Lift pads / cradles for MoHawk A7 lift

So, I have OCD

The lift I bought came with steel serrated pads (pretty dumb). Even if I wanted to, I cannot use them since the arm positions don't match where I wish to lift.

That said, thanks to Mitch, I used hockey pucks and just placed them on the lift arms.

The lift has a primary and secondary arm so there is a height different of .6875".

I also am not thrilled with the pucks just sitting on the arms so I decided to design and build these cradles. These will hold the pucks in a recess and will put them both at the same height as well as allowing the cradle to side along the length of the arm. I've added set screws so I can clamp this in position if I like.

The one for the larger arm is offset since Mohawk has a bracket (I'll remove) to prevent the secondary arm from being pulled out to far. I'll come up with another way. They also reinforce the end of the arm so I wanted to get the puck to the very limit and I needed clearance for the reinforcement.

I do plan to check some dimensions before I finish (clearances to the body, etc.)
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OCD, as in 'osteochondrosis dissecans'?
Very common at race-horses

Nice work btw!

 

I'm sure its real easy to get off the shelf stuff

Also a pinch weld clap is insanely convenient tool, design one of them

Yes I would make the pads height adjustable, that will come in extremely handy later when you try different things with the lift

BTW, get CATIA a real program LOL

 

just for sheeztz giggles, this was the last lift I purchased before retiring, 3 of them
Not a conventional lift but an absolute necessity for lunatic fringe stuff we were doing at the time.
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I want the pads as low as possible to I don't have to block the wheels to get the arms under - I know I will with the F car but my BMW does not need it. I only have one other car I plan to lift - I post the photo after I pick it up this weekend

And Solidworks is way better than CATIA crap LOL.

 

Just have them "screw in" so you have min height but can adjust it up, sometimes you need .250 extra on an arm.

Solidworks Hmmmm Oh yeah the old ProE kernal

I learned on Catia many moons ago and cant even pad something much less seta restrength in solidworks. I should take a coarse one day.

We use it due to we can design, model and create NC code and send it to the machine without moving more then 20 feet. Rapid for us.

 

Nope Tim, it's the NX Kernal. I plan to get NX Cam and maybe down the road switch to NX CAD so we can use one system. We use MasterCAM for milling and Esprit (garbage) for Mill Turn.

I hear you on the adjustments but I'll probably just get some varying thickness rubber sheets.

 

Well it's good to see they are still killing us in this area We have post processor plugin custom made from a guy in Houston, cant remember his name. The game keeps changing and not getting much better LOL

 

You're really overthinking things.

In the "real world", I have an assortment of wood blocks for the various problems encountered lifting exotic cars. Nothing fancy but it's simple, flexible and gets the job done. There is no single thing that will work for every car so there's no point expending a lot of effort trying. Trust me that the blocks don't need to be fastened to the lift arms. With a 3000 pound car on it nothing is going anywhere.

 

Tim,

I know you are correct but you apparently did not read that I have OCD

 

I did, have it also plus add my ADD to the stew LOL

 

Wrong Tim, Tim LOL

 

see what I mean

 

Well tonight I made some adjustments to the lift so the locks engage on each side at exactly the same time. I also made adjustments since the locks would re engage going down - fixed that. But, to get the car perfectly level side to side, I need to raise one column 5/8" so I'll need to shim the base plate.

I backed the 355 in place to check positioning and such. Turns out the 355 needs at least 2" of clearance from the top of the contact pad to the lift arm. That said, I'll need to revise my design a bit. I'm going to just make a riser piece.

I'm pleased with the positioning though. I'll have 4 feet from the back of the car to the garage wall. Plus I can open the doors freely with no chance of hitting the column.
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Good door clearance
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I'll probably position the car backwards another inch or two.

I was actually almost able to get the arms under the car without blocking it up.
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We always put some foam padding on the uprights edge just in case a door can make its way close enough

 

I do have foam door guards that came with the lift. Just have not installed them yet.

 

This may be a little late, but you can make adjustments by shimming under the top of the hydraulic cylinder. When I installed mine, one side would engage the top lock on one side but not on the other. I made a new shim which fixed the issue. The instructions are in the manual (although a little cryptic). The shims can be purchased from Mohawk or made on a lathe.

 

That's exactly how I did it.

 

Where's Mike (AceMaster)? He'd love the hockey pucks solution!

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Lol, nice....Andrew, I did get your PM too by the way

 

I've been too busy to make all the parts for my lift cradles but did have some time this evening to finally get the 355 on the lift. Needed to raise the back with a floor jack to set the rear wheels on boards to swing the lift arms underneath.
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Not loving the body flex - my top gapped about 3/8"
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