Harbor freight 750lb engine stand work with yoke?

[r-mm]

Im using one of these for my alfa engine rebuild and its great, especially for $45 750 lb. Engine Stand

Has anyone used it for the 911 motor and trans? Id likely buy this yoke Porsche 911 VW 5 Arm Engine Stand Yoke "The Original" Best Quality Best Price | eBay

Thanks for you advice. This is for and engine clean and top end job i just started on today.

[quattrorunner]

I built my turbo engine on one. Use the porsche tool to fix it to though( its made to work with it).
It's cheep but works fine.

[TT Oversteer]

I bought the ebay yoke you refer to. It's plenty strong and ok for the price but it does have some significant limitations: You must remove the engine mounted oil cooler before it will fit and there is no room to install the clutch & pressure plate. I also could not install the exhaust heat exchangers on my 3.2 with the engine mounted to this yoke.

[911pcars]

I once borrowed a friend's HF stand. After about a week, I returned it. It's fine when stationary. However, the 3-pt wheels don't inspire much confidence when rolling it. YMMV.

I opted to buy the 4-caster version from a local O-Reillys for about $65.00 and the pseudo-Porsche engine mount from ebay.

Sherwood

[Heinz911]

Next to the stability, a four wheeled U-shape stand provides more room for an oil pan/tray

[Mr Project]

I put a Ford FE big-block on one of those HF stands once, and it flexed so much under the weight that I didn't even unhook it from the hoist - I jacked it back up and bought another stand, this time a 1200 lb stand with a U-shaped base. That engine didn't quite weigh 750lbs since it was stripped down a bit, but it was HEAVY. Probably would be OK for lighter engines but the 1200 lb stand was something like an extra $20 or $30. I gave the HF one to a friend who works on VWs.

I have had the same experience as TT Oversteer with the ebay yoke. I did do some creative grinding on the yoke so that I could get the exhaust heat exhangers and crossover tubes removed, but the oil cooler needed to be removed, and the flywheel interfered pretty badly, it needed to be removed as well if you wanted to rotate the engine while on the stand.

[toddu]

I bought a 1200lb stand from Northern Tool. They didn't have any in back so I asked if I would get a discount on the floor model. 20% off and I didn't have to assemble it :-)

Todd

[r-mm]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm more than happy to upgrade the engine stand, its peanuts compared to the Yoke. Yokely speaking, what is "the Cadillac" which allows full access/rotation and a minimum parts removal? I presumed the ebay was just a no name version of this with the same functionality, no? http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/shopcart/TOOL/POR_TOOL_WTD070_pg23.htm

Since this is my first engine drop (started disconnecting last night in fact) - would the sequence be:

Drop motor onto my ATV jack
Remove tranny
Remove engine oil cooler if req due to ebay stand
Remove heat exchangers
Mount Yoke
Pick motor by yoke onto stand

[Mr Project]

Other guys have more experience than I, but my $.02:

Originally Posted by r-mm

Drop motor onto my ATV jack
Remove tranny
Remove engine oil cooler if req due to ebay stand
Remove heat exchangers - One of the main reasons to have the engine on the stand is so that you can flip it over and work at a comfortable height to remove those heat exchangers IMO! You might either plan to grind the ebay yoke to allow clearance or just remove the crossover tube prior to mounting the yoke.
Mount Yoke
Pick motor by yoke onto stand You don't lift via the yoke, you still lift the engine via the lift hook on the case ( probably in addition to one other lift point towards the front of the engine ). You then slide the yoke into the receiver on your engine stand once the engine is in the air.

The gold standard is the P201 yoke sold by our host. The flange solves the flywheel and oil cooler access issues. Pelican Parts - Product Information: PEL-TOL-P201

[Mitch1]

I'm using the HF model now. If you're not planning on needing to move it around too much, it's fine. I got the more expensive yoke and it's a work of art. Another thing to consider if you get the u-shaped stand is what method of lifting from ATV jack to stand you are going to use. I had an old heavy duty stand that had a base that was too wide to move into the engine hoist legs.

[911pcars]

Since the P201 adapter clones must work on a variety of engine stands, the adapter arm that allows the engine to rotate and lock is often supplied blank.

If the goal is to rotate and lock the engine in various positions (you do), you may have to drill holes in the adapter yoke to match the stop pin holes in your engine stand.

Sherwood

[r-mm]

I can't see the obvious difference between P201 and the ebay Yoke in the pictures. Is it correct that the ebay yoke can in fact be modified to allow the motor to rotate freely? I'm not afraid of my angle grinder and its literally 1/3rd the cost of the P201...

[Mr Project]

Originally Posted by r-mm

I can't see the obvious difference between P201 and the ebay Yoke in the pictures. Is it correct that the ebay yoke can in fact be modified to allow the motor to rotate freely? I'm not afraid of my angle grinder and its literally 1/3rd the cost of the P201...

1 - If the flywheel is removed my 3.2 is able to turn freely on the ebay yoke. With the flywheel installed, the flywheel teeth tend to hit either a yoke arm or one of my stud spacers (sockets) that I have holding the yoke to the engine. Grinding my yoke to allow for engine rotation with the flywheel installed would be tricky - I'm not afraid of my grinder either, but weakening the yoke arms is not something I'm crazy about.

