Can't move my engine - Ideas/problem solvers help.

[Dum-Dum]

Hi all, as I'm sure the facebooks has informed you I have bought a Cummins 6BT lump with all the ancillaries and a ZF box still attached. (see my truck thread once I've updated that).

I (just) managed to get the Cummins lump off the pick up truck and onto the floor outside my house but want it behind the truck it's going into as then it's out of the way and there's no chance of me reversing into it.

As some of you are aware my driveway slopes gently downhill both towards the house and towards the railway line. The engine is at the lowest point and wouldn't be going to the highest point. I picked it up with the crane on a short boom to try and keep the weight between the wheels of the crane but I couldn't shift it up hill as the crane wheels were sinking slightly into the tarmac, I could only just get it to move further down.

The big question is, I have nothing substantial enough within a sensible reach I can use the high lift jack to winch it uphill with. I can't get a vehicle in front of it to tow it and I have no friends (and even then I think it would need a few people).

Can anyone think of a way to move it up hill using items I own and without constructing a much more substantial engine trolley than my current one.

Successful ideas repaid with rep.

   

[cully]

Points and laughs....

tie a rope to the lowest point on the crane and tow it with the ranger

[procta]

Best thing you can do if you haven't done it already, is strip as much off as possible, to make the engine lighter, and if possible a few mates around to help you lift it where you need it.
Me and my dad used a wheel barrow to move the metros running gear, so if you can get hold of a wheel barrow, might be worth using that to place the engine in with the engine hoist, just to share the remaining weight.

[Dum-Dum]

Points and laughs....

tie a rope to the lowest point on the crane and tow it with the ranger

As stated, can't get the Ranger anywhere up hill to tow it.

Best thing you can do if you haven't done it already, is strip as much off as possible, to make the engine lighter, and if possible a few mates around to help you lift it where you need it.
Me and my dad used a wheel barrow to move the metros running gear, so if you can get hold of a wheel barrow, might be worth using that to place the engine in with the engine hoist, just to share the remaining weight.

Wheelbarrow is no chance, probably 750kg sitting there, it'd just destroy it.
I might have a go at removing the box and a load of the ancillaries and see if it gets to a movable weight then.

[cully]

local supermarket and steal a roll cage base
i have a couple here for moving complete engine gearbox units

i think you may have under estimated the weight of that lump

[Dum-Dum]

local supermarket and steal a roll cage base
i have a couple here for moving complete engine gearbox units

i think you may have under estimated the weight of that lump

I think that would have the same issue, it's the wheels that have too small a surface area causing them to sink in.

I know the lump is heavy but I don't think it can be that much over 3/4 tonne, certainly it shouldn't be a whole tonne.

[procta]

Points and laughs....

tie a rope to the lowest point on the crane and tow it with the ranger

As stated, can't get the Ranger anywhere up hill to tow it.

Best thing you can do if you haven't done it already, is strip as much off as possible, to make the engine lighter, and if possible a few mates around to help you lift it where you need it.
Me and my dad used a wheel barrow to move the metros running gear, so if you can get hold of a wheel barrow, might be worth using that to place the engine in with the engine hoist, just to share the remaining weight.

Wheelbarrow is no chance, probably 750kg sitting there, it'd just destroy it.
I might have a go at removing the box and a load of the ancillaries and see if it gets to a movable weight then.

I read your thread and remembered the weight engine, your best off trying to lose as much weight off that as possible just to give you a half a chance,  be surprised how much a gearbox and ancillaries add to an engine.

you will need a few pals around to help you with that mind, just for the sake of safety Dum dum, last thing you want is to be hospitalized with a hernia.

[Piggy]

Yeah...remove gearbox, turbo/manifold. Starter/alternator. Make a big weight difference. Then crane

[306carter]

Many hands make light work.

Get some more people and lift it.

[Dum-Dum]

Yeah...remove gearbox, turbo/manifold. Starter/alternator. Make a big weight difference. Then crane

Yeah cheers mate. Was hoping to not have to resort to that.

Many hands make light work.

Get some more people and lift it.

Yeah, see my OP. Billy no mates.
Also 750kg, even if everyone could lift 50kg that would need 15 people.

[madmadmax]

3 bords of ply wood and use that as a path to stop it digging in to the tarmac then rig up a winch and get some mates round

[maxaret]

After a couple of glasses of wine and 2 fingers of Malt Whisky I was thinking that removing the gearbox and ancillaries and then tying on 50 helium balloons might help move it - but I will probably not suggest the balloons in the morning 

[welshpug]

put it back in the bed and reverse pickup to where you want it?

