Home Lifts

[nickelplated5s]

I think I'm about ready to get a home lift. What I'm looking for is suggestions. One person I know has a one post that is moveable but I'm thinking 2 or 4 post bolted.

[John2244]

A 2 or 4 post lift is nice if you have the room. I purchased a BendPak scissors lift about 7 years ago. Best $2000 I have spent on my Porsche hobby. I have used it for various Porsches, a VW, and a SUV. It has a 48” lift and a 6000 capacity. I have never moved it but I could roll it outside onto the driveway if needed.
My wife has a new SUV so I had to widen the ramp so she can park over the lift.

John

[jrwilson]

MaxJack is a good solution for short ceiling garages. I use QuickJack because I can roll them back out of the way when I'm done fairly easily.

[Mike80911]

If you have the room you can't beat a 4 post drive up lift. Never have to get on your back to locate the lift points with the arms and no need for 2x10 ramps that always get in the way. Probably one of the safest lifts you could use also. I have a midrise lift sunk into the ground and it works great but I did not have room for anything else.

[ADDvanced]

I have a quickjack, but my garage has low ceilings and I really couldn't go much higher than this. That said it's enough to do engine out service and lots of access to all 4 corners:

[mepstein]

I got the maxjax and love it but recently the price increased 50%. :-(

[JuniorVarsity]

a lot depends on ceiling height. I'm lucky to have a 3 bay garage/shop with very high trusses, so I went with a wildfire 4-post lift; have been very happy with it so far. Great for storage and *most* work. I have a bridge jack that I can use to the wheels off the ramps for suspension work. Really, though, if you are doing a lot of wrenching, a 2-post is likely the best choice.
I wanted the ability to move it from bay to bay as well as storage capacity (and ability to run off a 110V outlet). YMMV.

I couldn't stop giggling the first time I changed oil standing up.....

Good luck!
JV

[nickelplated5s]

Thanks for the replies and I'll do some research based on brands above. It will either go in the 4 car or shop. Bought the acreage and out buildings more than the house. One local person said I might have to saw cut the slab for a 6" pad. I don't think that is necessary since I don't want a lift for my 8.4k one ton.

[47silver]

Used my hydraulic scissors lift 100 times saved tons on brake changes alone. Helped friends with their brakes etc. get one you will be spoiled

[Dr J]

I got a scissor lift and agree that if you work on your car it is a great investment. I have low ceilings and can still lift all the way up with the garage door closed.

[Nditiz1]

I have a 4 post and 2 post in my 25x20 cathedral ceiling garage.

The 4 post is a hobbyist lift. It is not bolted and mainly used for storage of a car. Sometimes it is used for maintenance, but my max Jax is just better as I can access the wheels, suspension, brakes, easier than the 4 post. Maybe if I had the center jack it might be better, but that's almost a grand post covid. It's really sad how everything jumped in price.

[pete3799]

I bought one of these through NAPA (free shipping).Love it.
https://www.napaonline.com/en/search?text=forward%209000%20lbs%204%20post%20lift&referer=v2

[47silver]

Caution
Had car on lift
Decided to open the garage door.
The door mechanism put a crease in the targa bar.
Had to replace it

[Dr J]

^^^ Yes! Be careful. I had the engine bay open and opened the garage door only to see it tangle with the tail. I had to fix the hinges as they compressed and wouldn’t work correctly. You don’t want to have an unexpected project when you are in the middle of a project!

[mepstein]

Originally Posted by 47silver

Caution
Had car on lift
Decided to open the garage door.
The door mechanism put a crease in the targa bar.
Had to replace it

I put a roll up door on my workshop for just that reason. I can open the door and never touch the car. I did a maxjax because my ceiling is only 8.5’. I usually leave it bolted in but it’s nice to have the option to move it.

[rokemester]

Originally Posted by 47silver

Caution
Had car on lift
Decided to open the garage door.
The door mechanism put a crease in the targa bar.
Had to replace it

Yep! Guilty of a similar brain fart, Darwin Award worthy award. I have a remote for my detached garage in a handy spot right outside the attached garage entry door. I was working on replacing the fuel lines. Car was up on my scissor lift. Nice bright sunny day. As I was going out to the garage thought it would be nice to air it out. Hit the remote, my heart sank when I heard a bang. Oh !$&!, what did I just do? Bottom of door slid up the slope of the Targa glass and halted at the bar against the gasket. Released door from the opener and carefully lowered the door. A roller jumped the track jammed up the door, but thank heaven the Targa survived my stupidity! Very, very lucky!!

Now I keep the remote out of easy reach!

[wdfifteen]

This is the low-rent "lift" I used when I took the engine out of my 911. I don't recommend it.

I installed a MaxJax when I built a new garage. The ceilings are 10 feet, which lets me run the car up all the way. It only goes up 4 feet which is too low to stand under., but just right when working on brakes. For under the car work I run it up about 2 feet and use a creeper. I like the MaxJax a lot, although the left hand hydraulic cylinder keeps getting air in it. I DO NOT leave a car up on it overnight.






Putting the engine back in was MUCH easier with the MaxJax

[mepstein]

If the lift is settled on the locks, it shouldn’t matter if it bleeds some air. The locks will keep it in place. The old maxjax only had a manual locking bar but your lift looks like the newer model.
At my shop, we leave cars up at night and slide another car underneath. It’s the locks that secure it no matter what happens to the hydraulics.

[Spetrow]

I have MaxJax and like it. Its low but very stable. I use pipe stands when its at max height. BendPak has been pushing excellent discount coupons during SEMA. I think i saved 20%. I went with MaxJax due to i can move to my residence garage which has limited space and height. Picture is warehouse space at my office.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by Spetrow

Picture is warehouse space at my office.

Ah... the luxury of some space. I'm very jealous.