2 - The P201 yoke has a very thick and specially shaped flange where it attaches to the engine. This spaces the yoke away from the engine slightly and allows clearance in several key areas. The ebay yoke is just a flat piece of 1/4" (or so) steel for the flange.

Keep in mind you can probably recoup a lot of the cost of the P201 if you resell it after you're done. I knew that I'd never be able to talk myself into selling it, and I was willing to live with the limitations of the ebay yoke, so I went that way.

[911pcars]

Originally Posted by r-mm

I can't see the obvious difference between P201 and the ebay Yoke in the pictures. Is it correct that the ebay yoke can in fact be modified to allow the motor to rotate freely? I'm not afraid of my angle grinder and its literally 1/3rd the cost of the P201...

If you can attach the ebay yoke onto your engine, it'll rotate when installed in your engine stand. I don't think that's an issue. However, the unknown is whether the yoke will clear the exhaust system on specific MY engines.

A separate issue is whether the eBay yoke has holes drilled peripherally that will match the holes in your engine stand to lock it in position. My yoke was undrilled and thus had to drill holes accordingly. If already drilled, compare the location of the yoke hole(s) with those on the engine stand.

The factory P201 yoke is designed to fit into a compatible engine stand or bench mount. Is yours compatible?

Sherwood

[toddu]

Keep in mind the diameter of the yoke where it slides into carrier might not fit the cheaper stands as well.

Todd

[r-mm]

Originally Posted by 911pcars

If you can attach the ebay yoke onto your engine, it'll rotate when installed in your engine stand. I don't think that's an issue. However, the unknown is whether the yoke will clear the exhaust system on specific MY engines.

Sherwood

Okay now my head is spinning a bit. Good point... if the engine can be bolted to the yoke, what would stop the yoke from spinning in the engine stand, since the engine has a fixed relationship to the yoke?

I checked and the ebay yoke has the same OD as the HF stand.

Mr Project - you mentioned flywheel conflicts, what about the stock exhaust on a 3.2?

[Lapkritis]

Originally Posted by r-mm

Im using one of these for my alfa engine rebuild and its great, especially for $45 750 lb. Engine Stand

Has anyone used it for the 911 motor and trans? Id likely buy this yoke Porsche 911 VW 5 Arm Engine Stand Yoke "The Original" Best Quality Best Price | eBay

Thanks for you advice. This is for and engine clean and top end job i just started on today.

I used a similar combo - the 3 spoke yoke and a HF stand but shaped with a footprint like an 'H'. The oil tray fit perfectly underneath. Stand and yoke worked great. You do need to plan to drill holes in the yoke for your stop pin on the stand. Take care not to lean on the engine as I would be more concerned about threads pulling from your engine case than the yoke or stand.

[Mr Project]

Originally Posted by r-mm

Okay now my head is spinning a bit. Good point... if the engine can be bolted to the yoke, what would stop the yoke from spinning in the engine stand, since the engine has a fixed relationship to the yoke?

I checked and the ebay yoke has the same OD as the HF stand.

Mr Project - you mentioned flywheel conflicts, what about the stock exhaust on a 3.2?

As others have mentioned, you'll need to drill a few holes in the 'base' of the yoke to receive your stop pin. You can see in this shot how tight the flywheel clearance is and how my stop pin is inserted through the stand and the hole I drilled in the yoke to keep the engine stationary.



For the stock 3.2l exhaust, I was able to grind a relief in the flange of the ebay yoke to get enough clearance to remove the crossover tube. That was the worst of it. I don't have a good picture of the chunk I had to grind out of the yoke, I'll get one later if I think of it.

[Emo993]

I still have one for sale, built to hold 930 turbo, all welded boxed steel and large aluminum drip pan and castors. Comes with engine yoke holder (not yoke). $285.00 Mark
608-493-3011, Madison WI

[earossi]

I am currently just finishing up on a rebuild of a 3.6 from a 993. I am using the four wheeled engine stand from HF. I did look at the lighter three wheeled stand and passed on it because of concerns about stability. Now that I have the full weight of a fully dressed engine on the heavier stand, I can say that I definitely made the better choice. Even on four wheels, you have to pay attention to how you turn the engine over. I usually grab an attached component like one of the heat exchangers and lift up to rotate the engine in the stand.

A fully dressed 3.6 motor probably weighs right around 500 pounds, and I believe this stand is fine for that. Not certain if I would hand a 700 pound big block off the same stand!

I elected to purchase the P201 yoke from Pelican and do not regret that decision either. The yoke has sufficient standoff room to allow you to attache the flywheel and clutch to the motor. And, there are no interference issues with any of the accessories on the 3.6 motor. The yoke is expensive, but in the scheme of things is cheap insurance. The yoke also has has a hole drilled through it that matches exactly the HF yoke receiver. The P201 yoke is long and protrudes out of the rear of the HF stand's head. In retrospect, I should have drilled holes in the end of the P201 to insert a rotation bar which would have made rotating the engine in the stand very easy.

One weak point on the HF engine stand are the steel clips used to hold the fixed wheels in place on the stands axle stubs. This clips have snapped off my stand twice resulting in a wheel falling off the stand. Fortunately, this occurred early on when all I had mounted was the engine case which does not weigh much. Since then, I have kept an eye of this feature and have tapped with a hammer on occasion to make certain that they are firmly seated.

I've attached a photo of the stand and yoke I'm using.