Nighthawkf-117

iTrader: (1)

Hey guys,

Debating fabricating an engine hoist instead of buying one. Got some spare time this weekend with not much to do in my dorm. So im going to draw one up in inventor and price it out. Anyone out there willing to give some general dimensions on the style of hoist in the picture? Only really need length and width of the base, height of the whole setup, and length of the arm. Just some general guidelines to go on.
Also what do you really look for in a hoist? What makes the expensive hoists better than the cheaper ones?

Thanks
Bill

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

My ideal engine hoist would be mounted on rails up near the ceiling.

The next most ideal hoist would be an A-frame.

Both of those with an electric winch, of course.

One issue using the typical cherry-picker engine hoist with our cars is the boom doesn't reach far enough - the cylinder hits the bumper before the hook gets far enough back. Lengthening the boom requires lengthening the legs.

Perhaps you should consider a 2-post hoist and lift the body off of the engine & K-member. Yeah, that's my #1 ideal "engine hoist".

jbenge

iTrader: (2)

Most of the newer hoists don't reach far enough for the long front end on thirdgens as five7kid said. The more heavy duty the hoist is the more it usually costs. You can make the cheap ones work but sometimes you have to pull the engine from the side or at an angle for it to reach. Or have someone stand on the back of it because it can't support the weight of an engine and trans together while lifting high enough to get over the front end.

I bought an old one from craigslist that looks like a relic from the 70's, its big but it reaches and doesn't tip. I attached a pic below from when I used it to pull the engine/k member up from under the car. If you have the space for it, bigger is better and safer. Mine is 62" tall, 37.5" wide, Legs are 72" long, boom extends 58" past the jack. Hope that info helps.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

What makes the expensive hoists better than the good ones, is a good hydraulic ram; a good set of wheels; good load-bearing capacity, but not huge size; and adjustability in the various dimensions.

While I applaud your desire to design something your own, be aware that a good quality hydraulic ram will usually cost you more than the entire packaged hoist. The unfortunate reality is, that the part you yourself can reasonably expect to "design" and "fabricate" on your own, is the CHEEEEEEEEEP part; it's AHELLUVALOTTA maze in the overall scheeeeem of the thing, and there's very little cheeeeeze at the end of it. Worse yet, you might just end up being able to design the "perfect" thing, do your job, then you have to figure out where in your dorm you're going to keep it; then, next car you try to use it on, it might be a TOTAL misfit. Which is the point about "adjustability"; speaking strictly as an engineer, if I were to "design" a hoist and all I had ever thought about pulling the engine out of was my Camaro, but then the very next day my 4WD Avalanche needed ITS motor pulled, .... you can kinda see where this is going.

Frankly, I'd recommend doing whatever "design" work you like, to exercise your brain cells; but don't bother fabricating; and when the day comes you actually NEED a hoist (THE day... not day after day after day after day, at which point it would make sense to own one) just go rent one at yer local yard. If you've ever seen what happens when an engine drops, such as when a stand breaks or tips over, you'll definitely not want to be doing your "prototype" testing LIVE.

Just as a hint, an engine/trans for one of these cars weighs about 800 lbs assembled (less for a manual), and the "arm" of the hoist needs to be about 55" long, and needs to go from about 36" to about 72" off the ground. For other engines and cars, (and trucks) the requirements can vary substantially.

Nighthawkf-117

iTrader: (1)

I totally agree with everything that you wrote. To be clear i am not going to build the hoist here. As an engineer myself i have access to various CAD and stress analysis programs. I thought it would benefit me to practice on these programs that I will be using for my whole professional career.

As far as actually fabricating the hoist, as long as my design is right, which will be identical to commercial units, and the right materials are used, the only source of failure I can see would be my welds. I am confident in my welds and will be using a mig welder. So I see very little chance of my welds failing. That being said i have no plan to actually build the hoist yet. The idea came because I will need a hoist next summer when I drop a engine in my thirdgen.

I do plan on making the hoist fully adjustable to accommodate different sized vehicles. However the only vehicles I every see myself owning are sized between a thirdgen and a suburban. So the hoist really doesnt need to be that adjustable.

Thanks for all the input

AlkyIROC

I'm lucky. I simply use one of the inexpensive fold up versions which is nice since I can tuck it away in the corner of the garage until I need it. To get my engine out, I can easily remove the nose of the car to push the hoist far enough in to get over the center of the engine.

You can't use the hoist on the side unless you can roll the car out of the way as you're lifting the engine up. Hoists don't roll sideways so it needs to come in from the front however third gen noses are quite long making this very difficult.

If my garage ceiling was higher, I'd have something mounted on rails or an a-frame.

Just go out and buy one then modify it to work with different vehicles such as third gens. One thing mine needs is better wheels. Once I get the weight of the engine hanging off the end, it's doesn't like to roll.

http://www.harborfreight.com/automot...CategoryExpand

silverstang84

Just as the others have said... Most booms don't have enough reach to pull the motor out from the front.. I just pulled my motor and Trans yesturday and ran into this problem.. Also, just a tip, use a load leveler. I didn't but I will be buying one before the new motor goes in..

Pocket

iTrader: (24)

I use the 2 ton version

Doesnt have enough boom to pull the engine directly out of the front, but it will reach the framehorns to lift the car off the powertrain/front suspension

It slides the engine only from the side like a champ. Engine/trans felt too risky that way

I agree the casters suck. There was a tool modification thread on LS1tech a while back. One fellow used flipped drop hitch tongues on all 4 corners with a bigger wheel welded on. Said it could take an all iron BBC across gravel. Far cry from the steel wheels that halt on a crumb of quick dry