Super-High Cherry Picker or build a gantry for engine R&R?

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Super-High Cherry Picker or build a gantry for engine R&R?

Postby Begle1 » Tue Aug 19, 2014 8:28 am

I'm looking for a cherry picker to pull the engine out of my truck.

I started with buying a Harbor Freight 2-ton. Got it home and it had two hydraulic rams but none of the requisite hardware, so I returned it.

So last night I'm looking at the large gantry crane they have there, wondering if that'd work.



Anybody know of a cherry picker that can pull an engine out of a stock-height first gen without removing the radiator and front stuff? What'd you need, 9 feet of lift?


A gantry would sure be cool...

Or a fork lift.
1990 D-250 Regular Cab: Tweaked injection pump, built transmission, a cataclysmic charlie foxtrot of electronics, the most intense street-ran water injection system in the country, and some more unique stuff.
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Re: Super-High Cherry Picker or build a gantry for engine R&R?

Postby Tacoclaw » Tue Aug 19, 2014 12:50 pm

You'd be a fool not to pull the radiator, especially if you plan on leaving the transmission in it. It's not worth the hassle trying not to hit it, and removing it gives you a legitimate 6" more room to thrash around/stand.

I used our matching 1900's A-frame and 2-ton chain hoist to pull mine, besides having to manually keep the chain tight as I picked it up it worked perfectly.
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Re: Super-High Cherry Picker or build a gantry for engine R&R?

Postby bgilbert » Tue Aug 19, 2014 2:28 pm

I'm with Taco on this. Pull the radiator, you certainly don't want an expensive mistake on your hands. I have Harbor Freights 2 ton foldable cherry picker and I highly recommend it. Go buy another one there. The first one must have been a return. I also recommend their 'load leveler'. The chain/hook that comes with the cherry picker is a little long. I ended up cutting out a few links to attain more lift. After a number of years, I got tired of Nicole doing the pumping lol, so I bought one of their air/hydraulic 8 ton rams to replace the manual 8 ton ram that comes with it. It actually netted at least 10-12" of lift with the new ram.
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Re: Super-High Cherry Picker or build a gantry for engine R&R?

Postby Begle1 » Tue Aug 19, 2014 3:01 pm

What position do you guys put the boom in when lifting a dressed and wet 6BT?

Seems like I want a 4 ton cherry picker at a minimum... But I can't find any 4 ton cherry pickers regardless, so eh, I'll probably end up with a crappy Harbor Freight one...
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Re: Super-High Cherry Picker or build a gantry for engine R&R?

Postby bgilbert » Tue Aug 19, 2014 4:13 pm

Begle1 wrote:What position do you guys put the boom in when lifting a dressed and wet 6BT?

Seems like I want a 4 ton cherry picker at a minimum... But I can't find any 4 ton cherry pickers regardless, so eh, I'll probably end up with a crappy Harbor Freight one...

Without going out and looking at it, I generally use the 1 ton position only because I don't trust the 3/4 ton (all the way out) and the 2 ton position (all way in) doesn't give enough reach, particularly with the engine up high in the air. I've pulled, installed, lifted, loaded, or moved fully dressed 6BT's at least a couple dozen times with my cheap HF 2 ton unit. So quit your whining about it :lol: . It's plenty and will do the job fine.

A 4 ton unit (8k lbs, engine is 1k tops) is going to be extreme overkill, very bulky, hard to find, and expensive.

The foldable unit is where it's at. Don't be afraid of it or think it is weaker than a non-folding unit. I like it because you can fold up the legs and get it out of the way when not in use.
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Re: Super-High Cherry Picker or build a gantry for engine R&R?

Postby Begle1 » Tue Aug 19, 2014 4:29 pm

I thought a fully dressed, wet Cummins was around 1,300 pounds?


At least that's what I remember from back when I was trying to put one in an AMC Gremlin. :lol:
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Re: Super-High Cherry Picker or build a gantry for engine R&R?

Postby PToombs » Tue Aug 19, 2014 5:02 pm

Fully loaded, ready to run 6BT is 1100 lbs. So says the Cummins engine manual. A 4BT is 900 lbs. (just so ya know ;) )
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Re: Super-High Cherry Picker or build a gantry for engine R&R?

Postby CumminsPower59 » Tue Aug 19, 2014 6:02 pm

I have an el-cheapo Larin 2 ton Farm and Fleet special, it was on sale for about $130. Bought it in 2005, it has served without a hiccup since.
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