Fast Question - Can the Harbor Freight 1-ton engine shop crane lift the 4.0L???

Super fast question...

I'm headed to harbor freight in the next few minutes. I went to get the coupons out and found the 1-ton capacity foldable shop crane with coupon for $99! This is on sale right now for $189.99 which is a hell of a deal.

I was going to buy the the 2-ton to be on the safe side which retails for $220 right now, but found this deal and am now on the fence. I know the 4.0L is a heavy beast though and don't want to assemble just to find out it won't work. Anyone have experience with this?

Nevermind... found an answer that gives me enough confidence to try it out.

You cannot get anything better at this price. If you were to rent one for use, and needed it for more than a weekend, you could've already bought a crane like this. Took me roughly an hour to piece it together when I got it. It just takes time because of all the small 4 bolts that holds all the wheels to the frame and legs. Straightforward instructions and anyone literate can put it together no problem. One small problem I had is the two thin supporting side posts that hold up the ram do not line up after you have tightened everything else in the frame, so my recommendation is to lightly tighten the frame pieces during assembly until everything is fitted then tighten down completely.

So far I have used it to pull two engines, both sucessfully and smoothly. The first engine I pulled was a Ford Mustang 5.0L Small block V8 (about 600lbs). I had it at the 1/2 ton setting. Lifted it no problem. I also accidentally used the 1/4th ton setting on accident and it withstand the weight even though 1/4th ton is 500lbs and the engine weighed more than that.

The second engine I pulled was a Mustang 4.6L modular V8 which weighed in 700 pounds total with transmission. I was using this on a slope on a driveway, and it held out fine and was stable, after I put some sand bags on the end and chocked the wheels for stability since it was on a hill.
Since transmission was in the car as well, I pushed the crane to its lifting height limit and got the engine and transmission out no problem, that is with using HF's load lever(very worth while investment, see my other review).

Only complaints with it is that it is noisy when you move it around and the wheels do get banged up and hard to move on rough surfaces.

Wow, you did all that in 7 minutes? Just Wow.

Lol I think he is quoting someone else.
The cherry picker works fine for the 4.0

Don't get the 750lb engine stand I have to use a jack stand to hold my engine up on that turd.

AIbandit said:

Don't get the 750lb engine stand I have to use a jack stand to hold my engine up on that turd.

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HF's 1-ton lift has worked fine for two 4.0 engine changes, as well as their 1000-lb engine stands. The stands are inexpensive enough that, with coupons, I bought two, making the the swap over process easier.

AIbandit said:

Lol I think he is quoting someone else.
The cherry picker works fine for the 4.0

Don't get the 750lb engine stand I have to use a jack stand to hold my engine up on that turd.

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Dangit! I just bought that 750lb turd engine stand. Looks like I'll be going back to Harbor Freight tomorrow. On the bright side I think I can use a 25% off coupon since its a separate visit.

Thanks for the feedback guys. It's good to know this engine hoist will work without being the guinea pig!

Haha, and yeah I was quoting someone else from HF's website.

Jonner said:

Dangit! I just bought that 750lb turd engine stand. Looks like I'll be going back to Harbor Freight tomorrow. On the bright side I think I can use a 25% off coupon since its a separate visit.

Thanks for the feedback guys. It's good to know this engine hoist will work without being the guinea pig!

Haha, and yeah I was quoting someone else from HF's website.

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The 2000lb one is the only one I'd expect to not bend. The I6 has a lot of leverage against it. You could use jackstands like me. I just had to use my cherry picker to hold it up while I did the oilpump/pan.
Maybe someone with a 1k will post.

I have Summit Racing's version of the 2k lb engine stand. Basically the same thing as the HF unit except all black.

Held my elephant of a 440 on it without an issue (probably just over 600 lbs full dressed from carb to pan).

I'd be a little worried about the 1k lb unit though.

AIbandit said:

The 2000lb one is the only one I'd expect to not bend. The I6 has a lot of leverage against it. You could use jackstands like me. I just had to use my cherry picker to hold it up while I did the oil pump/pan. Maybe someone with a 1k will post.

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The 1-ton stand has worked fine for a 4.0 but the 2-ton stand would be needed for a heavier engine. The 2-ton model is a lot bigger, using more space than what my garage allows
The stand does not have a good bearing surface (grease it during assembly) and can be hard to rotate once the head is installed, changing the center of gravity. I sometimes have needed to use the hoist to help flip the engine over.
For the cost, $40 with coupons, it's hard to beat. For the price, get two if you are swapping in a new engine, one stand for each engine. It made my life a lot easier. You can probably Craig's List the stands (and hoist) when done and recoup most of your money.

I got REAL paranoid when I have my new 4.0 sitting on a stand. No head or nothing, I still used a jackstand to be safe.

Always crank UP

I have two 750# stands and I have never had an issue with the 4.0's sitting on them. I even roll them out into the driveway to pressure wash the engines. One is a Northern Tool and the other is a Harbor Freight. Maybe the ones that I have are older and built better. I have had them for at least 10 years.

I don't get it. Are engine stands / lifts routinely sold with a nominal capacity that's above their engineered safe working load? I'd find it hard to believe... what tool maker / seller wants the liability exposure of engines falling on people?