car lift at home

I have a 4 post hydraulic hoist and I'm not sure what your concern is regarding the 'hydraulics'. For example, my specific hoist is rated at 7000 lbs carrying capactity and the hydraulic jacks are rated at 10,000 lbs).
My 355 weight is around 3000 lbs so the hoist is way under utilized.
Further when the hoist is raised to the height required (all the way to over 6 feet and anywhere in between).....the hoist has safety locks, and when raised the weight is no longer on either the cables or hydraulic cylinders....but rather on steel tabs (the locks). From a safety perspective its about as safe as it gets for working on either short term.....or storing for the entire winter.
Now if your looking for a 2 post hoist.....you lose a little of the security however a quality hoist should not give you any issues although I would not store a vehicle long term on a 2 post height (they do have safety locks though).

 

For $1500 delivered, I got a "portable" low-rise hydraulic pad lift. http://eagleequip.com/page/EE/PROD/LI-LM/601-001 (Hmm: they've changed it. Mine looks more like the Bend-Pak: http://www.bendpak.com/product_info.isg?products_id=761)

Retracts to 4" height, extends to 24 inches (plus lift blocks, if used). Can be rolled around by any bionic gorilla. Or by one old geezer if I put refrigerator dollys under the corners instead of using the lift's own wheels.

If you use the lift for maintenance, do you want a drive-on lift that prevents you from removing the wheels? That's most of the use I make of my lift: the seasonal wheel changes. (And oil changes, etc.) And remember how much 3x8 maintenance begins with the phrase "remove tire and wheel well".

As mentioned, the hydraulics raise and lower the car, but it sits on safety locks. (The big bar next to the piston for the low-rise.)

To keep the hydraulics in top trim, don't leave the cylinder piston exposed where it can corrode. For a pad lift, this just means retract it back down for storage. (Of course). Also, like brake fluid, hydraulic fluid will absorb moisture, so you should replace it every couple of years.

Do look to see if you have a NAPA or other wholesale parts place around where you can get hydraulic fluid by the gallon. Trying to fill a hydraulic lift with those little pint bottles intended for hydraulic jacks is a pain.

 

Search Kwiklift and you will see responses to my question which was the same as yours. Also I think the price has gone up since September when I got into its website.

For the price I think the lift DGS describes is a much better value.

 

DGS,
You donty have clearance issues? It says that its 4" high lowered..... I too am trying to find a lift for my garage. I cant use a 2-post due to clearance issues and have been wondering about these lifts... Anyone else have recommendations?
-Nate

 

The average floor jack also operates by hydraulics. And jacks don't have mechanical safety locks (other than separate jack stands).

A well made floor lift is far more stable than jack stands. I can shake the bejazus out of the car when it's up on my lift. I've done a suspension upgrade on one of my cars (including applying 300 Nt-m torque) while it was up on my hydraulic lift.

I'm a bit paranoid, too. I lift the car with the hydraulics then lower it until it's resting on the safety locks before working on it. And I'd never get under a car that was up on only a floor jack.

I've never seen anyone change the hydraulic fluid in a floor jack.

 

My 328 has a minimum of 4" of ground clearance -- the Ferrari is tight, but it fits. The pad sits a smidge under 4" above the floor when lowered. If you need more you can put a board across the front and back of the lift so the tires are sitting above the floor (on the boards) with the lift lowered.

The only thing to watch is where the hydraulic fitting is attached to the cylinder. On my older Eagle, it's smack on top of the piston, so the hydraulic fitting is one of the high points of the lowered lift. (Only an issue on a flat bottom car, but that's what makes it tight on the 328.)

The pads are rubber coated, and extend along the frame under the doors. On the old Celica AllTrack and the 328, I just drive on and lift. On the EVO, I have to use the supplied metal lift blocks between the pads and the car frame because the side skirts aren't load-bearing. On the Alfa, I have to use the lift blocks to clear the cross bar underneath, because the euro muffler hangs way down under the car.

