Diesel engine stand/weight

I am going to be rebuilding a 2800 diesel engine. I have a couple engine stands (from Harbor Freight) that work great for a 226 gas engine, but there is no way I would trust them for a 6 cylinder diesel.

You can't begin to imagine how many have been built with a good cherry picker and a 30 or 55 gallon barrel. Remove cylinder head while still in the chassis and get it out of the way.  Injection pump and oil cooler/water pump can also be removed in chassis.  Oil pan and oil pump as well if you chose to. Remove engine and lay it on its left side on top of the barrel. The flywheel and backplate are open to one end. The timing cover and gears are open to the other end. Teardown and rebuild from there. Block can be propped up to level with a block of wood underneath the left side and removed for crank removal and installation.

Get one that bolts to side of block.
Both ends is un handy. Hard to get centered on both ends, cannot work on front without holding front with boost, and just not handy.      MACK

like mack says get one that you can bolt up on the side or take time to biuld a mounting plate you wil no be sorry besides alot diesel engines need have the enigine bell housing removed for some reason like accessing a rear frost plug or cam bearing 

The last one I built, has a air cylinder to tilt engine up, then can be rotated eight different places then be let back down or worked on while tilted up.   MACK

The biggest problems with 'typical' engine stand design, is the fact that you're holding the block in a 'cantelever' orientation- hanging out off one end, that you're trying to pivot it off that cantelever, and that the footprint on the floor is not wide enough to keep control of the weight at the desired work elevation. 

While automotive engines, particularly inline 4, V6 and V8 engines are fine, inline sixes have weight that's out a bit further, and diesels have a whole lot more of it, so the typical automotive engine stand I certainly would NOT use for a diesel unless it's under 2L and LIGHT.

Think about any engine... consider the standard engine stand, which rotates on the crankshaft centerline.  How much of that engine's weight is BELOW the centerline?  You've got some crank throws, the main caps, and a tin oil pan... but above it... the whole block, the head... basically ALL the weight... center of gravity is well above the crank centerline.  Dr's point about pulling the head is very good advice under ANY circumstances, but on a stand that rotates on crankshaft center, it's imperative, as when you roll the engine 90 degrees sideways, the center of gravity goes way off to one side.  A full-dressed inline gas six will dump an ordinary automotive stand over right quick.

This is why most diesel stands mount to the side of the block, fairly high up, and have a very wide base.

Theres an OTC engine stand on Pulloff ; 6000 lb capcity for $2000 obo; 609 273 6554, don't know anything about it just seen the ad and it seems cheap

Edited by DougG - 12 Mar 2018 at 6:41pm

thats where i got to. i decided i biult my last 3406 cat sized engine on blocks and or cut up peices of truck frame rail bolted on to hold it up