Tech Tip #15: Pulling an Engine

Dr. Diesel
Written by Dr. Diesel

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Need to pull a Perkins, Deutz, or Deere diesel engine? Here are a few ideas on what you can use.

Need to pull a four-cylinder or smaller engine? Can’t get access to a 3-ton overhead hoist on a power trolley? Here are some ideas we’ve come across to help pull your engine. None are recommended as ideal. Some aren’t even recommended!

  • Rent a cherry picker or floor crane from a rental center.
  • Borrow a local utility or tree company’s bucket truck and tie a chain fall to the bucket.
  • Borrow a forklift, a front-end loader or a backhoe.
  • Hire a tow truck service and use the extended boom of the wrecker.
  • Build a tripod. Take three 8′ horizontal supports from an abandoned chain link or cyclone fence, flatten one end of each 8′ piece, tie together the flattened ends with a bolt and now you have a tripod. Hook a chain fall to it and you can begin pulling your engine. Dr. Diesel™ has been building these since he was 16 and working on a Perkins 4.108 engine at a boatyard in Downeast, Maine.

You shouldn’t sacrifice your toes to a Perkins 4.108 in your boat, or to a head from your the Deutz diesel in your Bobcat 863 Skid Steer Loader. We recommend wearing steel-toed work boots while pulling an engine. Your toes are too important to lose to a Perkins cylinder head.

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Dr. Diesel
Written by Dr. Diesel
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