HF scissors lift, dumb question
 

I just ordered the Harbor Freight scissors lift that has been mentioned in several threads on this forum.

How difficult is it to move the lift around to get it set up? Can it be done by one person? Two? Or does it require equipment that the delivery guy will have, but I don't?

My car is currently on jack stands in the garage. I'm trying to figure out if the lift could be pushed under the car as it sits, or whether I need build ramps, put the wheels back on the car, and roll it out into the driveway before the lift shows up.

Those that ordered from HF - did they contact you to set up a delivery time or did the truck just show up?

Thanks
Scott

edited to remove 80's era characterization of this forum as a "BBS"...:)

I had one delivered last autumn. The delivery company called to coordinate a time. I can’t imagine moving it under a car, it is very ungainly and was very heavy. I used a furniture dolly and a 2 wheel truck to move it about 15 yards up a shallow incline into my garage. The 15 yard move completely wore out me and the truck driver. It was a struggle. Buy a couple of heavy furniture dollies.
On a bad note, and I am going to post a separate thread on this one if it is every resolved.
My lift had a bad motor. As I first tried to use it, it would trip the breaker. I thought it was a wiring problem so I called in an electrician to improve the service in the garage. He determined that the motor was faulty. I disassembled the hydraulic unit and tried the motor and it was indeed bad.
I have been waiting since October for a replacement motor from HF. I have made many phone calls to the customer service line, with repeated promises of delivery dates. As it stands at this point, they say that the motor is on a ship that should arrive in CA on 6 March. I will see if they can finally deliver the goods.
Just beware that dealing with this outfit has pitfalls. I have had an 800lbs piece of junk in my garage since Oct 2006. Their service techs lie and will not return calls although they promise the same. They may have good pricing but it comes at a cost of good after sale service.
Jim S.

I'm sure someone will chime in sooner, but I have a co-worker, who posts on the BB that could answer. He has one but is fortunate enough to have built a pit in his shop and just drives over the top of it. There was also another post and there is a roving repair guy in the Sacramento area that uses one and caries it around in his van, so they must not be too hard to move around. The picture indicates that there are steel wheels on at least one end, don't think they swivel.
I think you only need about 4" of clearance to move it under the car, but not sure. I'll look for the post that talked about the lift and post the link later.

Jim,

Thanks for the info. I figured it was going to be really heavy.

Sorry to hear about your experience. Overall people here seem satisfied but I guess there is a reason that more expensive lifts exist. Hope your problem gets resolved soon.

Scott

check this thread:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=325913&highlight=scisso r+lift

Thanks John. The HF site says the lift is 3 7/8" collapsed so lacking a pit I will probably screw together some 2x12's as others have done. I am going to lower my car when I finally get it taken apart and put back together, by then I am sure I will need the ramps.

Scott

Scott,
Here are the ramps that I had to build for my SC.
The car is lowered and would not clear the lift.
Jim S.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1172950912.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1172950948.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1172950975.jpg

The lift is about 900 pounds, so you need to be determined to move it. The hydraulic portion of the lift has wheels and works like a handtruck to lift one end of the lift. That and a floor jack with wheels and you can move it anywhere.

I had to return mine to HF as well, the hydraulic cylinders were leaking after about a week. I replaced it with a Bend Pak that appears exactly the same in terms of the steel portion but the cylinders and other accessories look a little nicer for a little more money.

I didn't mind spending extra for the Bend Pak after I dealt with HF service AND had to pack up the lift back into the crate and move it to the end of the driveway by myself.

Since we are talking about lifts...does anyone have experience with the "Quick Lift" seen in the back of Excellence? Its an inclined ramp that you lift with a floor jack. Looks simple and strong.

David

i dug a pit, etc.


fwiw.. i also built 4 platforms for the wheels that are perfectly same height with each other for wheel alignments. WTF, as long as you're in there.

I also bought a used Snap-On mid rise lift for 1/3 of new in great shape. There is a large used market for lifts. The Snap-On lift arm rubber spacers can be purchased separately. They work great.





http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1172982629.jpg


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1172982656.jpg

Nice car jmshepard, are the ramps 2x12 with 2x4 spacers underneath. I need about 5" height to get my jack underneath and those look good.
Also where did you find the tail lights, i've seen them on several cars and can not seem to find them?
Take care,

David I have thought about purchasing a Kwik Lift as I really like the strength and simplicity of it. But for the price of it you can purchase a new HF scissor lift ( questionable quality ) or a used Snap On, Bend Pak or others. I haven't pulled the trigger on anything yet because I'm juggling my budget between two Porsches and the lift budget is empty!

When you are purchasing stuff from Harbor Freight it is important to remember that their chosen market is selling cheap stuff from China. I have a Harbor Freight about half a mile from here and go over there regularly to pick up various items. I would never buy something from them that is large enough that I would think of it as an investment.

I would certainly never buy anything that could cause safety issues if it failed. I have one friend dead from having a car fall on him. That is enough. Just say "No" to cheap lifts and to shiny aluminum jacks designed and built to be dirt cheap. Say "Yes" to hammers, saws, wrenches for one-off projects, etc...

