Install eng. chain hoist in garage ceiling ?
 

What would be the best way to install a chain hoist in the ceiling of my garage ?

What kind & size of pipe would hold say,..... a 700 lb. FE ?
And some type of bracket to go over the pipe & lag screw into the joists ?

Most hoists have a large hook that's intended to hang on a large pipe. Something that works great and is not an eye sore.

Any better ideas ?

http://i43.tinypic.com/2jeclkg.gif

FOUND THIS ADJUSTABLE BEEM ON EBAY. (how does it work) ?
http://i40.tinypic.com/8zn0ib.jpg

Kevin,
I used to just lay a quality 4x4 thru the rafters and wrap a good chain around it with a loop hanging down. Attach the chain hoist to that. You might also want to brace the rafters from the floor area, on either side of the vehicle, with some 4x4s so it does not pull your roof down on top of you.

Oh Yea, Don't forget to toenail the 4x4 bracing to the rafters so they do not fall over.

I did think of using a 4x4 or 6x6, and wrapping the chain around that. I would imagine if I spanned the load across the joists maybe 10'-12', and anchor the wood beam, that I may not need more support from below ?

I do have four weight jack's in the basement from when we had a 200 gal. reef tank in the living room. Can you say,...... WEIGHT ! lol :eek:
They worked great.

I used an 8 ft 4x4. Of course I never lifted an FE that way so you might need the extra support of the weight jacks.

With the inexpensive engine hoists out there why would anyone want to use a chain hoist???????

Beg, Barrow, steal , rent or buy an engine hoist, easier and much safer. You can move the motor around on the hoist, and not the car.

+1 For Engine Hoist

Unless you're a structural engineer and calculate the size and type of timber required for the span and weight you're working with, don't do it. One of three things will happen: you'll get lucky; you'll get killed; or, you'll damage your engine.

Get a cherry picker. It will also allow you to move the engine around as needed as you put it into place.

I also used an engine leveler, which made the weight shift a lot easier. In fact, get an air rachet to use with the engine leveler, which is much easier than a manual rachet.

DD

chain fall IS better...done it both ways...!
 

Undy et, al.

A chain fall will raise/lower the engine more or less up/down in a STRAIGHT LINE.

A "shop crane", aka "cherry picker"...what you are lifting will move up/down and ALSO in a ARC. It will tend to get the engine "swinging" a bit.

To use the cherry picker best find the C/G "center or gravity" of your engine/chain harness attachment. That will minimize swinging as you go up/down. A floor jack or dolly wheels under the front of the car helps move the front of the car exactly where you need it.

If you HAVE to use the shop crane/cherry picker try to do it on smooth cement, not rough asphalt.

Did the engine in my 289 Cobra with the cherry picker. Never again.

Used a CHAIN HOIST on my friends ERA 427. Much safer/easier.

Engine/bellhousing went pretty much STRAIGHT UP/DOWN...very little swinging and easy to control. Helped to be on smooth cement, as we used the floor jack to reposition the front of the car. Cake walk.

I will NOT use a cherry picker again for the engine/bellhousing on my 289 FIA Cobra. Three experienced gearheads...went well...but was a real pain.

If you have the option, rig a chain hoist for engines.

Regardless of method...LOTS of cardboard/padding/duct tape to protect the body. Pizza, and cokes help...beer is later. Either way, get help...work carefully...then drink heavily.

Pete

rent a hoist, unless you have a backhoe, sitting around.

Kevin, if you need a engine hoist give me a call and you can use mine, now that i have the kids Galaxie back on the road mine is just collecting dust again....

With a chain hoist you can control the lowering rate more carefully especially as was mentioned to get an inexpensive engine hoist, controlling the rate of decent can be marginal. But then what do you do with the extra chain that hangs down? Now, as my garage has a sheetrocked roof I use a engine hoist with a engine leveler.

With an "cherry picker" I pulled/reinstalled my 482, bellhousing and tranny myself in my Cobra, no problem. I wouldn't have been able to do it with a chain hoist. Short of rough tarmac or a dirt floor (maybe a Nebraska thing 'cept rusty...:eek::LOL: ))there is nothing good about using a chain hoist. I've jerked plenty of engines with both and I'll never use a chain hoist again. It's soooo 1950s.

I thought about a chain hoist in my garage as well, decided to stick with a cherry picker. I installed my side oiler WITH the trans bolted to it with a picker, worked out rather well.

Depending on your floor set up, both can and will work well. My friend who owns a garage and changes engines almost daily for people has both and he uses the engine lift or cherry picker more than the hoist. His e stalls aren't real wide and he doesn't have much room to move a big pick up to one side or the other if it isn't lined up just right, so the cherry picker works better. And of course he has a smooth concrete floor and the hoist has a very heavy duty set of beams across the ceiling and I have seen him lift big diesel engines with it and no problem.

But like what was stated earlier in a post, cover everything from the windshield forward just in case. He has a big commercial padded blanket type thing that even covers the windshields in the cars and pickups. But this stuff is expensive and would not be practical for the normal home owner to buy.

Ron

Second that.

If you want a straight hoist, buy a gantry crane from harbor freight.

Otherwise use a cherry picker. I used one for my car, able to put the engine in without taking the hood off.

Back to your original question, I have used temporary post and beam setups in several homes I have lived in over the years. The system I used was a 4x6 or 4x8 beam with framing clips nailed or screwed on each side to the beam, then to the trusses or ceiling joists. Then I used 4x4 leg posts with metal end caps that can be screwed through the end caps to the 4X beam. This system can easily be taken down and stored when not in use. You just take everything down except the four framing clips on the ceiling. I had used this system for years without problems. I now use a cherry picker in my present shop. They both have their pros and cons.

There is one other system that works very well if you have trusses in the garage. Forty years ago I had an uncle that had a marina and he worked on ski boats. When he built his shop he put 1/2" plywood on one side of two of the trusses in the center of the shop. He glued the plywood with construction adhesive and nailed it 6" OC on the edges and the field. He then framed a header in between the two trussed to hang a chain. He could lift a 18" inboard ski boat off the trailer with that set up. You have to make sure the door header is large enough to handle whatever you are lifting though. His shop was sheet rocked so the only thing you saw was a trimmed out attic out crawl hole with a lid until he needed to lift something, and then he just slid the cover back and attached his chain hoist to the chain on the header. A few years later I built the same system in a home I built. I must have pulled 50 engines in that garage.

Wayne

If you or anybody else for that matter does decide to use the roof structure of your garage for lifting, keep a couple things in mind...They are in most cases engineered or constructed to support a load (roof, snow or floor) from the top, not from the bottom. Hanging weight from the bottom of a truss or rafter tie can be a bad idea. They are not all engineered the same and careful consideration should taken into account. Weight is supported from the ground and the overhead structure is just spreading that weight to the to the outside walls.

That is good advise. I was a contractor and had several years of experience. So you have to know what materials will carry how much weight.

I personally prefer a forklift with side shift and long forks.

I hate cherry pickers. Seems like I am always running over small rocks...

I have seen garages set up with an I beam and a chain fall hooked to a trolley. You can get trolleys at Harbor Freight.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=40493