Ravenbar
Member
I bought this well used engine stand years ago for $50. I recently needed to use it, as my Jeeps engine dropped as piston skirt into the pan.
One issue I found when getting it ready was that the rear straight casters had been overloaded, and significantly folded inward, resulting int he wheels binding and not rolling.
When browsing in Harbor Fright, I found some " push lawn mower" style wheels rated at 1100lbs each, but the highest capacity swivel wheel I Mcould find was only 330lbs. THe Jeep 4.0 engine the stand will likely be used to store weights 483lbs, so a bit close to the rating for my liking given the source. The swivel radius also gave me concern for being the front wheel, as that would put the contact surface of the wheel outside the tube when fully turned. My yet to be implemented solution is to change out the rear wheels for swivel castors, and add a pair of the 1100lb rated lawnmower type wheels to the front of the stand, via a drilled and welded in place 1/2" spindle through the tube and a wheel on either side. The front wheels may or may not have a crossbar added, to spread them out and increase the sability of the stand. I do know I'll be extending the stand to the front, and adding an upright somehow connected to the block, so help support the leverage the engine places on the main upright.
Another issue is that the entire load on the upright is pushing on the bolt that holds in in place, onto thin wall tubing. I plan on somehow adding some thickness to the vertical to compensate, as all that happens now is the bolt is driven into the tubing. As there is limited external space to thicken the tube, I may even cut out that part of the tuber, and replace it with a section of 3/16" plate. Welding the upright in place was done by a previous owner, and failed before I got the stand. The front "leg" was also welded in place, but those welds are holding fine.
I do wonder about this stand's previous life. Previous owner told me he'd had larger V8's on it(5.7 for example, when I questioned it's ability to hold a 4.0(an issue not because of it'e 482lb weight, but it's substancial length creating leverage on the stand)) When I was getting the stand ready, I noticed the upper bars that mount to the block, in this case made of solid 3/4" square stock, were slightly bent. I can't see even a rather heavy V8 bending that, so I suspect some sort of diesel engine in the past.
One issue I found when getting it ready was that the rear straight casters had been overloaded, and significantly folded inward, resulting int he wheels binding and not rolling.
When browsing in Harbor Fright, I found some " push lawn mower" style wheels rated at 1100lbs each, but the highest capacity swivel wheel I Mcould find was only 330lbs. THe Jeep 4.0 engine the stand will likely be used to store weights 483lbs, so a bit close to the rating for my liking given the source. The swivel radius also gave me concern for being the front wheel, as that would put the contact surface of the wheel outside the tube when fully turned. My yet to be implemented solution is to change out the rear wheels for swivel castors, and add a pair of the 1100lb rated lawnmower type wheels to the front of the stand, via a drilled and welded in place 1/2" spindle through the tube and a wheel on either side. The front wheels may or may not have a crossbar added, to spread them out and increase the sability of the stand. I do know I'll be extending the stand to the front, and adding an upright somehow connected to the block, so help support the leverage the engine places on the main upright.
Another issue is that the entire load on the upright is pushing on the bolt that holds in in place, onto thin wall tubing. I plan on somehow adding some thickness to the vertical to compensate, as all that happens now is the bolt is driven into the tubing. As there is limited external space to thicken the tube, I may even cut out that part of the tuber, and replace it with a section of 3/16" plate. Welding the upright in place was done by a previous owner, and failed before I got the stand. The front "leg" was also welded in place, but those welds are holding fine.
I do wonder about this stand's previous life. Previous owner told me he'd had larger V8's on it(5.7 for example, when I questioned it's ability to hold a 4.0(an issue not because of it'e 482lb weight, but it's substancial length creating leverage on the stand)) When I was getting the stand ready, I noticed the upper bars that mount to the block, in this case made of solid 3/4" square stock, were slightly bent. I can't see even a rather heavy V8 bending that, so I suspect some sort of diesel engine in the past.