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For the “CLIFF -NOTES” facts/figures/descriptions of this Home Made Modular Electric Engine Component Hoist device, please see the highlighted portion at the bottom of this tome:
Shakespeare wrote in the play about Hamlet that, “Troubles come... Not as Single Spies... but in Batallions...” Back in February of this year, I was working on my son's 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer by removing engine components in preparation to remove the 90 lb aluminum head due to burnt exhaust valves after the vehicle had traveled around 250,000 miles flawlessly prior to this failure. In the course of working on the engine through the driver's side wheel well, I very badly injured my lower back, losing sensation, feeling and control of my left leg. After being bedridden for around two months, I finally had a Cadillac of an operation (Micro-Discectomy in the L-4,L-5 region of my spine removing an oyster sized portion of the inner disc(s). That very real problem had stopped me in my tracks and pretty much put the Kibosh on my ability to finish the repair job and replacing the Vortec 4.2L Atlas Engine cylinder head... or doing anything else for that matter...and so then... time passes...
After months of physical re-hab and and no small amount of effort, I've manged to get back to walking around again, albeit in a very clumsy manner with a cane, but I'm no longer able to bend and pick up weighty things or do the marathon repairs as I have on so many occasions in the past. Even so... these difficulties have not defeated me and had little if any impact whatsoever on my ability to think and to solve problems. To that end, I recently to put some serious, creative thought into coming up with a mix of mechanics and carpentry that may prove to be an elegant solution to the problem. I had already decided not to use my Transformer like 2.5 ton hydraulic Cherry Picker Engine Hoist because it would require me to be in two places at the same time to either raise or lower the lift while either removing or guiding the old head off and out from under the hood or installing the new one with a precision alignment of this 90 lb chunk of aluminum to the head gasket and not FUBAR myself up again while doing so.
What I wanted had to be something I could both build or disassemble while sitting down in a folding chair and then after the job is finished, reduce the components into manageable parts and pieces I could put away in my garage with ease. I thought it would have to be something that was strong enough to span a lateral distance of 7 feet on the width and have a height of 4 feet 7 inches with a dual base having the wheels 2 feet apart to accommodate moving over the engine compartment on ball bearing caster wheels along the driveway to reach all the way back almost to the engine firewall. In addition, it would require four symmetrical upright supports and two strong parallel cross top beams to accommodate a movable section of 2” X 6” that would hold a swiveling cable pulley. This device would be very useful in lifting/holding/guiding heavy engine heads, cast iron exhaust manifolds, headers as well as taking them from the bench to the installation site with the ease of micro-motions courtesy the electric throttling up and down switch.
And finally, I needed two swivel mounted pulleys to transfer the lift force from my Haulmaster Model 60344-47 Electric Hoist which will be bolted onto the passenger side wheel base mount at ground level, with the hoist cable guided vertically to the first pulley that will be attached to the underside of the cross-member and then routed 90 degrees over to the second pulley mounted underneath the middle of the same cross-member. Doing this pulley arrangement will allow the hoist cable and hook to move freely up and down, without having the big electric motor and hoist drive mechanism taking up all the space nearby and making it difficult to have easy access between the raised hood and the upper engine block. The cool part about this is that there are “STACK-IT BRACKETS” made for making firewood bins out of 2”X4” (Two By Fours) with built in slots at the correct X,Y,Z positions that allow for variable lengths of wood in all three axis and so the idea translates well into other uses besides just this one repair job and gives the builder the chance of a flexible application for the use of this device. Oh... and just in case anyone doubts that wood components might not be strong enough to hoist under these compression stress conditions, here is a link to the information necessary to know on the subject
Home Made Modular Electric Engine Component Hoist
Parts List:
(1) One Haulmaster Model 60344-47 1,300 lb Electric Hoist @ HF- $169.00
(2) Two Swiveling Hoist Snatch Block Anodized Wire-Rope Pulley Blocks @ Amazon $19.99
(3) One 24” Harbor Freight Wood Dolly serve as the mobile base when scavenged @ HF $20.00
(4) Seymour Stack-it Brackets Set of 8 @ Amazon $65.82 w/ free S&H
(5) A Few Lbs of Flat-head Cad-plated 1” and 1 1/2” Screws to secure the brackets Home Depot
(6) The Hillman Group 44079 M10-1.50 x 70 Metric Flange Bolt, 4-Pack for bolting the hoist to the Base/Wheels @ Amazon $13.60
(7) Assorted Lengths of High Quality Two by Fours/Sixes to accommodate these dimensions:
a) 2 -- 2” X 4” X 7' For the Cross-members (Width)
b) 4 – 2” X 4” X 4' 7” For the Vertical Struts (Length) Varies if Vehicle is Lifted!
