Mix of Fixed & Swivel Castor Wheels or All Swivel Wheels - Engine Stand

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

I have a folding engine stand that has a mixture of fixed wheels at the front and three swivel castor wheels at the back.

Unfortunately, there is no adjustment for the front fixed wheels and due to their angled arrangement the engine stand is extremely hard to push forward. The angle of the front fixed wheels effectively act as brakes.

I have a mobile crane that has a similar mix of fixed and swivel wheels - however the front frame is actually dog-legged inwards so the fixed wheels face the direction of travel and run parallel to each other. This offset makes the crane easier to move about.

Would replacing the fixed wheels with two more swivel wheels allow this engine stand to be more manoeuvrable or would it create further steering problems?

The current arrangement on the engine stand is simply a total pig to use.

Kind regards
Lionel

[gavinwibrow]

Hello All,

I have a folding engine stand that has a mixture of fixed wheels at the front and three swivel castor wheels at the back.

Unfortunately, there is no adjustment for the front fixed wheels and due to their angled arrangement the engine stand is extremely hard to push forward. The angle of the front fixed wheels effectively act as brakes.

I have a mobile crane that has a similar mix of fixed and swivel wheels - however the front frame is actually dog-legged inwards so the fixed wheels face the direction of travel and run parallel to each other. This offset makes the crane easier to move about.

Would replacing the fixed wheels with two more swivel wheels allow this engine stand to be more manoeuvrable or would it create further steering problems?

The current arrangement on the engine stand is simply a total pig to use.

Kind regards
Lionel

Could you adjust the pair of "flaired out" front wheels so they were parallel to each other like your mobile crane? Otherwise yes to the swivel wheels although the unit will then move like a shopping trolley!!!!!

[Lionelgee]

Could you adjust the pair of "flaired out" front wheels so they were parallel to each other like your mobile crane? Otherwise yes to the swivel wheels although the unit will then move like a shopping trolley!!!!!

Hello Gavin,

Unfortunately, there is no adjustment in the base plate of the wheel. The wheel base is bolted into captive nuts and everything is fixed. The steering of a shopping trolley would be a vast improvement from the engine stand's current state.

I made the mistake of reversing the engine stand into a confined space. Pulling the engine stand towards you while you walk backwards is okay. Trying to push out forward from the confined space - where there was no ability to swing around using the swivel wheels to change direction of the engine stand is something I am only ever going to do once!

I had a quick gecko on eBay; there are steel wheel castors that swivel. They are 90 mm diameter wheels and the same height of 115 mm vertical distance between the bottom of the wheel and the top of the base plate. Each wheel is rated at 500 kg - they might be worth a try. I checked our major hardware store and they only seem to stock nylon wheel castors. I will stick with the steel-type that the engine stand came with.

Kind regards
Lionel

[cjc_td5]

Did you assemble it?
I think the fixed and swivel castors need to be swapped?
My engine stand, though of a different frame layout, has the fixed wheels at the pylon end.

[Lionelgee]

Did you assemble it?
I think the fixed and swivel castors need to be swapped?

Hello TD5,

Yes, I assembled it - as per the directions ... actually Point 1... fit two 3 inch swivel castors (#25) and one 3.5 inch swivel castor (#14) to the base frame (#17) using bolts (#15) and lock washers (#22).

Point 2 involves fitting the front legs (#20) to the base frame (#17). The front legs come already fitted with the fixed castors. I took one fixed wheel off to see if there was any adjustment in the base plate slots - and there was not any wriggle room.

Kind regards
Lionel

[gavinwibrow]

Hello Gavin,

Unfortunately, there is no adjustment in the base plate of the wheel. The wheel base is bolted into captive nuts and everything is fixed. The steering of a shopping trolley would be a vast improvement from the engine stand's current state.

I made the mistake of reversing the engine stand into a confined space. Pulling the engine stand towards you while you walk backwards is okay. Trying to push out forward from the confined space - where there was no ability to swing around using the swivel wheels to change direction of the engine stand is something I am only ever going to do once!

I had a quick gecko on eBay; there are steel wheel castors that swivel. They are 90 mm diameter wheels and the same height of 115 mm vertical distance between the bottom of the wheel and the top of the base plate. Each wheel is rated at 500 kg - they might be worth a try. I checked our major hardware store and they only seem to stock nylon wheel castors. I will stick with the steel-type that the engine stand came with.

Kind regards
Lionel

Pity you are so far away for a giveaway. I have a collection of HD trolley wheels in my storage unit some of which that I'm pretty sure would be ideal.

[discorevy]

They all need to be swivel castors Lionel . Somebody messed up .

[Lionelgee]

Pity you are so far away for a giveaway. I have a collection of HD trolley wheels in my storage unit some of which that I'm pretty sure would be ideal.

Hello Gavin,

Thank you for the kind offer Gavin. I suppose it reflects back to Geoffrey Blainey and the Tyranny of Distance. Plus the inability to cross the Queensland border due to COVID 19. We cannot come out and play with our southern neighbours for a while yet!

