Your First MaxJax: What to Expect

[C2C6Z06]

You don't want the column base plate to stop the anchor while torqueing because you are not sure if the anchor is grabbing the concrete. That's why I used a 1/2" thick x 2" x 2" steel plate with a 1" hole in the middle to set the anchor. If the anchor top hits the column base plate, you will definitely achieve the 100 ft-lb torque but you'll never know if the anchor really grabbed the concrete.

I thought about this for awhile, not being an engineer, and looking at the design of the anchors, wouldn't you need the plate to hold the anchor body down into the hole while the torque is applied forcing the lower cone up into the body wedging it against the concrete? If you dont hold the anchor down into the hole, is the wedge really setting against the concrete in the proper thickness of the floor?

 

[bazar01]

I thought about this for awhile, not being an engineer, and looking at the design of the anchors, wouldn't you need the plate to hold the anchor body down into the hole while the torque is applied forcing the lower cone up into the body wedging it against the concrete? If you dont hold the anchor down into the hole, is the wedge really setting against the concrete in the proper thickness of the floor?

No, you don't want the anhor top to hit the column base plate. You want the 7/8" long little split sleeve wedge just above the cone you are talking about to grab the walls of the hole in concrete. The bolt will pull up the whole threaded section and the lower cone up expanding the split sleeve wedge thus grabbing the concrete. Since the 5/8 bolt, the washer and the base plate is blocking your view of the top of the anchor in the concrete, you'll never know if you really achieved the 100 ft-lb tightening torque with the anchor grabbing the concrete or just the top of the anchor hitting the base plate. Of course, if you set the anchor 5/8" below the surface and made a max of 4 turns on the bolt and you achieved the 100 ft-lbs, you are good. I also believe tha epoxy will not help securing the anchor. The power drop in anchor is not designed for epoxy because the cone should be able to move up while the split sleeve stays stationary. If you epoxy the bottom of the hole, the cone section will get stuck and wont pull up and expand the split sleeve.

If you read the Wej-it spec on line, the number of installation turns is 4 for PD58 (5/8"). This means, when you set the anchor 5/8" below the surface of the concrete, they knew that you only need a max of four (4) complete turns of the bolt, to achieve the 100 ft-lbs. This 4 turns will set the anchor just below the concrete. I would advise that you mark the bolt head or the wrench with a marker and just count the number of turns while tightening the bolt. In my case it took about six or 7 turns when I achieved the torque req't. When I moved the base plate out of the way, I noticed that the anchor top was already sticking out by about 1/8" above the surface. So on the succeeding anchors, I set them using a 2" x 2" x 1/2" thick plate with a 1" hole in the middle. Hope that clarifies it.

 

[C2C6Z06]

Bazar01, great explanation. thank you ....

Are there any better anchors for a new concrete install than the Wej-it's? Since I (and others apparently) have to pour new 4X4X6 pads, would we be better off with (female type) anchors moulded into the pour????

 

[bazar01]

Bazar01, great explanation. thank you ....

Are there any better anchors for a new concrete install than the Wej-it's? Since I (and others apparently) have to pour new 4X4X6 pads, would we be better off with (female type) anchors moulded into the pour????

I have no idea of any female threaded anchors in the market specifically for pre-concrete pour. I am not in the building construction field.

The Maxjax selling point is the height and it's movable. So you will need a drop in anchor for the second feature. You don't set a power drop in anchor on a wet concrete. It will fail to expand the sleeve the way I see it because the conical or tapered end will be filled up with concrete and get restrained from pulling up.

I would still go with the Wej-it power drop in anchor after the new concrete has fully cured. It has 14,800 lbs cap in tension and 11,880 lbs in shear. There are 5 anchors holding the Maxjax. With a factor of safety of 4, that is still a lot of holding power.

 

[bazar01]

My second column anchors had problems too. Only two anchors held below the surface and the other 3 did not grab until the anchors are 3/4" above the concrete. I guess my garage concrete is not thick enough in the middle. I have to pour a 4 x 4 section in the middle of my garage. sighhhhh!

