MAXJAX is Installed!!

[choinga]

Got my MaxJax installed yesterday...first heard about this thing here and thought I'd share a few pics and my experience. Really liking this thing so far - haven't done any work under it yet - still need to get more comfortable with a creative solution for the lift points (in the details) before I'm ready for that...but help is on the way!

Enjoy!

A few pics first...



This thing really cleans up nice - rolls around and stores easily...I'm even leaving one of the columns attached to save on setup/breakdown time.



Thanks guys - I know I'm going to enjoy having this thing - I've got it setup where I can leave one of the columns bolted in all the time and then just maneuver the other one over when I need it, connect the hydraulic lines and off we go...

Some of my observations and such...

* I paid $1979.00 and purchased from Car Lifts. Auto Lifts. Garage Shop Equipment. Automotive Service Equipment

* Danmar didn't offer any shipping option where the drivers would get the lift off the truck for you. This thing is heavy - like 900lbs - so you'd have to rent a forklift or something to get it off. I opted for them to leave it at the local shipping company (Conway) and I'd come pick it up. They put it in my truck for me. I have a full size truck with a regular sized bed (2010 Tundra) and lengthwise the back end laid a few inches on the tailgate when it was down. It's big.

* Unpacking is easy - but you'll need at least two people. Please do not attempt this install by yourself. The colums weight about 300lbs each and the piece that slides around in there will easily crush or cut off your hand or whatever gets stuck in there if that comes sliding down with any force.

* It comes with the anchor bolts - no extra's so don't screw any up. I rented a hammer drill from Home Depot but the bit I had was pretty dull (they gave me the 5/8 and 7/8 required) so it took some time to get all of the holes. Just follow the directions here - it's pretty straightforward. Pilot hole then drill the actual hole, insert anchors and set them. I had issues with a few of them coming back up all the way (you pound them down so the anchor sits below the pavement then use a washer and a nut to set the bolt in the concrete...this process is supposed to pull the anchor back up so it sits flush with the surface but I had a few that didn't come all the way back up - probably because the hole was just enough sideways that it's digging into the concrete on it's way up). That said, make sure you drill those holes as STRAIGHT as possible and be very careful hammering in the anchors so that you don't drive them in sideways. There's not a lot of margin for error when lining the column back up and if you have two or more bolts that are semi-sideways you are going to have problems.

* Couple other things on drilling the 7/8" anchor bolt holes... If I had it to do again, I'd probably buy my own brand new 7/8" concrete bit. You REALLY don't want to bore the hole out any wider than the 7/8" (otherwise you'll be drilling a new set of holes or using some concrete epoxy stuff and I just wouldn't feel good about that at all) and the dull bit I had required some wiggling around with the head spinning to pull it out of the hole. I'd also recommend before drilling the pilot with teh 5/8" to use a smaller bit or even a punch to get the pilot hole right where you want it. Those concrete bits with those powerful hammer drills tend to jump up and to the right with the torque and I found that getting my pilot holes centered was a little challenging (and too close for my comfort) so I went another route before I f'd up a hole.

* Do the very best you can to try to find the most level spot in your garage to mount the posts. Not only level in terms of the column not rocking in it's final resting place (they do supply a boat load of shims of various width's), but level in that one post isn't on higher or lower ground. I didn't really think about this beforehand...ASSumed my garage was fairly level and my posts ended up being about a 3/8" off - meaning one post sits naturally 3/8" higher because of an uneven concrete slab. It ended up not really being an issue and in the grand scheme of things in a residental garage being 3/8" off over 10' probably isn't all that bad. If you are really paying attention and standing behind the car when it's going up you can see it tilting a bit to the passenger side but once it's on the safety bar my level on the bumper is pretty damn close. So, the moral of the story here is - make sure you have something (a piece of wood, ladder or whatever as long as it's straight/level) to lay across the top of your colums once you have them in their final resting place to see if it's a level spot. In my case, I'm not sure I really had any other options so I would have just had to go with it anyway. I put my colums 120" apart (measured from the back of each column) and of course had nothing that long to lay across to check this. I live in the boonies, so a 'quick trip' to HD or wherever is out of the question...we just eyeballed it, measured, checked level on each column, shimmed where needed and started drilling holes and hoped for the best.

* Make sure you bleed it. Follow the instructions - pretty straightforward - and bleed a couple times. It will make a difference and will ensure that the two sides are at rest together and lift together.

* Buy plenty of rags to clean up ATF fluid. I have that crap everyhwere. Several of the fittings (they pre-taped quite a few) leaked - one of them pretty profusely. The fittings that were leaking were the ones where they didn't tape (at the quick connects on the columns and the pump) so I went ahead and used some Teflon tape way back on the top of the thread and some Permatex thread sealer on about the 3rd thread up. No issues after that. Honestly, if I had it to do again, I'd probably just thread seal everything to not hassle with it - especially on the fittings that end up at the bottom of the columns and would be a giant PITA to pull back out and tape/tighten if they were to leak. They pre-tape all of them though so you'd have to remove that and put the Permatex on with a small layer of tape.

