Roy, thanks those numbers are a big help. I should be fine based on those lengths.

Ditto...

Its nice to be able to work on the car siting up, not laying on your back...

Midrise lift is portable too... though HEAVY...

The quick lift looks cool, would love to have one. But if you can only have one... the midlift rocks....

50 psi

Definitely understand the appeal of a mid-rise, but a consideration for the QJ is that while the mid-rise lifts are great for the 911, they are not always great for other cars where you may need to get to something in the middle of the chassis (drivetrain, exhaust, etc.). If I was just going to use this for the 911 that wouldn't be an issue but I do intend to use this to service other cars. So for that reason I think the QJ wins.

Just talked to the sales folks at QJ. The lifts are rated 1.5x the stated capacity so the 5000 is actually rated for 7500 lbs and the 7500 is actually rate for 11,250. Given that I think I'll go with the 5000.

Now here is something else I learned. I looked at Pelican the other day and did not see the EXT versions listed. When I called QJ sales they told me that the EXT units are not yet available -- the first units are expected to ship in August so they are only available for pre-order right now.

I'm going to go back and look at my measurements again to make sure I really need the extra length of the EXT, but I think I'm going to end up needing it.

For an air-cooled? I don't think so. Oldspool and I are using the 5000SLX, and have no problem. As long as you slide the frames inside of the tires as shown above, you'll be fine.

Do you think you need the extra length for the SUV? A big one? For our RAV4 and the CRV, the rubber blocks don't quite reach the exact lift points on the pinch welds under the rockers, but I still lift on the weld and there has been no damage at all.

If you go with the EXT, double-check the range of the lifting point spread. Sixty-six inches is probably too much for a 911, and you don't have an infinite adjustability on the lower end. The rubber blocks fit in trays, and they are only so big.

Mark

Right, I realize the SLX would be fine for the 911. And according to my measurements it would be find for 3 of the 4 cars. The SLX supports up to 60" max span between the lift points. Cars #2 & #3 are max 59 and 60 inches so the SLX model is fine for the 911 and 2 of the remaining 3 cars . It's the last car that the SLX looks a little short. The SLX would only catch a couple of inches of the jack point on each side. Think of it this way: 4" jack point + 58" span + 4" jack point = 66" from outer edge to outer edge of the jack points. So it's close. Maybe it's enough. I'll go look at it again.

Hey, folks -

Just wanted to provide an update. After spending some time looking at the QuickJack specs and measuring my cars again, I decided to buy the BL-5000EXT. I've got two cars that really seem to need the 66" lift span.

The downside is that the EXT model is new and doesn't ship until mid-August. I'm hoping it will be in my garage in 3-4 weeks.

A couple of years ago I ran a dedicated 30A sub-panel to my garage. I chose to go with the 110V option for the QJ. I think what I'm going to do is to run 2 new 15A circuits off the panel -- 1 for the lift (and maybe compressor down the road) and 1 for a portable A/C unit I recently bought.

Damned if I won't be working in the garage almost like a human being soon!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/wat6.gif

Just a quick update...

Part of the shipment arrived yesterday and the rest arrived today. It took about an hour to get everything put together.

I have to say, I'm impressed so far. I used the E350 as the guinea pig. :D It raised the car surprisingly fast.

It got done late tonight and I didn't have time to try it with the 911. I will do that tomorrow and report back. But the EXT version was perfect for this car.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1504839780.jpg

Quick update... haha see what I did there?

I did a very quick test earlier today. I was able to raise the 911 successfully. Didn't seem to have any problems and I may play around with best places to put the rubber blocks, but the first test was good.

So it seems the BL-5000EXT, even with it's longer length, is still fine to use with the 911.

I did feel a little better with the E350 having the ramps right at the edge of the car. The greater distance between the ramps is more stable. It seems that even with the shorter version of the QuickJack, the ramps are set more inboard with the 911. This model isn't any different in that regard so I don't think it will be an issue.

Like I said, I ran out of time so I didn't study it too much.

One thing worth noting. I wonder how many QuickJack users also have A/C? It seems that the placement of A/C and oil lines makes choosing good lift points a bit more of a challenge.

Here's the pics...

NOTE: After more experimentation, this is not the correct way to lift the car. The ramps should be oriented the reverse of the way the are shown in this picture. The hydraulic shaft should be pointing at the weight bias end of the car. The orientation shown is normal for front engine cars but should be the opposite for the 911.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1504926295.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1504926332.jpg

Nice thread....
So, any follow up? There have been some real *****fests about it on the Grassroots motorsports website...but they date back 4 years or so, and it appears Ranger has addressed teh issues with upgrades and changes.

I have a '73 that I'd like to do an engine drop on....apparently, based on a post in this thread, there is enough clearance with just the Quickjack??
I'd love some feedback from the 911 crowd...thanks!

I read those threads on the Grassroots site. It looks like most if not all of the initial complaints have been resolved.

I like the EXT. The extra 6" between jack points is perfect for 3 out of 4 cars (not needed for the 911).

