TheSamba.com :: View topic - Awesome tool

Wed Sep 24, 2014 7:36 am

i was looking into getting an engine hoist, but really hated the idea of storing such a bulky thing. I then found a Engine Support beam that Harbor Freight sells. They didn't have any on display, but the local store had them in stock. I just used it for dropping and raising the engine and I gotta say that this makes the job SOOOO much better compared to jacking and muscling the engine around and lowering transmission and all the other crazy stuff i had to do the first time i installed the engine. I've seen some home made ones, but for the cost and time it saved me, i thought it was a great investment.

It's this guy: http://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-capacity-engine-support-bar-96524.html

Just thought i'd share the experience of using this thing...

Wed Sep 24, 2014 7:44 am

You should post this in the "Official Harbor Freight win or lose thread:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=512248

Are you saying it bridges the deck to hold up the engine? Looks like a good product for Vanagons! Post a photo in use.

Wed Sep 24, 2014 8:28 am

yeah - it spans the engine bay nicely. here it is in action...

raising and lowering done using the threaded 'hooks'. i liked the fact that you can move the engine forward and backward as the beam has a channel that the hooks ride in. each hook is about 16 inches long - long enough if your van isn't raised up on jacks to get it into place without having to reset in mid-lift. It also makes the engle adjustment easy to get the bolts lined up between the transmission and engine.

I'll post it in the HFT - win/loose also

Wed Sep 24, 2014 8:54 am

Or 2 cinder blocks and a water pipe.- old school/shade tree- and you don't need a hook for the wall to store it.

Wed Sep 24, 2014 9:52 am

I've used this to R+R quite a few vanagon engines in the last decade:

Wed Sep 24, 2014 9:54 am

^^^ Cool, where can I get that disembodied hand to help me on my projects? :wink:

Wed Sep 24, 2014 10:05 am

dobryan wrote: ^^^ Cool, where can I get that disembodied hand to help me on my projects? :wink:
Bicycle repair has long featured tools named Third Hand and Fourth Hand for brake repair. Probably the same thing, only different.

Wed Sep 24, 2014 10:07 am

certainly looks safer than the metal sawhorse.

Wed Sep 24, 2014 10:51 am

i was totally considering both those options.... matter of fact - i had purchased the metal sawhorses for the same damn thing, then did some searching and found the beam. I also considered the 2x4 option too... but thought it would take me 3x as long to build it and it wouldn't be as stable and it would have cost about 1/2 the price...

in the end, i think it is a pretty good tool for droping and lifting a vanagon engine if you don't have and want a hoist.

Wed Sep 24, 2014 10:58 am

If you are talking about my 2x4/allthread version, it is completely 100% stable, cost about $15 and took 1/2hr to make or an hour if you include the trip to get the materials. The three attachment points and the ability to slide the upper 2x4s means that you can achieve any desired angle/position and have it completely stable. That makes aligning the input shaft/clutch very easy. The metal sawhorse or single ratchet strap both look terribly dysfunctional in comparison. The HF support you used looks almost as nicely functional as my 3-point "hoist".

Wed Sep 24, 2014 3:21 pm

Yeah, I'm always recommending this thing.

I have a lot of confidence in those twin steel beams, much more than I would in some 2x4's.

If I'm going to have my head under a couple hundred pounds of engine and transmission, I'm not going to mess around to save $60.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6864986#6864986
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6916550#6916550

Wed Sep 24, 2014 4:05 pm

williamM wrote: Or 2 cinder blocks and a water pipe.- old school/shade tree- and you don't need a hook for the wall to store it.

but you will need a really good trauma surgeon after catastrophic failure of the cinder blocks under compression

Wed Sep 24, 2014 6:01 pm

sanchius wrote: Yeah, I'm always recommending this thing.

I have a lot of confidence in those twin steel beams, much more than I would in some 2x4's.

If I'm going to have my head under a couple hundred pounds of engine and transmission, I'm not going to mess around to save $60.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6864986#6864986
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6916550#6916550

The twin steel beams are fine, but they sure aren't the weakest part of that tool and whatever tool you use is only as strong as its weakest part. I'd be more concerned about the un-gussetted verticals and the hooks. Regardless, it looks up to the task.

Cost savings is not at all the reason I have gone with the 2x4 setup. The $60 cost difference is a non-issue. I continue to use that setup because it very accurately places the engine at whatever position or angle I desire and is totally stable when it does. The 2x4 setup is a darn sight safer than the stamped steel sawhorse with come-along. I have used the 2x4s to remove and install a dozen or so engines or engine and transmission combined without any issue. I used it to install my ALH TDI and automatic transmission at the same time. The ALH weighs a fair amount more than a WBX and the automatic weighs more than the manual trans. Regardless, I don't ever get under any engine until it is bolted in place regardless of what contraption is holding it up.

Fri Sep 26, 2014 7:54 pm

Merian wrote: williamM wrote: Or 2 cinder blocks and a water pipe.- old school/shade tree- and you don't need a hook for the wall to store it.

but you will need a really good trauma surgeon after catastrophic failure of the cinder blocks under compression

Was thinking that when we signed up for MEDFLIGHT.
Had more grief trying to keep iit balanced on the roller jack. so cinder blocks were actually an improvement.

Weirdest one was a dodge van 318 extraction out the passengers side door using 2 ladders and a pipe in a pipe to slide it all sideways.

Fri Sep 26, 2014 11:33 pm

Have the HF tool, used it when swapping out the engine in our van last spring for one that didn't spray coolant out the head.

I found it wasn't enough just to use the support beam, I supplemented with a floor jack underneath to help raise the motor. I felt like just using the supplied chains and threaded rods to do the heavy lifting wasn't enough support for my level of comfort, plus it takes a while to spin the motor up, readjust the chain, and spin some more. What the beam and chain setup does do well is allow you to position the motor much better than just using a floor jack when getting it lined up and bolted in. For me the combo of jack and support beam worked well and took out a lot of the drama and turned this into a pretty easy one man job.

Glad I bought mine, also works well holding up engines on FWD cars as well when ever you have to take a transmission off. Easy to store as well if you don't have a lot of space in your garage.

Sat Sep 27, 2014 4:40 am

I have a cheap winch screwed to a board that does the same thing. I think it's a 70.00 hf cheapie but a buddy gave it to me because it wasn't reversible.

It works great! You can look from below the vehicle and sight align items as the engine is raised by the remote. This is handy when you're trying not to pinch anything and are lining up bolt holes by yourself.

I've done this on typical american stuff by strapping the same winch to a peice of 12' angle iron slid through the trusses of my shop. It works out pretty sweet either way. As you get older you keep thinking of better ways to save your back.

Sat Sep 27, 2014 7:16 am

Andrew A. Libby wrote:
The twin steel beams are fine, but they sure aren't the weakest part of that tool and whatever tool you use is only as strong as its weakest part. I'd be more concerned about the un-gussetted verticals and the hooks. Regardless, it looks up to the task.

I agree completely, these are all excellent points.

I always have 1 or 2 floor jacks and a transmission jack in play as well, plus several jackstands as backup.

Sat Sep 27, 2014 8:34 am

Andrew,

Care to share enough info so I can exactly duplicate your rig? I will be yanking a WBX and auto together next week from a yard and it would be great simply to do that. Lengths of boards, length of rod, fitting on bottom of rods, etc. Thanks!

DougM