Kind regards
Lionel

[Lionelgee]

They all need to be swivel castors Lionel . Somebody messed up .

Hello Discorevy,

Yes, it could be a design flaw that more than one manufacturer has copied from one to the other. Go to eBay and type in the words... "folding engine stand 900 kg" and there are a couple of clones with the same configuration.

I was recommended to get this type of engine stand by people at Stovebolt the specialist old Chevrolet forum. The engines we handle include 216 and 235 Cubic inch Chevrolet motors. These engines are long and have a quite a bit of weight to them. A future engine will be a Perkins 6354 diesel that comes in at 602 kg over the length of 1631 mm.

Plus, I wanted to be able to reduce the storage space the engine stand takes up when it is not being used to hold an engine.

Kind regards
Lionel

[Don 130]

If it was mine, I'd take those front wheels off, weld on a suitable bigger plate to allow them to be refitted parallel to each other. I think castors in the front would make it a pig to manoeuvre , especially with a load. If that's too big a job, can you return the thing for a refund and get a better one. It's clearly not suitable for the job.
Don.

[discorevy]

I think castors in the front would make it a pig to manoeuvre , especially with a load

so you have an engine going back in , you're an inch too far to the right, swivel castors will let you line up easily . Fixed would be a pita .
There's good reason every crane I've used has swivels all round

[ramblingboy42]

A simple fix if you have the ingredients are a pair of adapter plates to set the front castors parallel.

You will need possibly 16 new csk screws , 4 up 4 down on each plate.

That still won't allow the front to move sideways for simple alignment should you need it.

The castors on my trolley jack are a pig too , seems if I pull it, it tracks ok , but doesn't like being pushed into position which is how it should move smoothly.

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

Well after a very unusual delivery my set of swivel castors for the engine stand arrived today - Saturday. Having a courier drop something off on a Saturday is a first for me!

Anyway, I adjourned to the shed and used my mobile crane to lift the front of the engine stand - complete with Ford 302 V8 motor - slightly off the ground. I fitted the new swivel castors and found them ....

... just about the equivalent of a intoxicated shopping trolley when pushed forward. However, this movement is done with a lot less effort than the prior arrangement of fixed front wheels. Repositioning the engine to get it back towards the desired direction of travel is highly achievable.

With the old arrangement of fixed front wheels forwards movement was arduous.

So apart from the foibles of steering having swivel castors all-round the engine stand is a positive movement forward.

Kind regards
Lionel

[p38arover]

Did you assemble it?
I think the fixed and swivel castors need to be swapped?

It wouldn't make much, if any, difference. The rear wheels would still be at an angle to each other and still bind.

Cut a V into the "legs" just behind the wheels (don't cut all the way through the back), bend them inward until they are parallel. Weld the V.

Like this but not as severely:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxPPC6xd4GY

[cjc_td5]

It wouldn't make much, if any, difference. The rear wheels would still be at an angle to each other and still bind.



Yes on reflection that is true. The legs on my engine stand are parallel, but the fixed casters are at the pylon end.

[Toxic_Avenger]

They all need to be swivel castors Lionel . Somebody messed up .

I disagree. The fixed wheels are a great help to stop the whole assembly spinning on you when you are torquing down fasteners.

[Lionelgee]

I disagree. The fixed wheels are a great help to stop the whole assembly spinning on you when you are torquing down fasteners.

Hello All,

I would have to agree with Toxic when it comes to the fixed wheels assisting in holding things down during torquing down or rotating the engine on the stand. To be able to do this now with swivel wheels all round I would have to chock or tie the engine stand down.

However, being able to move the engine stand in and out of confined spaces - without getting a hernia, is a real boon.

There are pros and cons. For me the biggest pro is manoeuvrability; the swivels have achieved this. I can handle the con when the time comes.

Kind regards
Lionel

[discorevy]

so you have an engine going back in , you're an inch too far to the right, swivel castors will let you line up easily . Fixed would be a pita .
There's good reason every crane I've used has swivels all round


I disagree. The fixed wheels are a great help to stop the whole assembly spinning on you when you are torquing down fasteners.

Yes , my bad, I somehow thought it was about an engine crane, I didn't see the pic in the OP
Apologies if I have caused confusion Lionel

[Lionelgee]

Yes , my bad, I somehow thought it was about an engine crane, I didn't see the pic in the OP
Apologies if I have caused confusion Lionel

Hello Discorevy,

No confusion at all - you did mention "crane" in your post. Both a crane and an engine stand carry a great deal of weight. Both can be sheer sods to move

Some advice given at the Stovebolt forum is to build a "dolly" out of heavy timber and do all the torquing off it instead of an engine stand. The dolly is much closer to the ground and the engine can be manhandled with greater confidence. The engine's height off the ground is only the height of the castors. The dolly can also be used to store the engine on for longer periods of time and the engine is still be able to be moved around.

Kind regards
Lionel