The cross-bar isn't symmetrical. If you back onto the lift, the cross bar obstructs a different part of the underside. But it's recessed below the pads, so you can still do muffler work -- just not as easily as on a two post lift.

"Real" two post frame lifts aren't a whole lot more expensive than the low-rise, but I have a garage ceiling height issue, and pad lifts don't have to be bolted into the floor, but two post lifts give you your best service access.

(Mechanics today are spoiled -- when I worked in a garage, we had those old one piston in-ground lifts that blocked the center of the car worse than the pad lift does.)

 

the bend pak lift is solid, no worries about it at all. I never get under the car unless the lift has been lowered onto a stop, although theoretically if a cable snapped or the hydraulics went out, the lift would just drop the 3 1/2 inches to the next stop, I would rather not be under there if that ever happened. The stops on the bendpak are ever 3 1/2 inches, just lift and lower back down to a stop.

The bend pak scissor lift is the same, it has a bunch of stops after a certain point, I think around 18 inches off the ground is the first stop and then every few inches, I could go measure if someone was that interested.

I live the best of both worlds, a scissor lift and a 4-post in my garage. The 4-post is used mostly for storage of a car or big work like right now, taking out the gearbox. The scissor is what I use for oil changes and occasional suspension work. Its also nice to lift the car to eye level for detailing, saves my very old back.

 

An advantage of the 4 post lift is that you can justify it with your significant other as being a way to increase your garage space with only $ 2000.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

saw it at a car show. nicely constructed but for the cost i'd get something that frees the wheesl once in the air. with this thing you still need jackstands to get the tire off.

 

There are "lift spots" and lift spots.

If you use a two post lift or a roadside jack, you're lifting a quarter of the car's weight on one single spot (or the car's entire weight on four spots). Figure about two square inches per spot, and do the math for pressure (pounds per square inch).

When you use a pad lift, you're distributing half the car's weight along the entire pad, if the side skirts don't intervene.

Since the frame runs the length of the car, I'd think the "lift points" are intended as "jacking points" rather than the only place on the car where the chassis can be lifted.

Consider: At first, I worried about a lift in my garage, because I didn't know the floor concrete thickness. But the car normally rests on the floor at four tire contact patches, about one foot square or less (depending on tire size), so the weight of the car sits on four square feet. On the lift, the weight of the car is spread over the base of the lift, exerting less pressure per square inch on the concrete than the tires do. Scissors lifts have less area on the concrete, and have to move across the concrete when lifting, so you need a better quality (and non-pitted) floor for those.

The same kind of thing applies on the car contact side of a pad lift. If you have the pad lifting across the entire length of the frame between the doors, you're applying much less pressure per square inch than you would at four jacking points.

If your car has flimsy bolt-on side skirts, like the EVO, then you can't push along the sides with the pad, and you have to use the lift blocks. But the frame is right behind (and above) the side skirts on the EVO, so the four lift blocks can be placed anywhere. I put them as far apart as possible for stability, but as long as they're under the frame, I don't worry about position on the car. Same on the Alfa. The four "jack points" are attachements welded to the frame for the tongue-and-slot telescoping jack provided with the car. But they're too close to the wheels to put the lift blocks there, so I put the blocks under the frame between the doors.

You could probably take a look at your car when its up on it's lift point (two post lift) and find plenty of available lift spots. Or query in the "modern" section for pad lift use.

If you absolutely want to use the "official" lift points, and don't want to hard install a two post lift, there are mid-rise trapezoidal lifts that use the four lift arms like the old single piston lifts had. They don't look as sturdy as the Bend-Pak/Eagle, and they'll obstruct a lot more of the car's underside. AC Hydraulics made one http://www.asedeals.com/auto_lifts2.html and apparently the "Werther model C120" is a similar lift.

