Engine removal at home?

[jumpjets]

I'm just a regular joe with craftsman handtools and a suburban home with a 1 car garage. I'd like to pull my 5.7L merc out of my 21' cuddy cruiser boat to rebuild it. How should I go about pulling it out in my driveway? I've pulled car engines before, but never a boat. Can I put a cherry picker in the bed of a pickup truck and remove it that way, or is it too unstable and dangerous? How do other people pull their engines at home?

 

[Gibsonman2005]

I frown on putting a cherry picker in a truck bed. Danger danger Will Robinson. I've never done a motor pull but I have a cherry picker for my outboard. If you need height that bad rent a boom fork lift or a backhoe and spare yourself a medical bill.

 

[jbcurt00]

Remove the outdrive, drop the air pressure in the trailer tires and lift the tongue as high as reasonably possible. Can your cherry picker clear the transom w the motor now?

If not, know any tow trucker drivers/owners? If you agree to wait until they are slow or in the area on another call, you might get them to hook it and lift it out on 1 call and when you're done, put it back... cheaper then renting a boom lift or forklift.....

Otherwise, build a gantry and use a chain hoist.

 

[GA_Boater]

Or use a large tree branch, although a rental engine hoist, not a Harbor Freight special, in a pickup bed is probably safer.

 

[NHGuy]

If your garage ceiling is high enough you can pick it there with a chainfall. Otherwise it's a gantry or the tow truck guy. The good thing about the gantry is you can use it again. The bad thing is all the space it takes up between uses.
I got lucky, my brother was "holding" a nice wheeled steel gantry for his buddy who didn't have the room to keep it. So I borrowed it.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I pulled my motor on my 16' with my cherry picker. I pulled the motor on a few other boats (18', 19', and a 21') where we had to remove the wheels and put the hubs on the ground riding on 2 x 4's to get the trailer low enough to use the cherry picker. On the 21', had to lift the motor, then crib it, adjust the chain, lift again, crib again, jack boat up, raise cherry picker on blocks, lower boat, then pull boat out from under the cherry picker with lawn tractor with wheels ridding on the 2x4's

I have also built H-frame gantry in my boat storage unit for my current boat, where I had 5 2x4's going up vertical on each side. middle 3 being 10', two outer ones 12', 3 2x10's going horizontal across nesting in it. used two small 2x4's screwed to the walls on each side to keep it upright (free standing, however kept from tipping by the 2x4's) used a come-a-long to do the hoisting

this last time, I used the overhead hoist at work.

I have also used a buddies fork lift with fork extensions, and cribbing to get his motor out of his boat.

 

[JaguarMan]

Take the boat on the trailer where someone can pull it out and put in the back of the truck, then use you engine hoist to remove. I have done that several times.

 

[Benny67]

If you pulled motors on cars, a boat is a breeze compared to that. Done my share of Motors and Transmissions and clutches on my back in my garage over the years. Most Boat engines can come out in about an hour...maybe less if you are real proficient.

If you have a trailer just build a gantry out of 2x6's and buy a $125 lift and a $30 load balancer from Harbor freight. Disconnect the engine and lift it high enough to pull the boat out from under it with the trailer. The whole rig costed me under $250 to set up...just did it a few weeks ago to change a leaking exhaust pipe.

Reverse the process to install....it's that easy...no joke.

 

[jrttoday]

Otherwise, build a gantry and use a chain hoist.

agreed!! and if you have access to a scrap yard, you can buy the steel for cheap. Weld together, or bolt it with grade 8, leave it as long as you need, no rental fees. Drive in and out, take it all down and return for scrap when done. Make it strong, who cares what it looks like, and be safe!!
i'll bet you can build one for less than$100

 

[Alumarine]

Take the boat on the trailer where someone can pull it out and put in the back of the truck, then use you engine hoist to remove. I have done that several times.

This works. Especially if you know anyone with a forklift.
Or even a beam you can attach a winch to.

Once you have everything disconnected, it only takes a couple minutes to pull the motor as long as it's exposed.