Pulling E30 Motor without Engine Hoist

Do you have a small garage and need to pull an engine? Let’s modify a Harbor Freight Truck Crane.

So we need to pull a cracked engine from our BMW E30 build and install another engine in our Datsun 510 build.

We have a garage, but its tight on space and the driveway is sloped. So a regular engine crane just won’t cut it. This gave us an excuse to go to Harbor Freight.

Harbor Freight carries a few different engine hoists and even a gantry, but they won’t fit in our garage.

After browsing around, we though why not modify a truck crane?

Just like that we were onto another DIY project, but don’t worry. We’ll provide you with the full cost breakdown before you decide to go off and do the same as we did:

COST / FEATURE COMPARISON BREAKDOWN

DIY Truck Crane Hitch	1 Ton Engine Hoist	2 Ton Engine Hoist	Gantry Crane
1/2 Ton Capacity	1 Ton Capacity	2 Ton Capacity	1 Ton Capacity
90" (plus hitch height) Lift Height	84" Lift Height	90 1/2" Lift Height	148" Lift Height
Hitch Mounted	Caster Wheels	Caster Wheels	Caster Wheels
~$450	~$269	~$369	~$849

After reviewing the price differences and with space issues we pulled the trigger on the DIY Modified Harbor Freight Truck Crane MOD which we mounted to our truck hitch.

Here’s the parts we bought from from Harbor Freight along with comparable Amazon parts as not everyone has a Harbor Freight close by.

CUSTOM TRUCK CRANE ENGINE HOIST PARTS LIST

• The main truck crane Harbor Freight Truck Crane or purchase one online 👉 Truck Crane with winch

• We need a mount for the truck crane so we bought a Harbor Freight Hitch Extender with Step or grab it online 👉 Hitch Extender with Step

• A winch will make lifting easy. Buy this Harbor Freight Winch or purchase online 👉 Truck Crane with Winch

• The trailer jack will help stabilize the load grab this one from Harbor Freight Trailer Jack or online here 👉 Trailer Jack

• The main hitch to mount to your vehicle will also be needed. Use this one from Harbor Freight Adjustable Trailer Hitch or online 👉 Adjustable Trailer Hitch

TOTAL PRICE

In total the price from Harbor Freight comes in around $450. But the ~$60 winch isn’t absolutely required. You could buy a lower cost adjustable trailer hitch too.

Harbor Freight also has random 20% off any single item coupon days which we took advantage of.

DIY TRUCK CRANE MOD ASSEMBLY

Overall assembly for the DIY truck crane mounted to a hitch is pretty straight forward.

1. You’ll have to drill holes into the hitch step which correspond to the existing holes on the truck crane.

2. Bolt the truck crane down to the hitch step with the included bolts.

3. Then add the hitch extender mounted to the trailer jack to give the truck crane a little more tongue weight support.

4. Mount the wench onto the truck crane.

5. Position the truck in front of your hood, extend the boom, chain the motor, and lift it out of your ride with the truck crane.

If you have the boom extended to its max capacity, the swing radius capability will be limited. Full swing with the boom plus 300 lbs of engine weight is too much for the hitch.

You’d have to add some additional support to get the full swing radius with the boom fully extended.

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