Lift wanted. Low ceiling. What do I want?

I just want something that gets high enough for me to drop a front subframe and engine as one and roll it out. I think that's a maxjax. But I live in a typical residential neighborhood and dont trust the concrete is up to the required standards.

In reply to SV reX :

There is a note in their instruction manual that states drilling through isn't a problem with the Wej-It anchors.

NOTE: The drill will break through the bottom when drilling 5" in a 4.25" concrete slab. This is an approved practice with these Anchors.

A 5/8 Wej-It is good for 14380 pounds of tension in 4" of 4000 PSI concrete. 5 of them are more than enough to keep the lift in place as long as the concrete is properly poured. I doubt mine would have cracked if they hadn't contaminated the concrete with dirt. Unfortunately, there is no way to know how good the concrete guys are without standing on top of them while they are doing the pour. 

In reply to yupididit :

That's a good, clear requirement. Depending on how often you do it, you might be able to lift the nose of the car with an engine hoist and pull the engine out. I did this when I took apart my Camaro donor in a garage with an 8' ceiling. It's definitely more work than using a lift but given the constraints of my workspace at the time, it was the easy option.

Keith Tanner said:

In reply to yupididit :

That's a good, clear requirement. Depending on how often you do it, you might be able to lift the nose of the car with an engine hoist and pull the engine out. I did this when I took apart my Camaro donor in a garage with an 8' ceiling. It's definitely more work than using a lift but given the constraints of my workspace at the time, it was the easy option.

Many years ago when I was in high school, the father of a friend of mine recruited us and another 3 or 4 of our friends to lift the back end of his VW by hand so that he could roll the engine out. :)

Keith Tanner said:

In reply to yupididit :

That's a good, clear requirement. Depending on how often you do it, you might be able to lift the nose of the car with an engine hoist and pull the engine out. I did this when I took apart my Camaro donor in a garage with an 8' ceiling. It's definitely more work than using a lift but given the constraints of my workspace at the time, it was the easy option.

I have done this before using the crane that is mounted on my utility trailer. At that time, I had no lift and no concrete to install one.

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

Keith Tanner said:

In reply to yupididit :

That's a good, clear requirement. Depending on how often you do it, you might be able to lift the nose of the car with an engine hoist and pull the engine out. I did this when I took apart my Camaro donor in a garage with an 8' ceiling. It's definitely more work than using a lift but given the constraints of my workspace at the time, it was the easy option.

Many years ago when I was in high school, the father of a friend of mine recruited us and another 3 or 4 of our friends to lift the back end of his VW by hand so that he could roll the engine out. :)

I'm trying to remember how I pulled the engine on the classic Mini, but I know it was in that 8' tall garage and I'm pretty sure it came out the bottom. I don't remember if I lifted it off by hand or if I used an engine hoist. Probably the latter, but the former certainly was an option :)

yupididit said:

I just want something that gets high enough for me to drop a front subframe and engine as one and roll it out. I think that's a maxjax. But I live in a typical residential neighborhood and dont trust the concrete is up to the required standards.

Getting it tested isn't that hard.  It's just a phone call and a rather reasonable check.
 

Or assume it's bad, and pour new pads (which isn't that hard either).  Then you'd know what you are dealing with. 

Toyman! said:

In reply to SV reX :

There is a note in their instruction manual that states drilling through isn't a problem with the Wej-It anchors.

NOTE: The drill will break through the bottom when drilling 5" in a 4.25" concrete slab. This is an approved practice with these Anchors.

A 5/8 Wej-It is good for 14380 pounds of tension in 4" of 4000 PSI concrete. 5 of them are more than enough to keep the lift in place as long as the concrete is properly poured. I doubt mine would have cracked if they hadn't contaminated the concrete with dirt. Unfortunately, there is no way to know how good the concrete guys are without standing on top of them while they are doing the pour. 

I've never seen 4000 lb concrete used on a residence. 

In reply to SV reX :

IIRC, around here garage slabs are supposed to be 3500 psi. I would bet a lot of them test lower than that. 

Looks like a concrete rebound hammer tester costs about $125 and might be worth the investment. 

In reply to Toyman! :

Yep. Concrete psi can vary a lot. Testing is a good idea. 
 

I've never self-tested. It's too easy (and cheap) to call the testing companies.  It also seems like a very good idea to have a 3rd party pair of eyes.

yupididit said:

I just want something that gets high enough for me to drop a front subframe and engine as one and roll it out. I think that's a maxjax. But I live in a typical residential neighborhood and dont trust the concrete is up to the required standards.

Mine was right at the limit and talked to my lift guy. He said to just use epoxy anchors instead of hammer in and it gives a bit of a safety factor. Won't know thickness until you drill so I did two test holes and it's right at 4.5".

yupididit said:

I just want something that gets high enough for me to drop a front subframe and engine as one and roll it out. I think that's a maxjax. But I live in a typical residential neighborhood and dont trust the concrete is up to the required standards.

It depends some on the car and the engine/subframe connections.  I could drop the drivetrain from my R53 with my scissor lift and a floor-jack style transmission jack.  Probably could have done the job on the VW as well. 

In reply to yupididit :

https://www.facebook.com/reel/670977148477171?mibextid=HSR2mg

When this popped up in my feed,  it made me chuckle.  Lift? Who needs a lift?