Engine hoist & stand - Harbor Freight or Summit Racing?

I need to get the tools to pull the engine out of the formula car next weekend. I don't have an engine hoist or an engine stand and I do need at least the latter, but am thinking of getting both as I'm not sure I can borrow an engine hoist from someone around here.

I have both Summit Racing and Harbor Freight within driving distance, and I will have to visit Summit to get the VW motor adapter for the engine stand anyway. That said, the price difference between the own brand foldable versions of both tools (2 ton engine hoist at HF vs 1.5 ton engine hoist at SR, plus a 2000lbs engine stand) is about $150, which would pay for all the remaining little bits that I need for the motor and haven't ordered yet.

Anybody got experience with both? Any recommendations either way?

And yes, I realise that I don't really need a 2 ton engine hoist or a 2000lbs engine stand for a 1600cc VW motor, but especially the engine hoist might come in handy if I keep the RX8 and have to pull the motor on that...

How do the reaches compare?  That can make a big difference in some jobs.

if this is an air cooled VW engine I've pulled a hundred of them and have no idea how the job could be made easier with an engine hoist. Your $ would be better spent on the tallest set of ramps you can find, a couple of 2x12 chunks for under each, and the lowest transmission jack you can get.

Edit: Ah, formula car. Wonder what you hook the hoist too? Will either one fit under the rails? You might want to have a couple sets of ramps to get it up off the floor.

I have the HF foldable hoist and their cheapest stand.  There's a 3SGTE sitting on the stand right now.  No complaints.  I'm sure there are fancier and better versions of both out there at significantly higher prices.  But they are both useable.

Last time (only time, actually) I pulled an AC VW motor, it was out of the back of a trike at a campground.  Just had 2 guys grab it by the exhaust headers and lift it out.  Went back in the same way.

I bought the cheapest  lightest HF engine stand ($40 IIRC ON SALE) and it works fine for my SBC ENGINE...should be more than adequate for vw or rotary engine.  Bought a used HF cherry picker.  Haven't used yet but appears adequate for home mech use.

In reply to oldopelguy :

The car is off the floor already on axle stands. I can get slings around the motor as it doesn't have any lift points/hooks.

In typical VW-based formula car construction, the engine and gearbox are flipped around and make the car mid-engined, so it's not just a matter of pulling the engine off the gearbox, out the back of the vehicle and dropping it on one's foot . There's actually not a lot of room between engine and firewall to get the thing out in the first place. Oh, and I can't remove engine and gearbox as a unit as there's a welded crossmember over the gearbox. The original designer of the car confirmed that the engine can be pulled out on its own, though.

One of the main reasons I'm looking at the 2 ton HF hoist is for reach, actually, not for capacity.

Good to hear that most people on here are happy with their HF hoists and stands, that'll save me some money.

I'm using the HF stuff and have had no issues at all except the reach on the hoist, BUT that was on the Charger where the center of the engine is like 4ft from the bumper. 

I put a full dressed 22RE on the HF engine stand, no problem. I might hesitate to put a Cummins diesel on one, but everything else should be fine.

If you can, open the box before you leave the store and verify all the wheels and hardware are accounted for. Otherwise they do what they claim. 

I always advocate for getting the highest capacity stuff you can. Especially when it comes to HF.

I have a HF hoist and engine stand and they're fine for what you're needing them for.  

 The reach of the boom is the only thing wrong with Folding Hoists, I have had to remove front bumpers to get them from the front and some I tried to get from the side would hit the fender wheel opening Lip with the Ram or with the wheel off still hit the spindle/brake rotor at the Bottom.  PLEASE be careful Raising and Lowering the Folding Legs they can become a Giotine quick like and when moving they(Legs) can Pinch you  If the legs wobble or move while pushing across the Floor.  Sorry spell check isn't working

My folding HF engine hoist works great.

like their jacks, the hydraulic cylinder may leak a bit or need to be bleed to work well.

Compared to my Dad’s “collapsible” hoist (which is about 30 years old and has to be broken down into several pieces) it’s probably equally good as far as overall strength goes and the HF is easier to collapse and store.  Though I think his hydraulic cylinder is likely stronger and more likely to hold 2000lbs (which it did when it moved the bridgeport into place at his shop), but that’s academic in this case.

I would imagine they are all welded together by the same children in Asia.  For pulling the engine in a bug the best thing I saw was a stolen shopping cart with the basket cut off.  It was the right height to roll under the back of the car and rest teh engine on a couple pieces of wood. Just unbolt the engine and roll it out. 

I have a harbor freight hoist and stand (the one with 4 casters). The stand is fine, no complaints. The hoist works fine but I often have issues with the reach, I would get the 2 ton instead of the cheaper one. 

Thanks again for everybody's advice, there are now a bunch of boxes in my garage that according to the receipt, contain a 2 ton folding crane and a 2000lbs foldable engine stand.

Let's hope that when I get to put them together, all the parts are there as the boxes are the usual HF quality...

Also check Craigslist.  You can find these used for 50% to 200% of new.  

My opinion on HF engine stands is to get one with two 'front' wheels instead of just one. Those are too tipsy. Other than that, keep an eye on the wheel retaining clips falling off. I think i replaced one of mine with a hose clamp in a pinch after i failed to find the lost clip.