heres an area you really do tend to get what you pay for to some extent.
ID strongly suggest you rent or purchase a high quality engine crane and a engine tilter, as at some point your going to be at risk if the cheap crane tips or fails mechanically.
you can be fairly sure any crane that weights less than about 180 lbs is a cheap import, because good solidly built engine cranes frequently weight well in excess of 200 lbs and rarely cost less than $250, in fact most are priced over $270
the cheap import crap, is frequently dangerous, Ive used them occasionally at friends shops, and theres no comparison

https://www.mfrexpress.com/alloy-swivel ... p-701.html

one huge hint at the difference in quality is to compare the WEIGHT oF the cranes
http://www.harborfreight.com/2-ton-capa ... o-top-link
HF=162.8 lbs.
AC-DELCO 244.5 Lbs.
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detai ... &ppt=C0373
now which lift would you rather have support an engine over your head??
with near 82 lbs less steel I think the HF is not the best choice, I know the shop engine crane lift I have used for 30 plus years weights nearly 250 lbs
adding an engine leveler and swivel to your engine crane makes things far easier,
also notice that the 2 ton rated crane pictured above is significantly larger and heavier than the 1 ton rated crane pictured below, its far more obvious in person than in the pictures

I noticed you don,t have a swivel hook,or engine leveler/tilter, trust me it makes the job far easier, to have both
once you do youll wonder why you ever attempted the job without those accessories, without the swivel hook the engine constantly wants to swing back to one location, it fights you constantly, the tilter makes clearing and indexing the engine angle so much easier

buy the 1.5-2 ton rated hook for your engine hoist and grease the swivel center pin on the hook
http://www.mfrexpress.com/alloy-swivel- ... p-699.html
adding a swivel like this between the leveler and crane GREATLY AIDS THE ENGINES REMOVAL, DON,T GET STUPID or CHEAP, GET THE 3000lb-3500lb rated one not the 1200lb size (REMEMBER YOULL BE UNDER THAT ENGINE SOMETIMES)


the picture above can be used as a teaching aid, this guys got the engine tilter he needs but its mounted with the tilter too far above the carburetor, limiting the distance the engine can be lifted above the fenders there should be about 2"-3" between the carburetor BASE MOUNT ON THE INTAKE and lower edge of the engine tilter at most, and having the distributor still installed is still a small risk that it could be damaged, its best removed for safety, but the picture does not have the swivel,hook, and hes using it with the crank handle at the wrong end as it will hit the wind shield in some applications while cranking in that location, rather than having the crank face the crane like it should




HERES A GUY THAT FEELS A FAR MORE RIGID STAND IS A BIGGER ADVANTAGE THAN HAVING IT FOLD UP SMALLER FOR EASY STORAGE

IF you WELD a large thread rod coupler NUT,

another few options
http://www.macscustomtiedowns.com/category/24

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200305217

having a decent plastic engine bag to protect the block when your not working on it helps reduce rust etc.
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]



every engine crane Ive ever seen came with crappy steel wheels about 2.5"-3"in diam.
" 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,
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 during 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 amazing
RELATED THREADs
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=707&p=985&hilit=swivel#p985
viewtopic.php?f=51&t=125&hilit=bags
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=8340&p=29010#p29010
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=930
http://www.myks-tools.com/

http://www.harborfreight.com/2000-lb-fo ... 67015.html
serviceable and cheap
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=8789&p=31244&hilit=engine+stand#p31244
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200305217
probably a better design but not foldable
I like what you did, that looks nice,btw,
Ive got two types of engine stands designs in my shop,(4 engine stands)but I added 4 of these wheels to each stand
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200442439

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200305213
If your having a problem getting the engine stand close enough under the engine crane to easily use the engine crane to lift and mount the engine on the engine stand, its more than likely that your not doing anything wrong"
the sad fact is that about 90% of the less expensive engine cranes don,t have enough space between the support legs that extend out to support weight suspended by the cranes arm to allow the engine stands most guys use to roll into the point where the arm can easily transfer the engine to the engine stand.
most guys mount the engine stand head to the engine then try to lift the engine, after its sitting on the shop floor after pulling it from a car, and slide the engine stand head support tube into the engine stand and only then find out that the smaller and lighter and cheaper engine cranes are a total P.O.S. that won,t allow the transfer.
I bought my engine crane easily 30 years ago or more from northern tool, ,its no longer a listed model, the last time I saw it for sale there was 20 plus years ago and even then it cost $439, its a bit larger and heavier than that linked current version but very similar, and even then it just barely allows a transfer from the crane to the engine stand on most engine stands but not all of them, in its original condition.
so you might ask, what now! well you have options if you think it thru and measure carefully, and are willing to spend some cash, you can obviously either cut and weld your current engine crane to modify its clearances or add taller caster to either the engine crane or engine stand allowing the legs to slide over and around the other to allow access and yeah! that means the engine crane won,t roll under the car in most cases until its up on the jack stands to allow the crane legs to clear the cars frame
http://www.harborfreight.com/8-inch-cus ... 46819.html

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=1018
yes its going to add some expense, (about $80 if you catch these on sale) but if you add the optional larger casters to an engine stand it allows you to maneuver the legs of the stand so they roll over the crane



since the picture was taken, effectively doubling the cost of the stands but making them far FAR more user friendly, because they roll far easier, and you can lock the wheels when working on the engine making torquing the bolts far safer and easier
http://www.harborfreight.com/8-inch-cus ... 46819.html
these are very similar to what I used (6) of on the engine crane, having 6 large diam. 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,[/color]
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
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 casters from the 2.5" metal rollers that were previously installed from the original manufacturer, and the difference in ease of movement is truly amazing! 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 directional 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
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 enough 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 straddle and place the flange directly under the junction of the main legs, the diagonal braces and the rear cross brace on both sides, then welded