[Dave]

madmax hit it on the head i reckon, you will find it will move much easier with some ply underneath. Try rollerblading on grass, same thing

[Ruan]

Get myself, Anton, Piggy, few of the London lot and organise a trip to get food afterwards, sure all would give a hand I'm sure?!

[zx_volcane]

Get myself, Anton, Piggy, few of the London lot and organise a trip to get food afterwards, sure all would give a hand I'm sure?!

I'm in, in an advisory role at the very least.




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[Dum-Dum]

3 bords of ply wood and use that as a path to stop it digging in to the tarmac then rig up a winch and get some mates round

I think it would dig into the ply tbh and ply isn't cheap in any sort of useful thickness.

After a couple of glasses of wine and 2 fingers of Malt Whisky I was thinking that removing the gearbox and ancillaries and then tying on 50 helium balloons might help move it - but I will probably not suggest the balloons in the morning 

I think you might have overestimated the lift of a helium balloon. Your average balloon will lift 5g so to lift my 750kg I'd need 1,500,000 balloons. That amount of helium is probably going to be prohibitively expensive.

put it back in the bed and reverse pickup to where you want it?

It was a fight to get it off due to the crane not quite having the reach, I don't think I'm gonna get it back on.

Get myself, Anton, Piggy, few of the London lot and organise a trip to get food afterwards, sure all would give a hand I'm sure?!

I'm in, in an advisory role at the very least.

I wouldn't want to drag you guys all the way up here just to move it across my drive, TBH I was looking to abuse you lot on the day I fit it.
















Anyway

I was lying awake in bed last night pondering this and think I've solved it.
The plan is to hook my trailer up to the pick up truck giving me something at a much lower height to load the engine onto (solves that issue) then reverse the trailer up to there I want it. Position the engine crane in the flowerbed so it can't roll away and then lift the engine up, drive the trailer forwards and then drop the engine back down

[1616six]

In theory that's a plan however IIRC your trailer isn't the strongest in the world, I'm imagining a mangled trailer photo next...

[Paul_13]

Have a nosey around big tescos and see if you can find something similar

[Magenta Sunset]

I have 3 sheets of shutter-board at my work.
you're welcome to borrow them

[Dum-Dum]

In theory that's a plan however IIRC your trailer isn't the strongest in the world, I'm imagining a mangled trailer photo next...

My trailer is seriously hefty, it's an old caravan chassis and braked so I'm assuming designed to tolerate over 750kg otherwise it wouldn't need the brakes.

Have a nosey around big tescos and see if you can find something similar

Yeah, as repeatedly mentioned above, anything with little wheels is a problem as the little castors dig into the tarmac so it won't work any better.

I have 3 sheets of shutter-board at my work.
you're welcome to borrow them

I might take you up on that depending on how the trailer plan goes.

[cully]

advertise the fact you have a £1000 engine sat on your drive not protected im sure the Pikeys with the Dugs will be around and lift it from under your nose

[madmadmax]

3mm ply will cut the musterd with this ply is v'strong in compression due to the way its made

[Piggy]

I use 12mm ply for a decent surface on my gravel driveway for jacking up... Jack wide wheels dig into ply

[Eeyore]

Do what they did with the pyramids and use lots of rollers

[darrenjlobb]

Drop the ZF.....


I told you

[Dum-Dum]

I told you

I've gotta say the weight was the one thing I hadn't been prepared for. With the way you and Ruan and others had been going on I was actually surprised at how small the engine was when I picked it up. I think mentally I knew the engine was half a tonne plus everything bolted to it, I just hadn't comprehended the fact that is about 5 XUDs

[Paul Baldwin]

Do what they did with the pyramids and use lots of rollers

This! I've moved some seriously heavy stuff using 3 cut off lengths of scaffold tube.

[unclebeast]

Sit it (engine)on a couple of rims with bald tyres on (inflated) that you have sat on some thick plastic sheet, with chains through rim holes of wheels. attach to towbar and ever so slowly drive/drag to better location, the rubber on the plastic sheet will protect surface, slow job but worked for me. if no good i would second the scaffolding poles or 4inch tanalised timber rounds/stakes, equally effective and proven by ancient egypt!

[Mattcheese31]

Roll it on logs, also if people could only lift 50kg they'd be total pussies