Geoffrey Occam posited that:

"The Simplest Explanation or Solution is almost always 100% CORRECT"

I might be paraphrasing a bit but... since I have been accused on more than one forum or another and on more than one occasion of Over-Engineering and was well on my way to proving their point right I feel fortunate to have dreamed this solution up as a hopefully better and more useful idea. Instead of all that previous Rigamarole ... I may have just beat the record for having taken three separate and distinct Harbor Freight Heavy Duty Tools and managed to blend all three into one device that still allows all three components to either work in concert one with the other... or be separated very easily and have each one remain intact and fully functional to their intended purposes when they go their separate ways:

Ladies and Gentleman... I give you... "The FrankenLifter" ....LOL

http://s557.photobucket.com/user/60d...?sort=3&page=1
COMPONENTS:

All from Harbor Freight Tools in Largo, Florida

2 Ton Hydraulic Lift (This the Primary Lift and it Remains UN-MODIFIED)
1,300 LB Electric Garage Hoist (Bolted over the 2 ton Cross-Beam with adapted HW-4-Longer M10 X 70 Bolts)
2 Ton Pittsburgh Floor Jack Cross-Beam ( The beam is disassembled with the center square tube inverted)
2 High Quality Pulleys with hardware allowance for dis-assembly to introduce the steel cable
Some Basic Tools
Stainless Steel Large U-bolt t(T provide a pivot point at a right angle to the Electric Motor in front of a Large Cross Bolt)

Now I can pull the Trailblazer 4.2L Engine Head with micro-control and support items like the heavy cast iron exhaust maninfold or... lift the front of the engine with ease long enough to pull out the motor mounts and drop in new ones... and NOT wind up getting injured again. I can also move around and over the engine compartment and not have to leave to attend to slow leak downs of hydraulic pressure or have to be in two places at the same time.

 

I have made some additional modifications to "The FrankenLifter Hoist" since its original design.and posted more complete demonstration images of it in action while being used to lift a bare GM 1995 Lt-1 350 Engine Block. My investigation of its performance under a variety of lifting conditions requires that I post this Important Safety Warning mentioned here for anyone contemplating using this or any similar design and hardware they can build as follows:


When using the Electric Cable Hoist Portion for Hoisting... Should it become necessary to Elevate the Lift Arm Hydraulically to an Increased Angle... it is imperative to LOWER THE LENGTH OF THE HOIST CABLE BEFORE JACKING UP THE HYDRAULIC LIFT ARM...and the safest way of doing this is to lower the Hoist Cable Hook DOWN to a Minimum Distance from the underside of the Pulley attached below the Lift Arm by at LEAST ONE FOOT (12")...!

The Reason for this Precaution is that without adding in AND MAINTAINING the additional Minimum Length of 12" of Hoist Cable... it is possible to raise the arm with sufficient Hydraulic Force to actually PULL THE HOIST CABLE HOOK OFF OF THE CABLE...! As the Lift Arm is Raised... the Cable distance is DECREASED UNTIL THE HOOK BOTTOMS UP AGAINST THE LIFT ARM PULLEY. The Lifting Force of the Hydraulic Arm is 2.5 Tons...and could easily Rip the Cable Hook from the Electric Hoist Cable if it is allowed to do so with Catastrophic Consequences...!

If this were to occur when there is any weight attached to the Hook... if the Cable Hook to cable connection was to separate, the object would fall suddenly and there is the obvious risk of being crushed or injured if a person or parts of their body are under the weighted object during such an event. In another scenario...even if no injuries or death occurred... the elevated object would certainly suffer damage or destruction.

http://s557.photobucket.com/user/60d...?sort=3&page=1

Some astute observers among us may note that a few of the latest images displaying the L-Support Arm on the 1,000 Lb Engine Stand show that it appears to have been installed BACKWARDS. You should know that as soon as I observed this, I employed the ease of using "The FrankenLifter" to lift and hold the V8 Engine with the attached Engine Stand Bracket... while I immediately corrected and rectified this problem.