It has been obvious that the existing beams supporting the engine are in grim condition and getting worse. There was some splaying as well suggesting that the lag screws from the engine into the beams are no longer able to do their job. I contemplated building a new support out of steel but this would have cost many hundreds of dollars and I view this as temporary anyway. I’m not sure what the engine will end up sitting on but I just need to have support during the rebuilding process. Using materials mostly on-hand I built a new crib out of lumber including LVLs. It’s awfully heavy.
The next trick was to figure out how to get the old beams and wheel running gear out from under the engine. I thought about building the new crib in halves (front and rear) but that presented other issues. The best option was to do it at once. I did some conservative estimating and determined the weight of removed parts is at least 2000 pounds leaving the current weight somewhere under 4500 pounds. This is a little over the rating of some of the crane tackle but not by a large margin. I tried a couple different lift points and found the front of the #3 cylinder as almost perfectly balanced. I used Skylar’s engine hoist to keep the engine level. The engine was then lifted slightly and the lag screws removed between the engine base and the old beams. The beams came loose easily. I was then able to roll the old crib out from under the engine with relative ease.
I used the tractor to position the new crib and slowly let down the engine.
The old beams are in even worse shape than I thought. There was almost nothing under where the engine sat on the port side beam. Obviously the wheel system was the only thing holding beams in place.
With the engine on solid footings I won’t have to worry about that anymore. This wood support is not going to be permanent or even suitable for running the engine but should serve the purpose during rebuilding. The engine is quite a bit lower than I had it before but it is now easier and safer to change the working height if needed. I could even adapt the wheel running gear to the new crib if needed but I don’t anticipate moving the Kahlenberg for some time.