c) 2 – 2” X 6” X 3' For the Mobile Base/Electric Hoist Mount (Width)
d) 4 – 2” X 4” X 3' For the Width Segments, Top and Bottom (Depth)
Do NOT use WHITE PINE for anything you want to depend upon for STRENGTH!
If there is any doubt about the strength of wood in use for this “Temporary Hoist” design:
Here is an excerpt from that link critical to using wood in this application:
Re: Weight Limits For Load Bearing Studs...
"Although "varying by specie" is VERY true and something to be considered when you get outside the "norm" of standard framing material ... the rule of thumb would be 500lbs. per square inch of material = end grain carrying capacity. Thus a 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" piece of material is 12.25 sq. inches of material = 6,125 lbs. of end grain support. I would use this number up till the point that member reached 8' of vertical hold without diagonal bracing. If the 4x4 were used in a shed with rated sheathing on the exterior wall ... the original number will hold.
As far as the "cracking" that you see ... it's called "checking." Very common in all materials 3" thick or thicker. I do a lot of post and beam construction and it's one of my many headaches trying to explain to HOs that have exposed beams and see this happen. I've had them ask "how do you fix it" ... my general response is "that's wood ... that's what it does ... and quite frankly, those that truly "love" wood ... enjoy every bit of character it adds ... speaking of character ... I threw that in for free." Most times they just laugh and understand.
EasTnBldr is offline Reply With Quote
Shakespeare wrote in the play about Hamlet that, “Troubles come... Not as Single Spies... but in Batallions...” Back in February of this year, I was working on my son's 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer by removing engine components in preparation to remove the 90 lb aluminum head due to burnt exhaust valves after the vehicle had traveled around 250,000 miles flawlessly prior to this failure. In the course of working on the engine through the driver's side wheel well, I very badly injured my lower back, losing sensation, feeling and control of my left leg. After being bedridden for around two months, I finally had a Cadillac of an operation (Micro-Discectomy in the L-4,L-5 region of my spine removing an oyster sized portion of the inner disc(s). That very real problem had stopped me in my tracks and pretty much put the Kibosh on my ability to finish the repair job and replacing the Vortec 4.2L Atlas Engine cylinder head... or doing anything else for that matter...and so then... time passes...
After months of physical re-hab and and no small amount of effort, I've manged to get back to walking around again, albeit in a very clumsy manner with a cane, but I'm no longer able to bend and pick up weighty things or do the marathon repairs as I have on so many occasions in the past. Even so... these difficulties have not defeated me and had little if any impact whatsoever on my ability to think and to solve problems. To that end, I recently to put some serious, creative thought into coming up with a mix of mechanics and carpentry that may prove to be an elegant solution to the problem. I had already decided not to use my Transformer like 2.5 ton hydraulic Cherry Picker Engine Hoist because it would require me to be in two places at the same time to either raise or lower the lift while either removing or guiding the old head off and out from under the hood or installing the new one with a precision alignment of this 90 lb chunk of aluminum to the head gasket and not FUBAR myself up again while doing so.