I suppose if I weren't "investing" so much money into the car I would have more left over to buy a better quality lift. :)

This is the first I have heard of the manufacturing issues with these lifts, makes me wonder a little. I was suspicious of them for a long time, but had read so many good reports that I decided it was probably a pretty good quality knockoff that should last well under occasional use (as compared to a professional shop).

All that aside I think the safety issues mentioned here may be a bit overstated. Nobody is talking about structural failures, just a bad motor and a leaking hydraulic cylinder. Neither of these is likely to make the car fall on me unless I am sitting under it while I work the lift. As I understand it, the lift has mechanical locks to hold it in the raised position, so the hydraulics are pretty much out of the picture. And my guess is that even if the lift is made of cheap Chinese steel, 800lb of it will hold up a 911.

I would also argue that even a lift of questionable quality (in terms of its electrical and hydraulic components) is probably a safer setup than using a single floor jack and stands as I have been doing so far. So while history will tell whether I should have bought a more expensive lift, I think it's going to be safer to work on the car either way.

My $0.02
Scott

Wayne, I'm sorry about your friend, but I can tell you after owning my HF lift for 3-4 years that it is a safe product. I understand its limitations, and I'm very aware that I won't win any battles with a car which has fallen on me. Scott makes a good point that the lift is probably safer than some folks can manage with the jacks and jackstands they have.

The HF lift is a good copy of the Snap-on lift. I've seen older Snap-on lifts which when you compare the HF lift to, you come to the conclusion that HF has improved upon the design. Just like any lift or heavy equipment, the operator is the ultimate safety factor!

I love my lift, and it is very likely the best tool I have ever bought.

As for ramps, here is my solution:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads/lift 2.JPG

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads/lift 1.JPG

You can read about it here:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/258261-souk-s-ramps-scissors-lift.html

Mine is the same as Souk's. One of the best tools I've bought and you will recoup your investment quickly with it. My experience.
Brian

I have been toying with the idea of a lift also... This thread got me interested again. I went to ebay and stumbled into these folks. They seem reasonably priced and Newark, DE is not to far from NJ. They have a two post lift, 9000# for $1700! Could probably fit it in the back of my Trailex. Lou

http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/Pro6MR-Portable-Scissor-Lift-p/tppro-6m.htm

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Scissor-Car-Lift-New-Hoist-Portable-Mid-Rise-Lifts-New_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ43998QQihZ020QQitem Z300087016499QQrdZ1

Wayne - sorry to hear about your friend also - somehow I missed that when I was catching up this morning. Safety is actually on my mind here.

Souk and Brian - thanks for the info. I have seen both of these threads before, as I've been putting off this purchase for almost a year now. After the past few weeks of working under the car with it supported on jackstands, the impending engine drop has made me decide it is time. (Actually the right time would have been a month or so ago but what can you do.)

Souk - nice job on the ramps. Maybe I will follow your lead and use a "stack" of 2x4s rather than using a pair of 2x12's (stacked the othe way) as I had planned. It might make it easier to do the miter cut at the outside end. I want to get that angle as shallow as possible as I will have to push the car onto the ramps this first time.

Scott

Why would you buy a lift from HF when the BendPaks don't cost that much more? I think mine was $1450 delivered, with 3 sets of pads in various heights. I thought I'd only use the flat pads for the 911, but I'm currently using the mid-height pads to get it up a little higher as I'm putting new T-bars on, and wanted room to drop the sways.

As I understand it, the HF charges extra for the various pads.

A buddy has one, but you have to have their jack setup to get the wheels off of the ramps, if you need to take the wheels off for anything. Also, it doesn't go very high, and only has the one height. He's actually going to buy a scissor lift now.

Ed, my HF lift cost me less than $1000 delivered into my garage. It came with the pads you see in the pictures I posted. I've never needed more than the pads that came with my lift.

I am not trying to talk anyone into an HF lift. Although I wish I got a commission from HF for talking about their lift, I don't :( :)

The search button on the upper right hand corner is a wonderful tool... ;) The alternatives and user feedback for a number of lifts can be found with that wonderful little button :)

Re: HF scissors lift, dumb question
 

1200lbs delivery weight... needs a truck with a lift to be able to unload the lift.. You get a call to coordinate delivery.

the funny thing is that they sell it as something you can move from bay to bay, HA!! I do not think so... the wheels in the cart are not that strong... I will end up replacing them with something more in line with the load they need to handle IF I am to move this thing around... doubt it...

Anyway, I managed to move it around. Placed some barel belt under it and some flat 1/8"x3"steel with barel belt under the flats where the metal wheels are... I only got 36" flat metal.... I used 2 2x12 for the ramps and cover them with high traffic carpet... I will need to add a few more inches to the ramps for the cars that have a wider track (996TT and for when the '83 is done).

