Engine Stand/Hoist
 

I'm probably going to be picking up a replacement motor. The seller has a front loader to get it into my truck but I don't have a hoist or engine stand at my end.

My plan is to work on it in my own time over the winter and (hopefully) have it ready by the spring. But I need a stand and a hoist. Rental companies are charging around $60 a month for rental but I noticed on ebay there are 1000lbs capacity stands selling for around $100. There was one 1500 capacity (which I would feel more comfortable with) selling for around $130.

Any advice on stands/hoists that I should consider before buying?

take the 1500 cause a fully dressed engine weighs 1200 lbs also its more safer to do it better to err on the side of caution you dont want an engine stand bending or breaking under the load

Before buying one on ebay, take note of the shipping charges... they might kill any savings you might find...

Check out your local craigslist, there is almost always a few for sale around here. Also Harbor Freight will probably be about the same prices as ebay if you have one of them around. If you buy a hoist that folds up, it won't take up as much room in your garage when you're not using it.

I don't know if your area has a Harbor Freight or not, but you might look there. The stuff there is cheap (good and bad), so you would definitely want to err on the side of caution. If you watch, they will put thier stuff on sale and they always have a 20% off coupon you can use too. I recently had to work on a 351 and had it mounted on thier medium duty stand (1000lbs rated) with no issues. I think thier heavy duty stand is rated for 2000lbs. They have an online store too.

Remember that an engine stand is supporting the engine, and you will be wrenching on bolts while it is on the stand.

Some of those bolts might take a good bit of force to break loose, so you may be increasing the weight depending on which way you are turning the bolt.

Now think about your foot under that 1000+ pound engine when the stand folds.

Get the heaviest rated stand you can get, it is cheap compared to a broken foot.

I'm considering a stand rated for 2000lbs from Harbor Freight. I like this one because it has four points of contact instead of three. I will also use a jack stand and/or trolley jack to support it whilst working on it.

I also own a nice pair of steel toe-capped boots

Will I be able to run the engine on the stand once I do the rebuild?




Not a bad stand for $109

If you get it centered properly and the stand is rated for the wieght it should turn fairly easy.

The only issue with that particular stand is that the front legs are wider than the back, and if you plan to use a cherry picker to move the engine, the legs on the cherry picker and the engine stand will interfere with each other. I have a coworker who is rebuilding a 350, bought that engine stand, and had some issues getting it mounted. Other than that, he seems to think the stand is great. The stand is overkill for his engine, but I wouldn't go any smaller for your diesel.

just got back from my local shop. One of the mechanics there is letting me borrow his stand. He's had V8 diesels on it before and says it will be more than enough. All I need now is to go hire a cherry picker that will work with this stand.

Running on the stand, that depends.

When I mounted mine, I used the bolt holes that mount the adapter plate to the engine block.

So the flywheel could not be installed while it was on the engine stand.

The four casters work much better with that much weight.
I have actually seen a T base engine stand tip over with a diesel engine on it when the guy was torqueing the heads down.
The only thing that save the engine was it was on a wood floor, which took most of the damage.

Those steel toed boots, won't even slow the engine down on it's way to the floor.
They might save your toes from 100 pounds dropped from 3 feet, but not 1000.

looks like I will be using a cherry picker with a couple of supporting 4x4's on the legs to support it while it runs for a few minutes.

My feet wont be underneath this thing under any circumstances. I plan on using a 2 ton jack or axle stands to support it while wrenching.

ACDelco 34710 - Heavy Duty Engine Stand | O'Reilly Auto Parts

http://images.oreillyauto.com/parts/img/acd/34710.jpg

here is the engine stand i bought for future reference for anyone.... it has 6 casters and is heavy duty... the pull out legs are adjustable engine has been full dressed and sitting on that thing about a month now....

Second that on the steel toed boots. A horse stepped on my steel toed boots about a hundred yards from the house, on rocky soil...had to walk that with the toe crushed to get to tools to get the boot off.

I just kept searching craigslist and Ebay until I found a heavy duty military surplus one. Kein 900.

Haha... good timing on this one.
I just mounted my 5.8L on my engine stand last night... the problem of the cherry picker and the engine stand base interfering is a big one. What can be done is the engine stand can be attached to the engine with the engine on the floor/truck bed, then the stand lifted by the pivot area where the weight of the engine is normally carried, until its high enough to swing the stand upright.

I also had to remove the flywheel to mount it. I don't think I'd run it on the stand though, the gassers are one thing but i know when I start my IDI the whole truck rocks around, you wouldn't want your engine stand going through that.