The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop engine stand from Harbor Freight

I just bought one from harbor Freight, the 1000 lb one, and for the life of me can't get the plate mounted to the rear of the engine, 235. Do you need to put the bell housing on to get it mounted.
Thanks
Larryw

Larry,

Some people have reported making a mounting plate.

Here is the odd-ball way I got the mounting arms to work (with no clutch housing on the engine).

Tim,
were you still able to rotate the block on the stand?

Fred

i had a similar problem with a 235. i had to rearrange the mounting arms to get them to line up with block. what i did was to take the mounting plate off the stand and mount it to the block first. once i got this set up and correct i then tightened up all the bolts then lifted the engine/plate and guided the plate into the stand collar. what was great for me is i only work on GM sixes. i dont change the position of the mounting arms when i take the engine off the stand its already set up for the next be it chevy or gmc. the HF stand was cheap and it is cheap but it holds the long sixes pretty good.

as for rotating it i find if you pick up on the front slightly when your ready to turn its not that hard. if you have a helper its even easier.

I am able to rotate an engine on a 2000 HF stand but I do not like to move the 1000 stand or engine very much (because it is far less stable).

After seeing a couple of really nasty accidents involving flimsy stands and heavy engines, I tend to go overboard on capacity on engine stands. A student nearly lost some toes after putting the bellhousing and flywheel on a 235 and re-mounting it on the same stand. That added just enough length to the assembly to make it tipsy, and the engine toppled onto his foot. 50-something stitches later, and he was back in one piece, but the only thing that prevented losing some toes was the heavy work shoe he was wearing. I add extenders and extra casters to any stand I use for a stovebolt engine.
Jerry

Hi Larry. I too had this problem but also solved it by the method 51 ashton has described. You can see it in the Picturetrail account below in the pick up album.
If I were to buy another one it would be the 4 leg model which was not available when I bought mine.

dave, that isnt the stand that i have. i have the one with the longer v-legs and bigger wheels but id guess the plate is the same. i lost the 248 from the ashton when i took it out after a spun bearing with a three legged stand that i had borrowed. i have two pieces of concrete missing out of the floor where the engine landed.luckily for me i was behind it when it fell. im reminded of it every time a wheel from the creeper gets hung up in holes.

I couldn't agree with you more on that, Jerry. I did the same thing with the engine/transmission stand I have.

I've got the same stand 53moneypit has. Best I can figure I'm going to have to redrill the arms to get them to fit. I may go ahead and extend the front leg some to give some stability. That 235 has some meat to it. Can't wait to get it back together. I had it running pretty good before pulling it out of the truck and was just going to put some gaskets on it and paint. I had to oil pan off and happen to touch a rod and found it loose. Found the crank scored so doing a complete rebuild.
Larryw

Now that I have a four wheel stand, I won't ever go back to the three legged type. Its a little harder to get the engine from stand to hoist, but will worth the trouble. Mine ( Harbor Freight )was loose up at the tube where the plate goes in to the stand so I added a roll of stainless steel I had laying around. It was just thick enough to take up the slop and with a little grease, rotating engines is very easy if you balance them right.

Joe

No drilling is required. Remove arms from stand. Put them on the engine first.

I've got them on the engine now. Maybe I haven't tried enough different combinations of where the arms go. I'll try some more.
Larryw

Here is link to a link another method for putting a Sovebolt on an engine stand. I'm not necessarily endorsing the product. I'm now using the heavy duty Harbor Freight stand. It works fine, especially after I elongated the adjusting slots to permit more up and down travel to adjust the cg to permit easier rotation.

Hoyt

not to bring up an older post but!!!!

what length and size bolts are best for use with the HF stands?

As with any bolt and thread, a minimum of at least 1 1/2 times the thread diameter should be in the hole for maximum strength.

Joe

Finally got it on. Doesn't look pretty but its on. Thanks for the help.
Larryw

LOL i was looking for exact sizes... stand is at parent's house which is the middle of BFE.. so hard to easily jsut stroll to the local hardware store.. LOL LOL LOL wanted to get a set before i left my suburban lifestyle and home.. LOL

I have a 2,000 lb. HF stand and had the same trouble as Larry. This was my first time to use a stand.
I bolted the arms using the arm tubes as spacers and secured that mess to the mounting plate, removed from the stand. I stabbed the assembly into the stand afterwards.
The mounting plate holes though slotted were not a good fit. Currently the bolts are in a crooked manner... eeek
When I take the 235 down and put on my 261 this weekend, I will use 1/2" pipe nipples as spacers. I also plan on drilling out the mounting plate to widen the slots at the correct locations for the bolts(I'll mark the slots for future reference).

Jerry