got an engine hoist, engine crane cherry picker, shop crane.

[bheinen74]

I have always just borrowed my dads engine hoist in the past times.

 

Real hassle to do the borrow. He lives 7 miles away one way. He always has to move stuff to get it out so i can load it up. Mower, toe machine, other mower, tiller, car, etc.......Then I would have to take it apart, load in my Brat or wagon, then when i got home with it, assemble it.

 

Then after I got done using it, had to disassemble, load, drive 7 miles, unload, assemble, move crap out of the way...

 

So, today I got one.

 

I got a foldable one that the legs either fold up or come off. Way easy to store it, and no more hassle.

 

 

whew.

I can rent/loan it or will allow others to use as needed too.

 

The other day i sold a ej22 longblock, would have been nice to have one then. Lots of times they are handy.

 

now i can fix my BRAT oil leak when i feel like it.

[davebugs]

Very handy item.

 

 

After seeing Skip's setup years ago I want to modify mine.

 

I work alone and so does Skip.

 

He wired up a little cheap HF winch for an ATV on his. This is genius!

 

With safety in mind he could power either way (in or out) when dropping an engine in a car. I've had the winch for 3-4 years and haven't gotten to it yet. Would save many trips to the unit to raise or lower a smidge when reinstalling the engine.

 

Also engine needs to hang from this to do baffle plate reseal - on an engine stand it's covered up.

 

If you don't have an engine stand that is nice too. And if you didn't get a "load balancer" or whatever they call them that's about the only normal accessory and is needed in my opinion.

[bheinen74]

after assembly, one could theoretically make quite a few lift kits by chopping up on of these........ I would bet about 14 lift kits or so...

[GeneralDisorder]

That's the first step! Engine hoist was one of my first purchases - kept it at my parents place when I was renting a room from some friends - worked in the driveway with it.

 

I just got this about 2 months ago:

 

 

Reminds me of how useful the hoist was when I first got that. Now when I install an engine - instead of climbing over the hoist legs to knock out the bottle jack supporting the transmission I just hit the lift and raise the car body up - dropping the engine and tranny down into the cross-member. :-p

 

GD

[TomRhere]

Oldest Son Rich, got me one of those colaspable engine hoists a couple years ago. Love it....

 

Would like to get a 2-post lift, but won't fit in my garage.

Seeing that lift GD posted has got me thinking of one of those now.

Body doesn't like the "get down on the floor" thing that much anymore....

[davebugs]

Oldest Son Rich, got me one of those colaspable engine hoists a couple years ago. Love it....

 

Would like to get a 2-post lift, but won't fit in my garage.

Seeing that lift GD posted has got me thinking of one of those now.

Body doesn't like the "get down on the floor" thing that much anymore....

 

I got a 4 post. Usually it's nice. Sometimes I wish I had gone 2 post.

 

But I like the fact that I can move it around in the garage. In the winter I used to pull an Outback in. Remove engine, push car on lift to other side of garage. Then put engine on stand and tear down to do HG job. I only heat 1/4 of my garage. Tarps on the ceiling and tarps that roll down like walls. And a rope/board system that acts just like a garage door. Couldn't do that with a 2 poster. I have the lift/car in the heat when I pull the engine. Push the lift/car out into the cold and put the engine in the warm part.

 

Also for simple things like oil changes getting down 4 times to align the pods is more trips to the floor than changing the oil would be.

 

Heck the 4 post is even excellent for detailing. Exhaust work is easy.

 

4 post is difficult to repair car's rocker panels cause lift is in the way. Rotating tires requires an extra step.

 

But the fact that I can put it's wheels on and move it empty or with a car on it anywhere in the garage is great. Also in a jamb I can lift it up and put another car under it for storage.

 

Best 2k I ever spent.

 

Anyone building a garage thinking about a lift you should go atleast 12' high. I only went 10' figuring if I ever got a lift having the joist's altered wouldn't be a big deal. I was wrong. Easy if you wanna add a post but I don't want no stinkin' post that's why I built a pole building.

 

If I ever get over this auto accident and can work in the garage again I'm seriousely considering having a contractor have a crane come in and add 2 feet height to a section. Noone that knows what they are doing will alter 40' engineered joists made of 2x4's.

[GeneralDisorder]

Ceiling height was my limitation also.

 

I'm going to move to a commercial space in the next couple years - so this will be a secondary lift.

 

It's designed for a pit like at Jiffy Lube type places but leaves all the drivetrain components clear - wheels up and center of the car completely open. Makes tranny installs a breeze. 30" height is just right for my normal garage height ceilings. I can get a full sized mini-van all the way to the full lift extension.

 

I can see how an "overhead" lift would be helpful *sometimes* but who really wants to lift their arms over their head all the time? And lifting a transmission that high for installation? Seems like even if I had an overhead lift I would still keep the car down low a lot of the time so I could roll around on my creeper.

 

GD

[davebugs]

I've got an old VW mechaninc (84 years old now) who has the old fashioned kind hydraulic out of the floor. He's always setting on his heels doing brake jobs. Makes my legs hurt just watching him. And it covers most of what you want a car in the air for. Engine/trans and exhaust - it's in the way for all of them really. And you've still gotta set all 4 pods - it's just that they come from underneath on that old style.

 

A VW mechanic I know got one of those low styles for her house. It certainly is better than nothing. Around here a lot of tire shops seem to use them.

 

Again with the 4 post lift (and a 10' ceiling) you're constantly bending you head to not hit it when getting under and out from under. A tool cart really comes in handy for most of the tools to cut down on trips out from under the lift. But also you can lay tools and parts all over the lift which does come in handy.

 

So there are tradeoff's. For me the portability is nice. Stupid stuff like if you cement the bolts into the floor for a 2 post then it's too close to the wall no room for a toolbox or compressor and room to walk between them. Or if you put the lift too far away you've wasted space.

 

It's like anything else. Sometimes I wish I had bought 2. One for simple stuff - maintenance, engine swaps, etc. Stuff that can be done in a day or less.

 

And another one for my antique cars which often turn into projects because most parts (or atleast of the quality you want) need to be ordered.

 

I did get what I call an axle jack and it came with a sliding tray. The axle jack basically has 2 pods and will let you lift the car off the lift to do brake work remove tires, etc. The sliding metal tray is meant to have a normal jack put in it to raise the vehicle.

 

Another thing about a 4 post when doing engines is that I have the car on it's wheels and use the axle jack to put a jack onto to support the trans. So what happens is when you pull the engine it's like the car is on the ground. Which means the angle will be off when you reinstall the engine. So you just need to allow for that without the weight of the engine in the car and the suspension raises the car.

 

In the air is great. I have a waste oil thing, a couple of support jacks to hold lets say exhaust stuff. I also have a nice trans jack but need another. It's a single stage. So if it has a trans on it I can't lower it enough to get it out from under the lift. SO my current workaround usually is to chain the trans to the crossbeam that is holding up the engine on a FWD car, remove trans jack, lower entore lift/car onto a furniture dolly.

 

After the accident doing everything hurts. And I'd think getting up and down to the creeper would be worse. I do use the creeper when servicing my Astro van due to the ceiling issue. And it kills my neck and shoulders.

 

ANother "simple" thing. As I stated in the winter when working for any length of time I have a propane heater. It'll ge tthe corner of the gargae up to 50 degrees or so. So being off the ground standing up it's nice. Being close to the floor not so much.