength Fy and diameter are the same the allowable shear load will also be the same.

 

My guess is that an engine hoist is probably assembled with grade 36 or grade 50 bolts at most. The grade being the yield stress Fy.

SAE grade 8 are high strength bolts. Fy of 130 ksi. Probably overkill for a typical Harry homeowner engine hoist.

I'd say check the original bolts and use pins of the same grade...

 

I've had one of those hoists for years and they sure are handy for lifting lots of things, but removing engines still presents many challenges. Just pulled one on my 86 Bronco and I would have to say your exhaust system will be the enemy. Get the pipes disconnected and get the headers/manifolds out of the engine bay.

Also just watched this video of a guy pulling a 5.0 out of a bricknose. I can certainly feel the pain!

 

I usually buy seldom used tools, used and then resell them when I am done. Gave $100 for my hoist and resold for $150.

Either the load levelers aren’t worth the trouble or I’m not smart enough to use them. I’ve had good luck with the car mounting plate pulling a Chevy 350. I also have simply uses chains and grade 8 bolts in through the exhaust manifold bolt holes. I have also taken off the front wheels to make things easier. And be sure to remove your radiator or else it could get damaged I killed my perfect twin in my 88.



As high as it goes. 351W.

A handy tool.

 

Hoping to have replacement engine 2.0 (351W) ready to install soon, possibly this weekend. I'm curious what others have used for attaching the hook on the cherry picker to the engine.

I have been using a homemade lift adapter that bolts across the top of the intake manifold, with the carb removed. It is just a length of stout angle iron that picks up two unused 7/16 bolt holes near the front and back of the manifold. In the middle, I've got a piece of chain about 8" long to connect to the cherry picker. This has worked well and let me remove/install the engine without removing the hood.





But alas, my tired old back is complaining. As much as possible, I'd like to limit time spent under the hood. One thing I'd really like to do is install the carb, heat shield, wiring, vacuum lines, etc, while still on the engine stand. Ideally, I could fabricate a rigid piece that goes up and over the carb, and attach the chain there. I don't mind a few hours of fabrication if it reduces time spent under the hood. Of course I don't want to risk damaging the carb, so that's why I'm thinking a rigid piece over the carb. Or something side-to-side, down to the exhaust manifold bolts? Any thoughts?

A load leveler won't really work, even with the chains shortened, as there is not enough clearance at the back where the engine tucks under the firewall overhang. I've tried and had to give up on that option.

 

A swivel hook might be some help.
Look them up on google, I'd post a link, but having a hard time doing that lately.


I don't understand why the load leveler won't work... I know you still have the hood in place...

Think about for a while, I'm sure you'll come up with something.

Or that carb plate in post #19

 

Got one! It was one of the first mods I made to the hoist. It let me turn the engine 90 degrees and slide it forward during removal, before raising it to clear the the grill. This helped big time with clearance with the hood.

The load leveler would work, but not with the carb installed. The aft end of the engine tucks under an overhang in the firewall. If I keep the leveler chains long enough to clear the carb, the leveler won't fit under the overhang. If I shorten the chains to clear the overhang, the body of the leveler hits the carb. The hood isn't an issue with the load leveler.


I'm sure I will. That's the scary part.


I've got a longer homemade version as seen in post #28. Works great for lifting, but only with the carb removed. My poor back has been reminding me, in not so subtle fashion, to figure out a way to lift the engine with the carb and other topside goodies installed.