Garage lift - if you had to do it again

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

^^^ but could you drop the transmission in the elky with that lift?

Yes. I did an engine swap, but I left the transmission in place. There is access to the driveshaft to lube the universal joints. It takes some planning to sit in the pit, and get to what I need to do.

I did the full fuel line replacement on my 911 and the ledge of the pit was a comfortable place to sit to get to the firewall and disconnect the old fuel lines. And wiggle the new lines back through. All with the engine and transmission in place.

[mradovan]

I have a BendPak lift in my garage with 11' ceilings. You can raise a 911 to full height without any issues. Look for the floor plate models.

5" concrete with # 4 rebar 18" OC is plenty. The connection to the floor is the weak link. The bolts will tearout before the concrete fails in compression.

Bendpak provides expansion anchors. I would use Simpson set-pac epoxy. It is way stronger. Mcmaster carr sets insert that you can bond into the concrete. If you do it this way, you can bolt it down. If you ever need to move it, you are left with tapped holes in the concrete.

My Cayenne fits under the car if I remove the front wheels.

[kltarga72]

I have a 28X56 foot garage and 14 foot high. I went with the Challenger 10,000 lb two post lift. For me a four post lift would take up to much room. As others have mentioned purchasing a lift is worth every penny.

[porschedude996]

Originally Posted by kltarga72

I have a 28X56 foot garage and 14 foot high. I went with the Challenger 10,000 lb two post lift. For me a four post lift would take up to much room. As others have mentioned purchasing a lift is worth every penny.

especially when you get old.

[blucille]

If I had to do it again, I’d just do it sooner. Can’t imagine my shop without the lift.

2 post lift I bought from a Saab dealer that was shutting down in 2003 when we bought our house. Installed a few weeks later when we transacted from the house to the barn to install power, gas and water.

Never looked back.

[Cairo94507]

Here is my '71 914-6 on our freshly installed BendPak mid-rise scissor lift. I had the same set-up in my last garage. This garage is 1600 sq. ft. with a 12' 6" ceiling. The garage is not finished yet, but getting close. Ramps are flush to the floor when down, hydraulics run in a chase in the ground and the control panel is mounted on a tall cabinet over the bench.

[Brickwhite]

Currently building my Garage,

They poured footings today







will probably put a full rise Scissor lift in the left bay. I have a 4 post that will go in the right bay for storage that came from my old house.





Similar to above

[spoke]

I went with MaxJax. Works very well and when not needed, unbolt the posts and roll everything into a corner. The posts have wheels and handles at the top to assist moving them.

Maximum height is about 4 feet which is good enough for everything I need.

[AnimusAudens]

Originally Posted by spoke

I went with MaxJax. Works very well and when not needed, unbolt the posts and roll everything into a corner. The posts have wheels and handles at the top to assist moving them.

Maximum height is about 4 feet which is good enough for everything I need.

How much work is it to unbolt the MaxJax? Or perhaps a better question might be: what do you have to torque the bolts to each time?

[spoke]

Originally Posted by AnimusAudens

How much work is it to unbolt the MaxJax? Or perhaps a better question might be: what do you have to torque the bolts to each time?

It's pretty simple to bolt and unbolt. I torque the bolts to 40ftlb. Tried 50ftlb and it caved in the washers. 40ftlb work fine. Takes about 20 minutes to setup and teardown. Posts connect to the main motor with hoses and quick fittings. The motor and pump are on a cart. The cart has a holder for the hoses. Plug into 110v and go.

I have a HF dolly to store the 4 arms. They are heavy as sin. The posts roll very easily and easy put in place.

The only preparation for the garage (besides placement) is drilling the holes. Documentation is good and thorough. Tech support is good.

Drilling ten 7/8 inch holes was a pain. Had a medium sized hammer/drill but it died half way through the 10 holes. Bought a heavy duty Bosch hammer/drill and it went through the concrete like butter.

They provide screw on caps to protect the holes from debris when not in use.

[AnimusAudens]

Originally Posted by spoke

It's pretty simple to bolt and unbolt. I torque the bolts to 40ftlb. Tried 50ftlb and it caved in the washers. 40ftlb work fine. Takes about 20 minutes to setup and teardown. Posts connect to the main motor with hoses and quick fittings. The motor and pump are on a cart. The cart has a holder for the hoses. Plug into 110v and go.

I have a HF dolly to store the 4 arms. They are heavy as sin. The posts roll very easily and easy put in place.

The only preparation for the garage (besides placement) is drilling the holes. Documentation is good and thorough. Tech support is good.

Drilling ten 7/8 inch holes was a pain. Had a medium sized hammer/drill but it died half way through the 10 holes. Bought a heavy duty Bosch hammer/drill and it went through the concrete like butter.

They provide screw on caps to protect the holes from debris when not in use.

Do the posts have to be store with the arms off, or could you leave them on if you had the space?

That's cool that they give you cover caps for the holes.

[spoke]

Originally Posted by AnimusAudens

Do the posts have to be store with the arms off, or could you leave them on if you had the space?

That's cool that they give you cover caps for the holes.

The arms have to be taken off. They are very heavy and would swivel to wherever you don't want them to go. The posts are very heavy by themselves. Not hard to move but very heavy. The whole system seems heavy duty and well designed. I'd buy again if I had to.

The only issue I've had so far is the one coupling is leaking. That coupling will need to be replaced. Tech support says they should be lubricated but not sure how to do that. I've disassembled/reassembled about 20 times already. My wife didn't like the post being up in her spot when not in use. My side had a dead soldier ('86 930) so didn't make sense to put it on my side.

[AnimusAudens]

Originally Posted by spoke

The arms have to be taken off. They are very heavy and would swivel to wherever you don't want them to go. The posts are very heavy by themselves. Not hard to move but very heavy. The whole system seems heavy duty and well designed. I'd buy again if I had to.

The only issue I've had so far is the one coupling is leaking. That coupling will need to be replaced. Tech support says they should be lubricated but not sure how to do that. I've disassembled/reassembled about 20 times already. My wife didn't like the post being up in her spot when not in use. My side had a dead soldier ('86 930) so didn't make sense to put it on my side.

Good info. Thanks!

[PeteKz]

Blucille has the best advice: “If I had to do it again, I’d just do it sooner.”

Any lift is better than sliding around on your back or belly under the car with dirt and crap falling in your face.