What I wanted had to be something I could both build or disassemble while sitting down in a folding chair and then after the job is finished, reduce the components into manageable parts and pieces I could put away in my garage with ease. I thought it would have to be something that was strong enough to span a lateral distance of 7 feet on the width and have a height of 4 feet 7 inches with a dual base having the wheels 2 feet apart to accommodate moving over the engine compartment on ball bearing caster wheels along the driveway to reach all the way back almost to the engine firewall. In addition, it would require four symmetrical upright supports and two strong parallel cross top beams to accommodate a movable section of 2” X 6” that would hold a swiveling cable pulley. This device would be very useful in lifting/holding/guiding heavy engine heads, cast iron exhaust manifolds, headers as well as taking them from the bench to the installation site with the ease of micro-motions courtesy the electric throttling up and down switch.
And finally, I needed two swivel mounted pulleys to transfer the lift force from my Haulmaster Model 60344-47 Electric Hoist which will be bolted onto the passenger side wheel base mount at ground level, with the hoist cable guided vertically to the first pulley that will be attached to the underside of the cross-member and then routed 90 degrees over to the second pulley mounted underneath the middle of the same cross-member. Doing this pulley arrangement will allow the hoist cable and hook to move freely up and down, without having the big electric motor and hoist drive mechanism taking up all the space nearby and making it difficult to have easy access between the raised hood and the upper engine block. The cool part about this is that there are “STACK-IT BRACKETS” made for making firewood bins out of 2”X4” (Two By Fours) with built in slots at the correct X,Y,Z positions that allow for variable lengths of wood in all three axis and so the idea translates well into other uses besides just this one repair job and gives the builder the chance of a flexible application for the use of this device. Oh... and just in case anyone doubts that wood components might not be strong enough to hoist under these compression stress conditions, here is a link to the information necessary to know on the subject
Home Made Modular Electric Engine Component Hoist
Parts List:
(1) One Haulmaster Model 60344-47 1,300 lb Electric Hoist @ HF- $169.00
(2) Two Swiveling Hoist Snatch Block Anodized Wire-Rope Pulley Blocks @ Amazon $19.99
(3) One 24” Harbor Freight Wood Dolly serve as the mobile base when scavenged @ HF $20.00
(4) Seymour Stack-it Brackets Set of 8 @ Amazon $65.82 w/ free S&H
(5) A Few Lbs of Flat-head Cad-plated 1” and 1 1/2” Screws to secure the brackets Home Depot
(6) The Hillman Group 44079 M10-1.50 x 70 Metric Flange Bolt, 4-Pack for bolting the hoist to the Base/Wheels @ Amazon $13.60
(7) Assorted Lengths of High Quality Two by Fours/Sixes to accommodate these dimensions:
a) 2 -- 2” X 4” X 7' For the Cross-members (Width)
b) 4 – 2” X 4” X 4' 7” For the Vertical Struts (Length) Varies if Vehicle is Lifted!
c) 2 – 2” X 6” X 3' For the Mobile Base/Electric Hoist Mount (Width)
d) 4 – 2” X 4” X 3' For the Width Segments, Top and Bottom (Depth)
Do NOT use WHITE PINE for anything you want to depend upon for STRENGTH!
If there is any doubt about the strength of wood in use for this “Temporary Hoist” design:
Here is an excerpt from that link critical to using wood in this application:
Re: Weight Limits For Load Bearing Studs...
"Although "varying by specie" is VERY true and something to be considered when you get outside the "norm" of standard framing material ... the rule of thumb would be 500lbs. per square inch of material = end grain carrying capacity. Thus a 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" piece of material is 12.25 sq. inches of material = 6,125 lbs. of end grain support. I would use this number up till the point that member reached 8' of vertical hold without diagonal bracing. If the 4x4 were used in a shed with rated sheathing on the exterior wall ... the original number will hold.
As far as the "cracking" that you see ... it's called "checking." Very common in all materials 3" thick or thicker. I do a lot of post and beam construction and it's one of my many headaches trying to explain to HOs that have exposed beams and see this happen. I've had them ask "how do you fix it" ... my general response is "that's wood ... that's what it does ... and quite frankly, those that truly "love" wood ... enjoy every bit of character it adds ... speaking of character ... I threw that in for free." Most times they just laugh and understand.
EasTnBldr is offline Reply With Quote
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