Safety on cheap imported engine hoists !!!

[wicked fast]

This Saturday I had everything ready to go to finally put the 428 and TKO in the Cobra. I have used this engine hoist many times to remove the body from the frame and move the engine block around.

My son and I were pushing the hoist towards and under the car when we heard a loud bang. The hoist took a nose dive. Praise the Lord, no one was hurt and the engine did not hit the frame. It just sat there and swayed for a minute. Stephen brought the floor jack over and we stabilized the engine hoist by putting the jack under the leg of the hoist so we could figure out what to do now.

We decided to go ahead and sit the engine and trans on the frame while we
found a replacement wheel.

After measuring the wheels, we found out that they had put smaller 4" wheels out on the ends of the long legs. What had happened is that the small wheels at the end were not able to carry the full load of the engine and trans. I found a set of 5" swivel wheels on my engine stand that matched the other 4 wheels on the hoist. After the quick pit stop, we did succeed on getting the engine safely into the frame.

The hoist was made in China. There is no name or part number on it.
It's been so long I can't remember if I bought it locally or on the internet.

Please check all of your import tools and use them with great caution.

Best,
Bill
MidStates, almost done, really............................................ .......................