engine crane mods that make life easier

[grumpyvette]

for many years Ive used an engine crane in the shop to pull engines, and it became very obvious that some mods to the system were darn near MANDATORY,
adding an engine leveler and swivel to your engine crane makes things far easier


adding a swivel like this between the leveler and crane GREATLY AIDS THE ENGINES REMOVAL, AS IT PREVENTS THE TENDENCY OF THE ENGINE HANGING ON A CHAIN TO CONSTANTLY WANT TO SWING BACK INTO A SINGLE LOCATION, BUT DON,T GET STUPID or CHEAP, GET THE 3400lb rated one not the 1200lb size (REMEMBER YOULL BE UNDER THAT ENGINE SOMETIMES)

youll need two of these rated at similar load strength[/b]



ever engine crane Ive ever seen came with crappy steel wheels about 2.5"-3"in dia.

" the reasons are obvious they are cheap ,and theres clearance issues for the cranes legs if your pulling an engine when the cars NOT up on jack stands, now I can,t see how you can access all the necessary bolts without the car being up on serious,& sturdy jack stands or a lift, so with that in mind I got out the air/die grinder and removed the tack welded steel wheels and added (6) 8" solid rubber wheels on swivels, rated at 600 lbs each
yeah, the crane will no longer slide under a car thats not up on jack stands, but then I can,t think of a single reason to use a crane to remove an engine when the cars NOT UP ON JACK STANDS because youll need access to all the bolts holding it in durring the process and youll need to support the trans
" ,
YET,ANOTHER GOOD EXAMPLE OF WHY A WELDER IN THE SHOP COMES IN HANDY(welding on new wheels)

this made it SO MUCH EASIER to use its amazingsup:

[grumpyvette]

BTW
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=41563
these are very similar to what I used on the engine crane

[grumpyvette]

IVE HEARD THIS BEFORE...

I have that same harbor freight leveler. I allows me to swap the complete engine and trans in by myself, but the hand crank is a bit of a pain.

I wish I had with a nut on one end so I could use air tools to turn the crank. The hand crank can get hard to turn near maximum tilt.




sounds like a few minutes with a welder , and some careful planning would cure/grant that wish!
weld one of these where the handle was, after cutting it off,
them weld a deep socket to the handle that slides over the nut,and drill a hole thru both the socket and nut,to drop a pin thru so you can use the tilter either with or without the handle attached
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=94460
making the crank handle easy to remove and an air ratchet wrench also an option

[Mac]

I know you're big on safety, grumpyvette, so here's my safety tip...

Quick-links aren't as solid or safe as shackles... whether you're using them to lift engines or on the chains on your trailer.



-Mac

[grumpyvette]

OK THANKS!
but I will point out I use the 1/2" size rated at 3300-3400 LBS and an engine rarely weights over 800 LBS

BTW

http://1st-chainsupply.com/hooks/swi...k%20dimensions

[Mac]

I'm a firm believer in overkill too!

I wasn't aware there was much a difference between shackles and quick-links until I went on a training course for inspecting commercial vehicles. The instructor has some rather interesting pretzels than used to be quick-links. Since then, I pay a bit more attention when I went to collisions involving vehicles with trailers... and it turns out the instructor was right. Go figure!

Needless to say, I replaced the quick-links on my trailer and I've offered this advice to anyone who'll listen (or read) it!

-Mac

[grumpyvette]

now heres something you probably don,t want to spend a fortune on, but you better think it thru...if it tips or brakes you could be PERMENANTLY
CRIPPLED
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=47304....

Ive got several of these in the shop and they support a bbc just fine!
these also work ok
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...5217_200305217

the cheaper (T) design base on the cheaper stands are not NEARLY as stable, you might want to consider welding on a 4 foot section of 2" x 3" box steel and adding two casters to the end of the center leg but by that time youll quickly see buying the better 2000 lb stands less work/bother and reasonably priced sup:

this design ought to come with a mercury switch and auto dialer for the emergency room as it will tip or flip with almost no effort , an excellent way to be seriously injured, no matter how strong you are your NEVER going to be able to prevent a V8 from falling once its starts falling unexpectedly when your tightening bolts or turning the block, so if you buy something similar to this expect to get hurt its only a matter of time

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=32915

as a few of you gentelmen know, I recently replaced the small steel wheels on my engine crane with much nicer swivel wheels of about 8" dia.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=41563

these
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=41563

are very similar to what I used (6) of on the engine crane, having 6 large dia. CASTERS rather than 4 small casters and two wheels that don,t change direction is a HUGE IMPROVEMENT in how easily the engine crane moves once an engines suspended from it,

well, it was an obvious improvement so I said to myself why stop there??
I put a set of 4 similar swivel casters on one of the shops engine stands and I just can,t believe it took so long for me to do that or how big of an improvement it was!! you get so used to having an engine stand thats a TOTAL P.I.T.A. to move around the shop (AND I sellected some of the easier to move stands) that once you do this mod your thinking how obviously stupid it is not to do it to all the engine stands in t6he shop.....so as finances and time allow Ill convert the other 4 engine stands not quite as good as good sex but its so much better than before I can,t imagine why I didn,t do this 35 years ago

[grumpyvette]

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=47304

Ive got 4 engine stands in the shop,as some may remember I replaced the crappy steel wheels last month wwith 8" casters
similar to these

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=41563
I HAD TO MOVE A FEW ENGINES AROUND TODAY IN THE SHOP, I can,t begin to tell you guys how much I was pleased with those engine stands Id recently installed the 8" swivel casters on! Ive managed to convert all but one at this point to the 8" swivel caseters from the 2.5" metal rollers that were previously installed from the original manufacturer, and the differance in ease of movement is truely amazing!sup: If youve ever tried to move a BBC or HEMI on a standard engine stand you know that at 600-800lbs they don,t move easily, and the factory engine stands only have casters on one end and single dirrectional rollers on the other end making them a P.I.T.A. to move in some situations.
I should have done that simply mod YEARS AGO:laughing:

[grumpyvette]

the old small casters on those HF engine stands simply unbolt, I used (2) 7/16" thread 3" square U-bolts to lock each of the NEW LARGER swivel casters into place then WELDED the flange to the engine stand TOO,and left the (2) 7/16" thread 3" square U-bolts in place
REMEMBER I may be UNDER that engine at some point and its best to be really sure the casters can,t come loose
btw youll need to drill out the mount holes just a bit to use the (2) 7/16" thread 3" square U-bolts because the holes are neither totally round or big enought and they are off set about 1/16" in un-touched form

the two outer leg casters mount about 1/4" in from the ends the two rear casters were mounted to have the u-bolts stradle and place the flange dirrectly under the junction of the main legs, the diagonal braces and the rear cross brace on both sides, then welded