 

When I built my house I bought a center post hoist from a scrap dealer who dismantles Chevron Stations - I paid $350 and he installed new plumbling fittings if I would just haul it away. These things are everywhere - all you have to do is look for them. They have a 5 gallon oil bath in the bottom and they run on compressed air through a safty approved up-down valve. The two stage air compressor cost $1200 from the local tool town - (don't buy the one-stage versions from Home Depot). See the jack points that I use - I never jack the car from the aft side body lift point as it puts most of the weight of the car through the body if you lift from here. This is why I would not recommend a two post side lift. I know most of the dealers use these for short periods as a matter of convience, but I store my car on the lift to keep the tires round.
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

My condolences to your widow.

 

No doubt. Those in-floor hydraulics have been banned in many communities due to a tendency to leak fluid into the ground.

That one must be really really old, or incomplete. Every one I've seen in the last 40 years had a smaller second post next to the main piston for the safety lock stops. I don't see that on yours. Does it have mechanical safety stops?

 

Has anyone got experience of this portable lifter ? Looks useful for trackside applications

http://www.maywoodgroup.co.uk/Documents/FHB3000.pdf

 

When you buy these things you have to be careful and make sure the casings are solid and run leak tests. Its true that a small number of these units actually failed and leaked oil into the ground that probably killed a Snail Darter or two. I don't expect mine to fail - As you can tell I'm very suspcious of environmental's claims and believe the removal of these devises was an over reaction to a "perceived" problem.

As for the styles that had a second post to a cog to prevent a "leak-down" collapse. I specifically did not want one of those because the style of mine allows rotation of the vehicle so I can rotate it to take better advantage of proximity to my work bench/lighting for different positions on the car. As for leak down collapse on these, its not what you would think, When I open the valve full it still takes several seconds for the car to even start to move. The compressed air running out of the valve is quite noisey and would give anybody time to get out from under the car. With a wide open valve the car moves down one foot every 10 seconds.

This is why I don't hesitate recommending this approach - also this type of hoist for storage lets the springs extend so the spings don't deteriorate over time in addition to keeping the tires round.

 

Cool Thanks DGS for the info!
-Nate

 

The safety lock was in case of a catastrophic hydraulic failure, where the cylinder spills pressure through a split seam or failed seal instead of the small valve. Never mind the snail darter, what would get squished is anyone under the car. Of course, if the seal fails, you'd probably be running from the geyser of hydraulic fluid before you even noticed the car coming down.

Also, extending the springs also extends the shocks, allowing corrosion to the part of the shock that runs past the seal, which can cause seal failure. When the car sits flat, that part of the shock sits inside the seal instead of exposed to the air. If you live in the desert, you might not be worried, but if you're on the coast, I'd leave the suspension compressed. One hard impact to the springs will do more damage than 25 years of "normal use", much less sitting in the garage. (Voice of experience: 26 year old Alfa versus one 10 year old Celica with a rim failure.)

 

when I worked for a mechanic in summer in high school the single post lifts had a safety bar that was hinged at the top frame and when the piston was up the safety bar would automatically lower to be parallel to the piston and hold up the car and piston should you leave pressure...maybe the installer forgot this item ...

 

The early lifts did not have this "safety bar" feature - It was added later as a belt and suspenders approach to satisfy lawyers and insurance companies in a public setting like a Chevron Station. In a private setting there is no risk of a collapse where somebody opens the air valve while somebody else is working on the car. Even when the air valve is open it takes several seconds for the car to start moving. There would be plenty of time even if there was a complete rupture of the cylindar or the pressurized air line to it, to get out from under the car before it started moving and was able to hurt anyone. I chose this style because I wanted to be able to rotate the car to my work area. I'm not saying you cannot go with the type that has a safety bar as a low cost set-up, I simply chose not to for the ability to rotate the car.

Some of the scissor frames shown on here are too scary to consider for day to day use and my reason for posting this was to give folks a substantially safer approach with or without "safety bar" feature at a similar cost.