Mercruiser 5.7L Engine Hoist Recommendations

[Raptor61]

I need to pull my Mercruiser 5.7L engine to change out the oil pan and timing cover. Am looking at renting an aluminum gantry with 10 ft span and high lift for added safety but looking for cheaper (also safe) options if anyone has had good luck with a different approach. I have an 8 foot beam with boat on trailer so would need a fairly high lift. My garage has all the height I need but need to get the motor up high enough to work on it, preferably out of the boat and on a stand to rotate it. Homemade wooden gantry is too risky for me and isn't a road I want to go down. Thanks.

 

[Bondo]

I need to pull my Mercruiser 5.7L engine to change out the oil pan and timing cover. Am looking at renting an aluminum gantry with 10 ft span and high lift for added safety but looking for cheaper (also safe) options if anyone has had good luck with a different approach. I have an 8 foot beam with boat on trailer so would need a fairly high lift. My garage has all the height I need but need to get the motor up high enough to work on it, preferably out of the boat and on a stand to rotate it. Homemade wooden gantry is too risky for me and isn't a road I want to go down. Thanks.

Ayuh,.... What sorta structure is holdin' the roof up,..??

Up in the I/O non-repair forum, there's a thread where a guy is buildin' a gantry off the roof supports,....

 

[Raptor61]

Fairly new finished garage including ceiling with concealed i-beams that I would rather not tear into, but had thought of that. This will be a one-time pull and won't have a need to re-use anything I build into my ceiling. Will be selling the house in a couple of years so want to keep it intact.

 

[flashback]

I might buy the house if you install a lift!
Couldn't resist..

 

[flashback]

I rented a trailerable engine lift, it just made it.

 

[Raptor61]

If the price is right, house and custom heavy duty lift in the garage ceiling is yours!

Also looking at trailerable hoists and have not found one that has enough height even with lowering trailer as far to the floor as possible. That also doesn't allow for moving the trailer forward and getting the engine down to stand level to attach. May still work on it dangling over the bilge - quick pan and cover change and back down.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Buy a used A-frame gantry and hoist. Use it, then sell it for what you paid for it.

Or pull the trailer gires, run the trailer on the hubs and rent a tall engine hoist

 

[Scott06]

Fairly new finished garage including ceiling with concealed i-beams that I would rather not tear into, but had thought of that. This will be a one-time pull and won't have a need to re-use anything I build into my ceiling. Will be selling the house in a couple of years so want to keep it intact.

If you have a beam supporting the roof don't really need to cut into it too bad. In my old house that had an i beam running doen the middle of the garage i cut two small holes in the drywall either side of the beam, fished a rigging strap through it and connected my chain fall with a shackle

 

[2004 searay]

if its a 1 time deal,
call a tow truck company, they will come with a tow truck and lift it out for you and just charge for the time.
they lift it out, you bolt it to an engine stand, do what you need to do snd call them back when ready

 

[Raptor61]

Thanks. Can't find a good used gantry option locally to make it worthwhile. Have also heard many use a tow truck company and I'll get some quotes on their time. That may be the best option to get it out, take whatever time I need to work on it on the stand and then call them back for the drop back in. Just a bit tougher to turn the boat around in the space in driveway but can make that work.

 

[2004 searay]

Thanks. Can't find a good used gantry option locally to make it worthwhile. Have also heard many use a tow truck company and I'll get some quotes on their time. That may be the best option to get it out, take whatever time I need to work on it on the stand and then call them back for the drop back in. Just a bit tougher to turn the boat around in the space in driveway but can make that work.

put the boat out on the street just befoe the tow truck shows up, give you more rooom to do what is needed. have the engine completely ready to lift out before the TT shows up to minimize the hoursly chrges. you will need more time to reinstall than pull it, make sure you get all the ground wires off of the bell housing beforehand. probably ground wires on each flank.

 

[nola mike]

It would be a pain to reinstall with a truck imo. Probably need finer control over positioning than what a truck could do with limited time available.

 

[tpenfield]

Some of the gantries at Harbor Freight would do the job, but you would need a solid/paved surface for it to rest on.

It is going to cost you about $1K with all the stuff you will need to go along with it. I like the idea of search CL and elsewhere for a used one, then sell it when done.

 

[Pmt133]

I recently used my cousins boom truck... even as an 1988 the control was plenty fine, it it wasn't like I was replacing same with same so we had to put it in and out several times to check clearance, get everything aligned etc... On the sketchy end, we've used a skid steer... I would not recommend that... but it worked. My local marina has pulled engines for people in the past for basically time too.

 

[nola mike]

I went through this a few years ago. Ended up just building one out of lumber. I figured I could reuse everything when I was done. That said, it's still standing in my driveway, because I know that as soon as I dismantle it my engine will explode.

 

[JASinIL2006]

I need to pull my Mercruiser 5.7L engine to change out the oil pan and timing cover. Am looking at renting an aluminum gantry with 10 ft span and high lift for added safety but looking for cheaper (also safe) options if anyone has had good luck with a different approach. I have an 8 foot beam with boat on trailer so would need a fairly high lift. My garage has all the height I need but need to get the motor up high enough to work on it, preferably out of the boat and on a stand to rotate it. Homemade wooden gantry is too risky for me and isn't a road I want to go down. Thanks.

Building a wooden gantry is actually one of the easier and safer routes to go, IMHO, and you can reuse the lumber when you're done, so it's probably less expensive, too.

Below is the one I made; I probably overbuilt it, out of the same sense of concern you voice.