Gantry for pulling engines and transmissions?

tom in nh · May 6, 2018

Considering the use of a gantry to do such tasks, as I am getting older and cannot rely on local help.
Would use it for other heavy lifting tasks, but mainly for pulling engines with transmissions still attached. Largest would be diesel equipped one ton trucks.
Any pros / cons, units to focus on or stay away from, etc.?
Many thanks.
Tom

ewlsey · May 6, 2018

I have a 2 ton Thern that I love. But, it's not terribly useful for your task. You'd have to remove the hood. Also, it's not really very easy to roll the gantry by yourself.

j r hayes · May 6, 2018

I have one. I like it. only problem I have is that my floor I not exactly flat, so the weight tends to go in the direction of the floor. jonathan

Ox · May 7, 2018

It works, but they are kind of _ too rigid.
When you hoist "up", it's going UP!
No spring action like a :toetap:

cherry picker :eek:

A soft start on the hook especially, and even helpfull on the other axi's would be very helpfull in making it more better.

----------------------

Think Snow Eh!
Ox

Cheetah · Jun 22, 2018

I use a crusty scrapyard built gantry for the same thing, though I don't think it'd be stout enough to pull a big diesel and transmission.

Shortcomings of mine: no carriage for lateral movement, just a welded eye. I highly suggest one with a carriage, and if you've got money to spare or are simply willing to spend a little more for convenience, get a gear-driven carriage. An extra chain hangs down and drives a wheel so you can roll the carriage side to side in a controlled manner.

Unless you make up some type of tracks for it to run in, you'll probably struggle to push the gantry around alone without running back and forth and going a little bit at a time. I actually just busted up the crud in my casters so they'll (hopefully) work a little better.

gbent · Jun 22, 2018

I still have one I built decades ago that I used to use for pulling engines. Its really a 2 person job to roll it around when it has a load. The casters are always pointed in the wrong direction when you need to roll it. I have an old Yale geared block hoist on a trolley, and it sure eats a lot of head room.

If I was going to pull engines on a regular basis by myself without straining, I would prefer either an overhead crane or a jib crane. If I was going to use a gantry I would make it large enough to have room on the sides and put it on steel rails so I could move it by myself.

DDoug · Jun 23, 2018

Why push the whole gantry ?

Make the "a" part wide enough to straddle the car, and run the beam with the trolley
running "front to back".

Actually, just the "back" support needs wider to straddle the car, could be 2 post's.

The one in front of the car could be a single post.

Make the trolley beam long enough to put a pallet in front of the car, to set the engine
on. Or longer yet to back a pick up truck in sideways.

JohnEvans · Jun 23, 2018

A friend of mine has one from Horor Freight and it works quite well,nice feature is the height can be adjusted. But as said you really almost need two people to move it with any control with 4 swivel casters.

Bill D · Jun 23, 2018

For the trolley use a "army" hoist or a low headroom trolley to give more hook height. The gantry is really not supposed to be moved after the load is picked up. I have a OTC "Floor Crane" it weighs about twice the standard cherry picker design. The wheels are also about twice the diameter. Still easier to push around at twice the weight.
The legs pivot for clearance. it can just straddle a bridgeport base or spread wide for more stability.
Bil lD.

4,4 lb. Cap. Heavy-Duty Crane | Heavy-Duty Floor Crane | OTC Tools

Mud · Jun 23, 2018

I discovered there are tons of them on Craigslist at widely varying prices and dramatically different sizes/types and quality/condition. I searched a 500 mile radius and finally found the perfect unit 1/4 mile away. Mine has casters that lock in position which makes it easier to maneuver w/o help. I have 3 trolleys for mine, I've had all 3 in place and in use at one time which can be very handy, especially for positioning or flipping large items. One trolley is a quick attach style which can be installed without disassembling anything, it's super handy.

CalG · Jun 23, 2018

I've got a shop crane. It's a good one, but I don't seem to use it much. When I built the shop I thought to put in an overhead tracked trolly. That way the entire floor area could be covered without taking up any floor space. But the price! I couldn't justify it. But I did consider picking up a standard two post car LIFT. New they can be had for $3k or so, used, a thousand bucks gets one. A lift with a cross beam and a chain fall would do everything I need! Plus, It's a lift! Pretty handy piece for a lot of things. The posts take up room though. Someday, maybe.

Ox · Jun 23, 2018

I have to say _ I have learned sumpthing in this h'yah thread. Up to now I thought that "bridge" and "gantry" were synonymous, but I see that "gantry" typically is referred to as an A-frame. However I doo see some pics that are essentially a bridge, but were still a walking floor type in stead of overhead railways. My post above was in ref to a bridge, which is what I used to pull the motor out of my forktruck.----------------------Think Snow Eh!Ox

DDoug · Jun 26, 2018

Ox said:
It works, but they are kind of _ too rigid.
When you hoist "up", it's going UP!
No spring action like a cherry picker

A soft start on the hook especially, and even helpfull on the other axi's would be very helpfull in making it more better.

----------------------

Think Snow Eh!
Ox

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