My recollection is that this would be a lease violation. So please don’t.
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Well if it’s not permissible then I won’t 
, so thank you for the word of caution. I definitely wouldn’t want to be the one responsible for that kind of error. I’ll just have to slide into a bay as soon as it becomes vacant. That does make things complicated with a predetermined rental time for truck and trailer… Suddenly the temptation to borrow a hoist to do this at home is more enticing.
Just plan it early in the week, you’ll have no trouble getting in.
Plenty of room in the the trailer. It fits 2 Mini’s and change. I feel your pain I just helped my friend with an engine swap at DMS and it was as you said a logistics nightmare.
Where do you live?
Hansa
(240) 520-0450
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Churchill Way (635/75). I’ll PM you after work to discuss this further. Uhaul truck/trailer combo was looking like $60-100 so anything is welcome.
Sounds good.
Engine hoists are a portable block and tackle, with legs designed so that they can slip under the front-end of a car and allow the engine to be lifted out of the engine compartment.
The gantry crane is a much larger portable block and tackle which has a portable gantry from which it hangs. It is large enough to bridge across the front of a car (and thus could be used as an engine hoist), but is much taller and wider.
One example use: we used it to lift and remove the very heavy Blacksmithing Press from the back of my pickup when I delivered it to the 'space from Arkansas.
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@PearceDunlap is it permissible to store an engine on my own stand at DMS instead of on a pallet? The engine is ~350lbs, and the stand is rated for 1k. It looks like I’ll have use of my wife’s car coming up, so I might not need to take the engine home. Keeping it on a stand (read mine) would be preferable for quick setup and working time on nights I can make it to work on it.
Also, what is the time limit for “pallet” storage of engines? Might have to order unanticipated parts from the UK that could take a while to ship.
Hypothetical questions since I might still keep it at home to make life easier, but knowledge is a good thing to have just in case.
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Just do an LS swap and you won’t have to wait for parts from the UK. 
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TODAY IS THE DAY! Hopefully all goes well… A lingering question though:
What is the best way to get a non running car up the ramp? Do we have a winch? Probably the easiest solution will be to ask for help in pushing it up.
Aside from that, I anticipate 1 part run, and will label the car accordingly for a swift return(I won’t know what I need until I’m in the engine). I’ll be separating the head/block/gearbox for easier transport/getting everything into my apartment since the truck bed height doesn’t align with my engine stand and I’m not about to lift an engine onto a stand all my myself 
I’ll be by in a little bit, so feel free to swing through and say hello 
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This is pretty well the only practicle solution in this environment. We have no winching mechanism, though many of us have winged about it, and pondered it, and talked about it, but so far, no go.
Good luck on it all!
(pics or it didn’t happen)
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Ask for help. I’ve probably help push 15 cars up the ramp and had one of mine pushed up.
I’ve found this is one of the “Volunteer 60 second tasks” people help with.
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Are there any recommendations for where I should park the truck and trailer so I’m not obstructing anyone? is it okay if I park across a few spaces in the wrong orientation or would you prefer I find some that are in line or separate the trailer from the truck to park it better?
You can temporarily park your rig next to the loading ramp by the Warehouse. It should be out of the way, it will not affect deliveries or any body else.
First, thank you to everyone that came by to talk or lend a hand.
Today was the longest day ever from 2pm - 4am. Just got back home from pulling the engine. The ball joint studs were stripped somehow so I had to have my wife run home to get the set that I got as replacements but never put on. Talk about dumb luck. I tried and tried and tried to get the hubs to go back together (I don’t know the name of the guy that was helping me, but thank you) before finally caving a couple hours later and remembering that I had ball joints at home. So while my wife was running to get the ball joints I stripped the hubs and prepped for the new ones. If it hadn’t have been for that, I think I could have finished everything in about 7 hours. Being my first engine pull ever, and getting distracted/getting help from other members of the makerspace, the job was stretched to 14 hours. I am dead tired and so thankful for my wife’s patience.
@Team_Logistics @Team_Automotive I had to store the engine on a pallet for later disassembly because my plan to separate the head/block/gearbox to take home in pieces didn’t exactly work without a flywheel puller 
(if we’ve got one I’d love to know where it is so I don’t have to order one, granted it’s for a Mini so it might be unique?) It might sound weird, but so is an engine with a gearbox that doubles as a sump, neither of which can be separated until the flywheel housing has come off…
This was my first time using the personal pallet storage, so I hope I didn’t run afoul of any rules if so I’ll work to correct things immediately, just let me know. My wife and I made sure everything was contained to the pallet and no fluids were leaking. The engine is standing upright and scooted back from the edge of the aisle so it shouldn’t pose a problem. It’s also the size of a gnome, so it’s barely taking up any space on the pallet. Engine storage wasn’t my first plan, but it became the only option after a 14 hour day. I’ll be back tomorrow I think, if at least this weekend if I sleep all day tomorrow (today technically 
)
Lesson learned: be more prepared than you think you need to be, always have spare parts, and be thankful for your loved ones and their patience ._.
And I can’t say it enough, but thank you again to everyone that offered words or sweat.
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Apologies for image spam
We stopped taking pictures due to low battery and needing extra hands, but this very vaguely documents the lead up to pulling the engine. Removed the hood, ancillary engine parts, disconnected the hubs to disconnect the inner CVs, and disconnected the engine mounts. What came after was a lot of wiggling and shifting the engine to get it out with the brake booster still installed. I’ll post some more photos once I get a chance to take some of the engine and now empty engine bay.
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Oh right, saw your engine on the pallet today, that’s exactly what the temporary project storage is for. Thanks for keeping it from leaking all over!
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We did our best to drain every ounce we could before moving it around and kept things tidy as we went along. I ordered a flywheel puller, but don’t have an estimate on shipping time yet and it’s coming from the UK. Should I ping you if I need an extension on storage, given the end of the month is a couple weeks away already? If I really need to, I could call in a favor to help transport it home, but we’ll worry about that later if I even need to.
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So the way we keep storage from being a huge admin burden on the volunteers managing it, is it “expires” once a month regardless of when you grabbed a spot.
In this case the next expiration (always the first Sunday) is December 1, on 12/1/19 there will be a meeting at 2pm at the space in the workshop near the storage shelves where you can ask for an extension on your storage, and maybe lend a hand doing some volunteer work. That’s the best way to get an extension. Emailing logistics could also be done, but those extensions are not granted as often.
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Many thanks to @TLAR for help with the head among other things. Super helpful and filled with knowledge! Hopefully I absorbed a little bit of that 
I’ll be doing full disassembly at home to prep for the machine shop, with the occasional trip back to DMS to use specialty tools.
I don’t think I’ve ever learned your name, but thank you as well to the guy that helped lift the engine into the hydraulic lift. That thing is so cool and very useful!
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