I went with epoxy anchor from Wej-it as a last resort. I ordered it from Grainger. I drove the 3 power drop in anchors deep into the hole, cleaned the hole and replaced them with epoxy anchor. I am now good to go. I lifted a 1991 Accord and left it on the lift for a day. So far no change in vertical plumb. I will keep testing until I am confident to work underneath.

 

[PCW]

I went with epoxy anchor from Wej-it as a last resort. I ordered it from Grainger. I drove the 3 power drop in anchors deep into the hole, cleaned the hole and replaced them with epoxy anchor. I am now good to go. I lifted a 1991 Accord and left it on the lift for a day. So far no change in vertical plumb. I will keep testing until I am confident to work underneath.

Bazar01,

Can you supply the product number from Grainger? I have looked on their site and cannot find it.

Thanks,
PCW

 

[anaxagoras]

I just ordered a maxjax and need some additional anchors, I'd like some part numbers as well

 

[PCW]

I went with epoxy anchor from Wej-it as a last resort. I ordered it from Grainger. I drove the 3 power drop in anchors deep into the hole, cleaned the hole and replaced them with epoxy anchor. I am now good to go. I lifted a 1991 Accord and left it on the lift for a day. So far no change in vertical plumb. I will keep testing until I am confident to work underneath.

Bazar01,

So are you saying that you got different Drop In Anchors or you used epoxy adhesive? Like the Inject-TITE® Two-Part Concrete Epoxy? If you could advise and also supply the Grainger part numbers, I have tried to get them on their site, with no success.

Thanks,
PCW

 

[bazar01]

I just ordered a maxjax and need some additional anchors, I'd like some part numbers as well

Just got home!
The power drop in anchor is Wej-it PD58. Grainger Item # 6JF55

 

[bazar01]

Bazar01,

So are you saying that you got different Drop In Anchors or you used epoxy adhesive? Like the Inject-TITE® Two-Part Concrete Epoxy? If you could advise and also supply the Grainger part numbers, I have tried to get them on their site, with no success.

Thanks,
PCW

I tried it two ways since I have 3 suspect anchors that held but above the concrete surface. First I drove the old anchor down below the hole. Filled the threaded hole with rolled masking tape to conserve epoxy. Filled the hole 1/2 full and jammed a 1/4" steel rod to adhere epoxy to the walls of the hole. Filled the hole up to 3/4 full. Wet the bottom of the anchor including the sleeve and the top half of body with epoxy and set it on the hole 5/8" below the surface and left it there with the 5/8 bolt and washer to keep epoxy from messing up the thread. Let it set for 1 hour then torqued it to 50 ft-lbs. Next day I torqued it to 80 ft-lbs. This weekend, I will torque it down again to 90 ft-lbs. I lifted Accord with the epoxied anchor torqued just to 80 ft-lbs and left it there for one day with no sign of loosening.
1. I tried one of the the Grainger Epoxy drop in anchor item # 6JF62 ($17.28), Epoxy ceramic 6, item # 2G580 ($42.80 ..yikes) and borrowed the dispensing gun at work, Grainger item # 4BY19 ($155, yikes x2) and mixing tip item # 2G584 ($5.84).
2. I also tried putting epoxy on the regular Wej-it power drop in anchor PD58. I made sure the hole is clean of debris.
Both torqued to 80 ft-lbs.
Hope that helps. I will re-torque the bolts again this weekend and we'll see which one is better.

