Someone please recommend me an engine crane;)

[n3p 3]

Good morning chaps,

 

Just bought a new engine, and will therefore need an engine crane. Hire place down the road charge £40 for a day, so I don't think thats really feasable seeming as they seem to go for £100 on fleagay. I will obviously need to remove my KR engine, so it seems like a worthwhile investment.

 

Any recommendations? variants? No-no's?

 

Any help would be good, you may get an e-hug :camp:

[dr_mat 0]

Yeah but if you buy one you will then have an engine crane kicking around that you have no use for!

Chances are the rented one would be rather better made, too, cos you do get what you pay for.. :)

 

That said, of course I can see the point of owning it. It's just a bit sad that "things" are so cheap nowadays that re-use is more expensive than buying new.

[pete_griff 0]

i have a sealey jobby - can lift up to 1 ton (i think) and cost me about 100 sheets delivered (possibly 120 - can't remember off hand).

 

matt is right, they are a pain in the arse to store/move around, but if you have got the space for one, then they are well worth it.

 

i thought i would only use mine once in a blue moon - i've used it on my own cars and helped friends more times than i can remember with it since.

 

very useful bit of kit

[fla 9]

I removed my VR engine with a crane but reinstalled it using pallets and a trolley. Crane would have made it a good site easier but at least i dont have to keep one stored. There was a guide to removing adn installing an engine somewhere without a crane, have a search. I used this method too. Plus it will save you a few hundred that you may want to spend elsewhere...

[boost monkey 0]

I don't think crane ownership is all that bad: I mean, you must KNOW it's gonna be big and heavy before you buy it!

 

I have a cheapo one off ebay. The main (and possibly only) difference I've noticed with it not being a Sealey/Draper/Clarke one is that the welds are a lot messier that I would have expected from a more expensive item.

 

I rented a crane way back when I had an early Mk2 16v (see Boost Monkey's old cars thread). Having never done it before, I swapped the engine and moved the gearbox over in a day. I think from start to finish it took me 6 hours with a reasonable lunch break. I had to do it in a day because the crane was about £40 a day!

 

This is what made me decide that at some point I would like to buy a crane.

 

Mine gets plenty of use, at the moment it's not doing much but recently helped put my spare KR onto my engine stand, and in the near future I think it will be employed to help ProdigalSon remove his engine, so compared to crane hire of £40 a day (even though they're branded :camp: ) it's already justified itself as a purchase.

 

My crane :salute:

[davidwort 0]

another option is 40 quid or so on an engine support beam (type that spans across the wing mounting points), providing you take the front panel off the car to slide the engine in place rather then planning to drop it in the bay from above.

easy to store and less than half the price of a proper crane, very handy for changing engine mounts, cars that need mounts removed to do cam belts (like the mk4) and obviously anything like engine,gearbox, clutch work, even removing subframes with the engine staying in place.

You could even pop it in the boot of your car to take to needy friends :)

[boost monkey 0]

davidwort's item is really good too, I forgot about those! Hopeing to pick one up to keep the engine in situ when I swap the subframe assemblies over.

[dirtytorque 0]

i've got a crane.From flea bay.used it to take an audi 80 engine out and i'll use it on my g60 soonish.

sits neatly in the corner of my garage.

When I don't need it anymore i'll just sell it.

It will be cheaper in th longrun that renting.

No time constraint etc.

[Lufbramatt 0]

got one for £90 from ebay, went and collected it from the place in essex and saved the £30 delivery charge. Its unbranded but exactly the same as the sealey ones, used it the other day to get my new engine out of the van and it picked up the whole engine, gearbox, subframe, brakes and suspension as one lump with no probs.

 

The legs fold up but its still quite bulky, and the best bit is that they hold their price really well on ebay so when ive finished with it i'll relist it and get a good chunk of my money back :)

[boost monkey 0]

As a car enthusiast, can you ever be finished with an engine crane? :lol:

[n3p 3]

Cheers for the input guys,

 

I reckon a crane would be worth the investment in that case, and as mentioned - I think it'll come in handy more times than I'd think! Fleabay could be an option, although I'd prefer it if I could just go buy it outright from a shop..Do halfrauds sell these?

 

Chars 8)

[dirtytorque 0]

Cheers for the input guys,

 

I reckon a crane would be worth the investment in that case, and as mentioned - I think it'll come in handy more times than I'd think! Fleabay could be an option, although I'd prefer it if I could just go buy it outright from a shop..Do halfrauds sell these?

 

Chars 8)

 

No.

Machine mart sell them though.

[n3p 3]

Good man! South Croydon Machine Mart is within walking distance to mine, so i guess I could roll it down the road

 

Thanks everyone 8)8)8)

[dirtytorque 0]

Good man! South Croydon Machine Mart is within walking distance to mine, so i guess I could roll it down the road

 

Thanks everyone 8)8)8)

 

it will come in a largish box.

you will have to assemble it.

Good luck.Let us know how the build goes.

Take some pics.

:)

[Chris 0]

Cheers for the input guys,

 

I reckon a crane would be worth the investment in that case, and as mentioned - I think it'll come in handy more times than I'd think! Fleabay could be an option, although I'd prefer it if I could just go buy it outright from a shop..Do halfrauds sell these?

 

Chars 8)

 

No.

Machine mart sell them though.

 

thats where i got my clarke engine lift from, its a good lift and not too expensive either. i'd recommend it

[n3p 3]

it will come in a largish box.

you will have to assemble it.

Good luck.Let us know how the build goes.

Take some pics.

:)

 

Bleurgh! Overlooked that :( Oh well, I guess I could just drag it down the road then

 

Will get some pics up when I can. Still haven't got inernet sorted out at my new flat, and photobucket is blocked at work! So woesome, i could have paid BT £125 to get a new line, but used some of that moolah on an impulse engine buy! But will definately start a build thread soon :D

 

Aaah I won't give you the full details yet, but lets say that my 16v should be pushing somewhere in the region of 200bhp when done ;) Which is enough for me! Turbo route is too expensive for me right now, maybe later!

[n3p 3]

thats where i got my clarke engine lift from, its a good lift and not too expensive either. i'd recommend it

 

Hi,

 

Which one did you get? 500kg? 1tonne? etc? Cheers

[Chris 0]

thats where i got my clarke engine lift from, its a good lift and not too expensive either. i'd recommend it

 

Hi,

 

Which one did you get? 500kg? 1tonne? etc? Cheers

 

 

 

i got the tonne one, they should both be the same price though about £150, may as well go with the bigger one

 

 

there is a long reach one too which could have come in handy for me a few times but its personal preference really.

[boost monkey 0]

Aaah I won't give you the full details yet, but lets say that my 16v should be pushing somewhere in the region of 200bhp when done ;)

 

Sounds like you've got your work cut out! The Group A Mk2 16v engine only made 180hp n/a and that was very peaky!