* ATF Fluid: I bought three gallons. The directions say 9 quarts. I filled it up about 3/4's full and then ran through the bleed process to get fluid in the lines and then topped it off, then bled it again. So far so good. I went to Autozone and bought the only gallon bottles of Dexron III rated ATF fluid I could find. (They had quarts of a bunch of stuff but only a couple in gallon bottles)

* The quick connects are a little messy when they pull off - be prepared with rags to catch what's left and of course store them where you won't get any contamination in the female end.

* The gigantic ass bolt heads that secure the colums are 24MM. Buy one for your ratchet if you don't have one already. I went to Lowe's and HD and neither had a single and the full kit they had was in the $60 range and I had all but 3 of the ones in there...no thanks. I'm going to make a trip to Sears soon and pick one up. Because I didn't have this I used a crescent wrench...a big ass one to get as much leverage as possible...but have no idea what kind of torque I got on those bolts. I thought I read in the 120 Ft/lb range in some other post - but can't find it again. I just tighten them down until I can't turn them anymore and they stayed put. I tested them at various heights as I moved the car up - they were all good.

* You might have to get creative with the pads. The stock configuration has a very wide rubber pad - works great on the back...not so much on the front. You can get it on the jack point but it'll also grab the plastic trim there and crunch the hell out of it. They supply four steel extender pieces that are about 3" high that work great - problem is you really can't trust them by themselves...at least I don't...the back end, maybe - but not the front end...they are almost exactly the same size as the jack point and they don't flange out like a jack so it's smooth metal on smooth metal. I think what I'm going to do is buy some hockey pucks and Dremel out a circle so that it fits right on top of that extender but doesn't raise it any more than another 1/4" or so. This will keep it from floating or moving around on the extender piece but won't make the connection point with the car so large that it's catching on other stuff.

* It says it in the manual, but don't use an impact wrench on the column bolts.

* If you are putting it in your garage, like me - make sure you account for the garage door opener. If you want full height the car is going to bang into it if you put it right underneath. I don't know exactly how high my ceilings are - but it's a standard garage setup - maybe 9' or so I guess? What you see in the picture is as high as the jack will go - so hopefully that will give you a good idea of where it's going to sit.

That's all I can think of right now - really looking forward to getting it up there again and start working on a few jobs - turbo replacement, new starter, fix an exhaust leak, etc...

If anyone in Austin or in the area wants to come wrench - gimme a shout. I'm no expert, but I'm a good set of extra hands and a quick learner. Anyone that's swapped a turbo before gets first dibs.

[bazar01]

Very nice garage and Maxjax setup. Mine has already paid for itself with the 944, 318ti and Accord engine drop.

Just make sure the anchors torque all the way to 100 ft-lbs and still about 1/8" below the concrete surface and do not go all the way up the surface of the concrete.

[smokin_944]

Wow, what can I say? Stellar garage set up!! That is the way to work on cars IMO.

[944 boy]

Man... I'm really wanting one of these now.

[wild man]

Originally Posted by smokin_944

Wow, what can I say? Stellar garage set up!! That is the way to work on cars IMO.

+1 on that. Looks like the ticket, for sure.

[Aufgeladen944]

Wow. That thing looks AWESOME. I gotta get one.

[Hurdigurdiman]

I am seriously thinking of getting the MaJax set up. I have a cab 996 and could have the top down as I was working underneath at full height from floor. The garage opening part would not interfere with the top if I had the cab part down provide I drove the car in forward so the screen missed out on the garage opener part.

[veleno]

What's the max height that it lifts to? Is there enough space to put another car under it?

[BikePilot]

Awesome setup! At max height can you stand under the car without stooping? I payed my way through college as an auto tech and ever since have hated life without a lift (we had the big commercial rotary lifts at the shop--they were awesome).

[Chunkerz]

Originally Posted by veleno

What's the max height that it lifts to? Is there enough space to put another car under it?

I own one of these as well and the maximum height is something like 48 inches.

Originally Posted by BikePilot

Awesome setup! At max height can you stand under the car without stooping? I payed my way through college as an auto tech and ever since have hated life without a lift (we had the big commercial rotary lifts at the shop--they were awesome).

It only goes up to ~4 feet, so unless you're really short you're going to have to crouch down.

[tamathumper]

That's about all I get with my Harbor Freight scissor lift, but it sure beats laying down a hundred times per project.

[tocobill]

I love mine. A standard office chair is perfect to work with no crouching needed. Lots of uses too ....

[Gawernator]

Wow... and this is affordable (relatively) too.

[m3guy]

How far apart did you guys set your towers? Thanks!

[Chunkerz]

Originally Posted by m3guy

How far apart did you guys set your towers? Thanks!

I believe mine are about 7 or 8 feet apart. It depends on the car, where its jack points are, the size of your garage, etc.