Last weekend I lifted my wife's Highlander and did an oil change, replaced rear rotors & pads and bled the brakes. So much easier with all 4 wheels off the ground at once! Then I did an oil change on the MB E350.

I haven't tried yet but I feel pretty certain that there is plenty of room to do an engine drop, as others said, especially if you remove the rear bumper. It's about 19-20" of clearance, which doesn't sound like a lot but looks like enough in person. It seems about like the same clearance as when we dropped my motor using the "dog in heat" method a couple of years ago.

I like those, but, based on your pic, they don't look like they lift near high enough for an engine drop......anybody done this with the QJ, and have pix?

regards,
al

Don't see how you would do an engine drop...

There are bolts way in front you have to get to, and you have to tilt the motor/trans.

The scissor lift gets the car up 3-4 feet, and sometime I need to tilt the motor 30-45 degrees to clear the shift rod and not bend it.

I've thought about that. I think it could be done pretty easily in "lifts" using some form of cribbing between lifts. More work than a lift that goes to 40", but way less than jacks and stands.

See Post #6... Sboxin has done it.

Something else I have thought about is just to use the QuickJack to easily get the car up on jack stands. I’m guessing right now but it seems like there is room to get stands in place under the rear torsion tubes. Front should be no problem to put stands under the front A-arm points.

Another idea I think someone else mentioned is to build 2x12 ramps to put the QJ on to gain a little more height.

The QJ comes with 2 sets of rubber blocks. The short ones are 2-1/8” tall and the taller ones are 3” tall. They say you can stack them to get extra height — I need to convince myself that’s a good idea. They also make a set of SUV adapters that are taller. I have not looked at them closely to see if they would work with the 911’s lift points.

I lifted my wife’s SUV the other day with no problem. There wasn’t a huge amount of ground clearance at the wheels but it was enough to get the tires off and work on the brakes comfortably. Plenty of room to wrench underneath. Point is I’m not sure I need the SUV adapters for the SUV — wouldn’t it be ironic to need the SUV adapters for the 911? :D

Al, you can drop an engine with a motorcycle jack and one of the quickjacks all day. Super easy if done with the rear bumper removed

EDIT: uploaded wrong photo -- will fix

Not quite the same perspective but this is a photo from my last engine drop. I don't think the rear up on jack stands is significantly different in height from the QJ.

I do think seeing the pictures it's hard to get a sense but my decidedly subjective eye-ballin' says the QJ will be fine.

I think the angle of the car on the jack stands maybe makes it a little easier to navigate getting the shaft in and out of the tunnel.

There was another good thread the other day on engine jacking methods. I'd like to think through that some more. I suspect a low profile floor jack with a support or an ATV jack would have better clearance than a lift table with tall casters.

Sorry... this was the pic I meant to upload.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1505938941.jpg

I'm the guy that uses 2x12's under the QJ for our taller cars.

I've tried stacking the blocks but I just can't get comfortable doing it. For folks that don't have a QJ, it doesn't lift straight up. As the car rises it also moves forward or backward, depending on the direction of the QJ. As this happens I've found the stacked blocks can start to lean over, and I've always stopped the lift.

I often use the QJ in the driveway, which has a slope equal to the max allowable (about 7%). This makes the lean problem even worse.

In my opinion, the 2x12's are much safer. The only drawback is they can be difficult to position. Because of the total weight of the QJ, the wood tends to dig into the asphalt and it is very difficult to slide. I even have handles on them, but still a nuisance. I have an idea for retractable wheels for the 2x12's, but I haven't had time to weld them up and see how they work.

Mark

Wanted to post an update on continued experience with the QuickJack.

A few of my friends were getting together to prep for a DE session so I loaded the QuickJack up in my wife's SUV and hauled it over to where we all met.

We used it on it 4 cars that day.

2002 996
2007 997 S
2012 Cayman
2012 Boxster Spyder

Keep in mind this is the 5000EXT model. It fit between the wheels on all the cars but there is a trick to using it with the 996 & 997. The Cayman and the Boxster were easy. Since they're mid-engine they have a slightly longer wheelbase.

To accommodate the 996s & 997 what we did was place the QuickJack ramps between the tires with the "front" of the ramps facing the back of the car. We then drove the car forward about an inch or two where the rear tire was just barely on the ramp. Then we put the blocks at the normal lift points and raised the car.

The reason we had to do this was because if we didn't the front of the ramp would bind against the front wheels.

Also, keep in mind that the "front" orientation of the QJ ramps needs to be used facing the rear of all the cars as Mark noted since the weight is in the back. Probably wouldn't be as much of an issue with the mid-engine cars but that's the way we did it.

Here is a pic of one of the 996s.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1508163762.jpg

We bled the brakes on all the cars in no time. It was an assembly line -- we just did one right after another.

I'm very pleased with the decision to buy the 5000EXT. It has the best overall fit for all the cars in my fleet and it still works fine with the '83 911. It's nice knowing that it will work with other Porsches too.