 

[Gabriel J]

I started my thread about my concrete replacement in preparation for the MaxJax install......After 1 month full cure, I installed the lift. I had the exact opposite outcome during the anchor install. Once I put mine to the 5/8" below flush height and tightened them...They barely budged. Most about 1/8" before I could achieve 100+Ft.Lbs of torque. I have had my 3300lb car up and down a number of times already have continually checked the bolts...Little to no change in the torque. -Gabe

 

[PCW]

I tried it two ways since I have 3 suspect anchors that held but above the concrete surface. First I drove the old anchor down below the hole. Filled the threaded hole with rolled masking tape to conserve epoxy. Filled the hole 1/2 full and jammed a 1/4" steel rod to adhere epoxy to the walls of the hole. Filled the hole up to 3/4 full. Wet the bottom of the anchor including the sleeve and the top half of body with epoxy and set it on the hole 5/8" below the surface and left it there with the 5/8 bolt and washer to keep epoxy from messing up the thread. Let it set for 1 hour then torqued it to 50 ft-lbs. Next day I torqued it to 80 ft-lbs. This weekend, I will torque it down again to 90 ft-lbs. I lifted Accord with the epoxied anchor torqued just to 80 ft-lbs and left it there for one day with no sign of loosening.
1. I tried one of the the Grainger Epoxy drop in anchor item # 6JF62 ($17.28), Epoxy ceramic 6, item # 2G580 ($42.80 ..yikes) and borrowed the dispensing gun at work, Grainger item # 4BY19 ($155, yikes x2) and mixing tip item # 2G584 ($5.84).
2. I also tried putting epoxy on the regular Wej-it power drop in anchor PD58. I made sure the hole is clean of debris.
Both torqued to 80 ft-lbs.
Hope that helps. I will re-torque the bolts again this weekend and we'll see which one is better.

bazar01,

Thanks. I hope all my anchor's hold the first time, if not, got a good plan.

I also called Wej-it and talked to one of their engineer's regarding epoxy, anchor's etc.. I explain about the lift the concrete thickness and PSI requirement and asked his opinion. He said that if the Power-Drop Drop In's didn't bite and hold to torque and you did need to cut out the old concrete and pour a new footings, he suggested 4'x4'x9" and would use a different anchor. He said if it was his lift he would use POWER-Sert® High-Performance Anchor with the Inject-TITE® Two-Part Epoxy. He said the POWER-Sert® High Performance Anchor has extremely high holding values as the epoxy bond adheres to the entire length of the anchor body, producing excellent ultimate tensile strength. With the POWER-Sert you need to drill a min of 6 1/4". So we will see, hopefully the lift comes in the next week or so. Thanks for the info and part numbers.

http://www.alliedbolt.com/powersert.html

PCW

 

[hanksgarage]

Been using my max jax since the Costco sale and have had no major issues except a couple of the anchors have protruded out more than I’m comfortable with. wont completely come out (I tried) but it goes slightly past the lower plate thickness so I called GES and they sent me some of the epoxy grip anchors to replace them with but there were no instructions to go with it.

i figure you just fill the holes with epoxy and insert them in with a bolt to hammer in with. but just thought id check here before i did that.

 

[rbrtmchl]

Set the epoxy anchor slightly below the finished surface (1/8") to assure it is not pulling against the baseplate when you torque the bolts.

 

[hanksgarage]

Went in nicely and very tightly. Made sure I used alot of epoxy and used the coffee filter method. So far, so good. Torque'd down to 100ft lbs with no problems. Feels more secure. Will check the torque again to make sure.

 

[sidwin]

guys i figured out what to use to prevent door dings. go buy a 12 inch roller paint brush. make a slice down the center with a dremel. now fit it over the silver safety hooks. you're done no more door dings. all this time i thought it was going to be the post that my porsche hits. it's the silver safety. for the post i'm going to buy those corner protectors to see if they fit and give enough clearance for the arms to go up freely. i'm betting for my trucks and cars it will be a non issue since they sit centered in the garage.

 

[pelletman]

They look interesting.

I just could not see myself working on any car in a sitting position.

Unless it was Miller Time.

You know, my dad has a garage with a 10' ceiling, and he put in an old hunter alignment lift. I thought the same thing, but if you get a nice creeper seat, I like craftsman the best so far, or an old office chair with nice casters, it really is a nice way to sit down and work, and it is a hell of a lot batter than on your back on a creeper!