Ideas for pulling an engine?

[nola mike]

About to start last falls project next week :facepalm:
Swapping in a 4.3 for my 3.7. gonna be tight to get it ready for summer, and if the transoms rotted...
Anyway, first step is pulling the engine. I have no equipment, no trees, no garage. Trying to figure out the best way to do this. I don't think a cherry picker would do the trick, but maybe if I removed the trailer wheels I could get enough height? Obvious answer is to build a scaffold and use a hoist, but I'd rather an off the shelf solution to save time. Suggestions?

 

[Scott Danforth]

rent a tall cherry picker

or

use your cherry picker, pull the wheels on the trailer, and put the hubs right on the ground. I put 2x4's under the hubs on one boat.

or

build an A-frame with 2 2x8's across the top (10' in length), two vertical 4x4's about 1-' in length going down and 2x6 kick braces (about 12' in length) and at the bottom 2x6. then gusset the top with 2x4's to keep the frame from racking

 

[Grub54891]

What Scott said. I have yet to find a skyhook that works properly.

 

[GasCan II]

I put the cheery picker in the back of my truck,pulled the motor out and sat it on a piece of plywood. Than put the cheery picker on the ground and lifted the motor out of the boat. Maybe this will work for you too.Good Luck

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,...... Do ya know anybody with a back-hoe, or front-end loader,..??
Or,....
Call a wrecker with a telescopic boom,....

 

[Scott06]

X2 on the wrecker, I had access to a riggers small crane when I pulled mine. Took him longer to set up than pull the engine. Totally safe and easy to get gimbal alignment going back in. Worth the expense vs making a gantry out of wood

 

[JASinIL2006]

I built a wood gantry in less than a day. If you have easy access to a some kind of boom truck, that's great, but building a gantry is not hard and you can make it exactly the size you want.

 

[nola mike]

I don't have access to any heavy equipment. Tool rental is not close but might be my best option in terms of time/money. I used a wrecker to pull the engine off the donor, but I'm thinking I might need something more precise when I put the engine back in (and who knows if I'll need to pull it again). I don't have a cherry picker but they're cheap enough at HF and always available on CL. Also don't have a hoist, so even building the Gantry would involve a good bit of cost + time. I thought about putting the cherry picker on a platform or something (much easier to build than a Gantry), and also the back of the pickup. I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to lower the engine to the ground once I pulled it. A neighbor has a bobcat with a scoop, but I don't think the lift height would be enough (and I don't know if he'd let me use it).

 

[GA_Boater]

Ask your neighbor if he wants to go fishing. If he says yes, well..................

 

[JASinIL2006]

When I built mine, I found a chain hoist on sale for about $40 at a local farm implement store.

 

[Scott Danforth]

maybe check CL, I see A-frame hoists all the time (like the one from harbor freight) for about $4-500

buy it, use it, then sell it for $25 less than you paid for it.

https://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-telescoping-gantry-crane-41188.html

 

[fishrdan]

I put a floor jack under the front crossmember of the boat trailer, jacked up the trailer until the rear crossmember of the trailer was touching the ground (piece of cardboard underneath), jack stands under the trailer, then pulled the engine with a cherry picker.

Going back in, I did the same, but once the engine cleared the transom, I lowered the boat back down.

Edit: I came in from the port side of the boat to pull/install the engine, since the cherry picker was blocked by the rear crossmember sitting on the ground. Once the engine was "in" the boat and trailer lowered, I moved the cherry picker to the back of the boat, to install the engine.

 

[tank1949]

I built a pole barn with sandwiched 2x10" spanning 12 feet for future motor removal. I covered with inexpensive tin. But, I also have acreage and a privacy fenced and tall hedged in back yard so that neighbors couldn't complain about any ugly site. You may want to check ordnances and homeowners guidelines before any attempts.

 

[Benny67]

I built a wood gantry in less than a day. building a gantry is not hard and you can make it exactly the size you want.

Indeed.

I built a Gantry out of 10ft 2x6 lumber and lag screws.It cost less than $100 and took less than a day to make. I've used it 3 times in the past 5 years. I will be setting it up in the next few weekends to pull my port motor to replace my rotted gimbal transom.

you can copy the harbor freight one..just make it out of wood. I didn't use wheels on mine. I just muscle it around when I needed to move it

 

[FunInDuhSun]

Build a sawhorse, a really tall one. That’s what I did to pull the engine outta my 23 footer. Used 2x4 legs and a 2x8 beam. Make sure the there’s enough space to pull the boat out from under It after the motor is hoisted clear. I looped a chain over the beam and attached a chain hoist to it. To make it easier I unbolted the accessories and heads while still in the boat.
after pulling the boat out I pulled my truck underneath and set the motor in the bed. No problemo!

 

[StingrayMike]

IF you have access to rental equipt, then see if they have a fork lift. When I needed to pull the engine on my chaparral, the DIY boat yard used a regular forklift and a chain hoist, pulled it right out with no issues. I only had 8" of clearance between the engine and the top of engine bay

 

[chartersj]

Like a few others said, call in a boom truck. Your own wooden gantry would be handy but for how often you need it and if you don't have a place to keep it inside it will just rot exposed to the elements

 

[AShipShow]

As others have suggested, just build something... You can throw together a wood gantry as Scott suggested with some long screws in an hour. Plus with the screws you can take it apart when your done and use the 2x stuff for other projects.
Thats what I did.. used it for a couple years, moved it to a new house, and took it apart a couple months ago... Used the 2x's to make a outdrive stand and motor dolly.
Get a chain hoist from harbor freight and your good to go.

Just MAKE SURE if you build a gantry to use a forged i bolt for the lifting eye... Never use the open style eyes as they are not rated for lifting... Usually the forged ones have a working limit right on them.

 

[Scott Danforth]

My gantry became a mezzanine storage in the storage unit I had at the time. after i left, My nephew rented the place and is still using it.

 

[Willit float]

I rented a high lift cherry picker/ engine hoist. Had to keep pulling the engine for additional reasons. The cost was nuts so I scoured craigslist and found a great deal in a used American Made hoist. My boat has a high transom and it worked great: make sure it is high enough to clear.