Pulling E30 Motor without Engine Hoist

Do you have a small garage and need to pull an engine?

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BUILD A DIY TRUCK CRANE

So we need to pull a cracked engine from our BMW E30 build and install another engine in our Datsun 510 build. We have a garage, but we’re tight on space and the driveway is sloped. This gave us an excuse to go to Harbor Freight.

They a few different engine hoists and even a gantry, but they won’t fit in our garage. After browsing around, I though why not modify a truck crane? Just like that we were onto another DIY project, but don’t worry. We’ll provide you with a cost breakdown before you decide to go off and do the same as we did:

COST / FEATURE COMPARISON BREAKDOWN

DIY Truck Crane Hitch	1 Ton Engine Hoist	2 Ton Engine Hoist	Gantry Crane
1/2 Ton Capacity	1 Ton Capacity	2 Ton Capacity	1 Ton Capacity
90" (plus hitch height) Lift Height	84" Lift Height	90 1/2" Lift Height	148" Lift Height
Hitch Mounted	Caster Wheels	Caster Wheels	Caster Wheels
~$450	~$269	~$369	~$849

So we went with the DIY Truck Crane which we’ll mount to our truck hitch due to the space issues. Here’s the parts we bought from from Harbor Freight along with comparable Amazon parts as not everyone has a Harbor Freight close by.

CUSTOM ENGINE HOIST PARTS LIST

1. The main truck crane Harbor Freight Truck Crane or online 👉 Truck Crane with winch

2. This is needed to mount the crane Harbor Freight Hitch Extender with Step or online 👉 Hitch Extender with Step

3. A winch will make lifting easy by one from Harbor Freight Winch or online with Truck Crane 👉 Truck Crane with Winch

4. The trailer jack will help stabilize the load Harbor Freight Trailer Jack or online 👉 Trailer Jack

5. The main hitch to mount to your vehicle Harbor Freight Adjustable Trailer Hitch or online 👉 Adjustable Trailer Hitch

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CUSTOM ENGINE HOIST TOTAL PRICE

In total the price from Harbor Freight comes in around $450. But the ~$60 winch isn’t absolutely required and you could buy a lower cost adjustable trailer hitch. Harbor Freight also has random 20% off any single item coupon days which we took advantage of. And here’s the cost breakdown between other options if you have the room:

Assembly for the DIY truck crane mounted to a hitch is pretty straight forward. You’ll have to drill holes into the hitch step which correspond to the existing holes on the truck crane. Bolt the truck crane down to the hitch step with the included bolts. Then we also added the hitch extender mounted to the trailer jack to give the truck crane a little more tongue weight support.

One thing we found out is if you have the boom extended to its max capacity, the swing radius capability is reduced. Full swing with the boom plus 300 lbs of engine weight is too much for the hitch. You’d have to add some additional support to get the full swing radius with the boom fully extended. Check out our video for details.

👇 WATCH HOW WE BUILT AND TESTED THE TRUCK CRANE👇

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