Here are a few photos:

Here how it comes (btw this came in an 18 wheeler... that guy was a pro driving in our subdivision)


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1173125428.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1173125454.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1173125493.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1173125518.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1173125533.jpg

For those new looking if you have the ceiling height I would recommend a two post asy lift... only a couple of hundreds more and soooooo much better (nothing in between or under the car which makes it even better to work under our cars). I did not have the luxury of a higher ceiling... so this is the best alternative for now.
SmileWavy

I guess my question stems from the fact I've read more than a few posts about problems or defects with the HF units. If I'm spending $1000, I don't have a problem with an extra $400 to make sure I'm getting quality. That as well as a higher lift height and the pad selection convinced me. I've found that I've needed the low and the mid pads on mine.

But, it sounds like you've had good luck with yours, so all is well.

It's a good arguement one way or the other, Ed. I wouldn't blink at $400 if it meant a safer product, but I haven't heard of any failures of the HF lift. I haven't been online much of late, so I could have missed it.

At the end of the end of the day, anyone who spends $1400 or more for a lift will not regret the purchase. I'll be installing a 2-post in my second garage...and I'm sure as hell won't regret that! My back and knees are work more than any lift :D

I use my Bend Pak scissors lift at least once a week and can't imagine life without it (They are a pretty much a dead ringer for the HF lift, which I would have bought had they not been backordered at the time). My 911, 951 and lowered BMW 325 are fine with the low pads, but I use the mid height pads for my 924s and Audi A6, and I use the tall pads for my Toyota Tacoma 4x4. The low pads would work for all, but you would waste a bit of lift. The riser pads also make the occasional repair in the middle of the car easy to get at (complete exhaust systems and drivelines on front engine cars).

I have easily replaced clutches on 924s and 944 turbos, so obviously the scissors lifts do not get in the way some might think (the centers of the HF and Bend Pak scissors lifts are pretty open once the lift is raised).

Two posters are nice, but I have to be able to move my lift to other rooms on rare occasions and on top of that, the fixed posts would get in the way when I need extra space for airplane wings etc in my paint shop.

The Bend Pak has nicer wheels on the dolly/pump stand and it is pretty easy to drag it, but pushing it forward is kind of tough, I usually hook a strap to the opposite end and simply drag it (by hand) when I need to move in that direction.

I just ordered a 4 post from Greg Smith Equipment. Waiting for it to arrive any day now. I'll let you know how it goes.

Long overdue followup - Harbor Freight informed me a couple of weeks after my order that the lift was backordered and had no ship date.

So I dropped the engine and trans the old school way, with jacks and stands and hope and then, finally, beer. I had some friends help out, we watched Sebring and then F1, and that was all good. (A long time ago.)

If the lift bug strikes again (when...) I will probably look into a Bend-Pak or Snap-On next time, just so I can get a lift that may actually show up here and be of some use.

Thanks...
Scott

That one from Greg Smith looks cool, I just had one question regarding an engine drop with the lift; what do you put the engine on so it's not resting on the exhaust/HE's? Thanks

It does rest on the exhaust. Mine goes onto 4 X 4's that span across my ATV jack.

And that won't "hurt" SSI's? What's the engine weigh?

Doesn't hurt my B&B headers, I'm sure there've been a bunch done the same way on SSI's and stock manifolds. Engine's about 400-450lbs, I believe

Is this the HF lift people have bought? http://tinyurl.com/32otpe

If not, which is the one everyone is discussing?

Thanks.

Yep, that's the one that I have. It was delivered with an inop electric motor. HF does not know that DHL can deliver freight from China to the US. I waited over 6 months for a replacement to be ordered and shipped from China. I believe that HF uses galleys rowed by Chinese prisoners to make the cross Pacific transit.

It works okay. When raising a car on the lift, the 20 amp service in the garage will pop the circuit breaker on occasion. Given all the problems and circuit breaker issues, I wouldn’t want to do without the capability.
Jim S.

For those with two post lifts: Please post your ceiling height. I'm curious what the lowest functional ceiling height is.

I've been toying with the idea of getting a lift, but since the HF one is $1400 plus shipping, I think that if I do end up buying one, it'll be a Bend Pak, or something similar. I just can't see trusting my safety and my car to HF and it's generally mediocre quality stuff.

how about the snap-on solid deck scissor lift?
 

Like a lot of members on this forum, I have been considering doing myself a big favor and invest in a scissor lift.

I have come across a nice used (late-model) snap-on scissor lift, but different from the one like RolinB's (older model) which is open in the middle. The late model snap-on uses a solid deck (about 30" by 80") and my concern is about restrained accessibility both in the middle (OK) and front/rear (not so OK) -that would nonetheless come handy for working on bikes, lawn mower, etc... I have seen at least one member on this forum with this solid-deck snap-on (Bill Verburg?) and I'd be very interested in hearing whether that configuration is somewhat limiting the accessibility of some components such as suspension, transmission, exhaust, etc...

I have attempted to post a different thread on this but I did not get any answer:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/370727-snap-solid-deck-mid-rise-scissor-lift.html

This is kind of a timely issue since the used snap-on I could get might not stick around for much longer :(

Any snap-on solid deck scissor lift users out there? Thanks guys,