Engine Hoist Capacity Calculator: Which Boom Position Can Carry Your Engine?

Where the defaults come from

Field	Default	Source
Position 1 (retracted)	4,000 lb	2 tons: the shortest-boom rating on the SUNEX 5222 (dealer table: position 4 at 27 in boom) and every 2-ton hoist listing in our guide (Garvee, DEXSO and unbranded listings: 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 tons)
Position 2	3,000 lb	1.5 tons (SUNEX: 34 in boom, 84.5 in max height)
Position 3	2,000 lb	1 ton (SUNEX: 41.5 in boom, 90.5 in max height)
Position 4 (extended)	1,000 lb	0.5 ton (SUNEX: 48 in boom, 96.5 in max height)
Engine or assembly weight	453 lb	Ford Performance's 5.0L Gen 4 Mustang crate engine (M-6007-M50DAUTO) page: engine weight 453 lb without front accessory drive components; Ford's page for the older M-6007-M50 lists 444 lb
Leveler, chains and hardware	0 lb	None of the leveler listings we read states the leveler's own weight; enter it from your leveler's listing (the shipping weight on the Amazon page is the usual source) plus chains and brackets

The arithmetic

Total load is the engine (or engine and transmission together, which is how most pulls happen) plus everything hanging from the hook: the leveler, its chains, brackets, a sling. A boom position is usable when its rating is at or above the total. The calculator lists which positions carry the load, names the longest, and gives the margin at position 1. With the defaults, a 453-pound engine and no rigging is carried at every position, including the 1,000-pound extended boom; add an automatic transmission, a flywheel, a torque converter and a 30-pound leveler and the total passes 700 pounds, still under 1,000. Where it stops being comfortable is an iron-block big block with a transmission attached, or a diesel: enter the maker's weight and find out before the hook is on.

Engine weights, from makers

Use the engine maker's figure, and read what it includes. Ford Performance lists its Gen 4 5.0L crate engine at 453 pounds without the front accessory drive, and the earlier M-6007-M50 at 444 pounds. Ford-authorized dealers list the Gen 3 M-6007-M50C at 445 pounds. We found no weight on the Chevrolet Performance LS3 or LT1 crate engine pages we read, and we will not print a forum figure; the crate's shipping weight on the retailer's page, labelled as such, is the fallback, and it is heavier than the engine. A transmission adds its own maker's figure; an iron block adds a hundred pounds and more over an aluminium one of the same displacement, which is the reason to look it up rather than guess.

Reach and height

The SUNEX dealer table shows the other half of the trade: the retracted boom lifts to 78.5 inches and the extended boom to 96.5, and the legs are 4.7 inches high to clear a bumper. A long engine bay with a radiator support in the way needs the reach, and the reach costs capacity; a hoist that cannot carry the engine at the position that reaches it is the wrong hoist, not a reason to use the next position in. The engine hoist guide lists each hoist's positions, folding and leg clearance; the levelers are there too, because a leveler is the thing that lets a long engine tilt out under a short boom.

What the calculator does not do

It does not know your hoist: the ratings printed on its boom govern, and if your manual gives different figures, enter those. It does not account for a load swinging, a leg on a crack or a caster in a drain, or a boom raised above the hoist's rated height. And it does not replace the rule on the hoist's own label, which is the maximum. The engine stand that takes the engine off the hook has its own rating, and the buying guide lists both.