Not specific to this forum, but I'm considering a two post lift for maintenance on the S3. Anyone purchased and installed one of these. I'm getting to the point where lying on cold concrete is no fun anymore. Seems they can be had for $2-4K.

 

If my garage had a higher ceiling I would Insist we get one. (It's a Tool ya know and one can't have too many tools.)
This nonsense of jacking up one end then the other to get a car high enough to work on the underside is getting quite tedious.
(';')

 

The down side to the two post is you must get down and lineup the lift arms each time. better access to the underside though. drive ons have accessories to allow more access.
My cars are mostly low, so my choice was easy. either way do it!!

geneo

 

For sure, a lift if feasible.

A past lister on J-L "adjusted" his garage to create the space for the lift. Multi Talents. buit the garage and the family home, in that order!!

Make sure it is a safe one. Cheaoies may rely on Welds to hold the load. And those not so well done!

My choice would be one with arms over a drive on. Wheel removal available with the fomrer, not so with the latter.


Carl

 

Same issue with ceiling height so the roof comes off this summer and we go from a 8' sidewall 4/12 pitch to a 10' sidewall with an 8/12 pitch. This with a vaulted ceiling gives me the necessary height for a two post lift, upper man loft inside and an outside upper deck on the endwall. So this is a thread that is timely and will be followed with interest.

 

Hi Ian,

You saw mine, from Atlas in Vaughn. About 3600 installed.

Rob

 

A lift is like your first cell phone. After a while, you wonder why it took you so long to get one in the first place and can't imagine ever going back to life without it. I have a four-post, but I also sprung for two scissor jacks which lift the wheels up off the ramps so its the best of both worlds (the typically included "jack tray" is useless). I can do like 85% of the types of repairs that one could do with a two-post lift, but also have the long-term storage capability and service convenience factors (quick drive on-off for diagnostics or simple jobs like oil changes) that you don't get with a two-post. And the scissor jacks are great for brake jobs because its exactly as if you had picked your whole car up and put it on your workbench. Now where the two-post lift shines is in being able to drop entire assemblies out from under the car, like to drop an engine cradle or subframe or even just to easily remove a sway bar. You can't always do that with a four post because the ramps are in the way. If you plan to work on front-wheel drive cars or rear/mid-engined cars, then the two post is a must, but for front engine, rear-drive cars, a four-post is still excellent. If you need to stack cars for storage, the four-post is a must. But regardless which style you choose, you won't regret it.

One piece of advice tho, if you can, buy it locally and pay them to install it and set it up. The pieces are ridiculously heavy. After watching the crew install mine, they knew some techniques for handling the heavy pieces that I never would have guessed. It was a lot cheaper than an emergency room visit.

 

Bought a 9000 lbs capacity Atlas clear floor 2 post lift. From Greg Smith Equipment, out of Indianapolis, Indiana. It cost me $1845.00 USD. delivered. Myself, and my 2 boys assembled, and installed it ourselves. It was quite easy for the 3 of us. No extra equipment needed, we walked the posts upright, and held them, till we were able to tighten the anchors. Now if your are not mechanically inclined, then you can surely have someone install it for you. Your Choice. But it's the best $1845.00, Iv'e ever spent, bar none!

Jack

 

I installed an older Ben Pearson 2 post made back when they used 3/4" steel rails for the carriageas. This sucker is built like a tank! I cant believe I waited so long. Got it for $1000 from a closed car dealership

I had planned for a lift when I built the shop and used 12' walls with a peaked truss ceiling

 

Buy it! they are wonderful, I got one for my retirement present. Transforms the entire process of looking after the car properly for the better!

 

Hello Robert. It's my envy of your lift that has caused this yearning. Is balancing the car an issue? ie. if you drop the IRS unit, can the car tip forward. They must be safe as so many are in use, but those few bolts holding up the posts make me a bit nervous. If used on an XJ6, does one use the jacking pads or somewhere else?

 

You do need to make sure that your concrete specifications are up to the task, ie. the chosen lift mfg recommended psi rating and thickness because there will be serious stress on the anchor bolts. (Even if the car is balanced, imagine yourself and all your body weight at the extreme end of the car hanging off a 3 foot cheeter bar trying to free a rusty bolt). Generally it doesn't need particularly exotic specs though. Depending on the building codes when your garage was built, it may be fine or if its a really old garage with unknown specs, it maybe worth it for peace of mind to get a core sample tested, i.e. if its an old barn out in the country where the farmer may have done it himself to save money, then for sure, I'd check it out first.

That is one sort of an advantage with a four-post lift in that the concrete floor is not an issue. They stand on their own. Some like mine actually come with casters and you can roll it around to different places in your shop. I did bolt mine down, but just to keep it from "walking".

 

some times when all said and done ,, costs is more than the car costs, Hm!

 

this why they built tall jack stands.

I always balance my cars as beat as I can. Raise it 2’ and give the front and rear bumpers the wiggle test by bouncing the car up and down. You can tell if its balanced because it doesnt bounce much. If one end bounces more its unbalanced and I reposition the car.

ive actually marked the floor to show where the front tires of my cars should be and use a hanging bird to find the centerline so im centered driving in. The bird usually hits the windshield when im centered right fron to back and side to side

 

But the cost is long forgotten after you realize how much time and effort it saves you. Just today I was fixing an exhaust leak on a Corvette, replacing gaskets on the right side manifold. Some of the bolts can get to from up top, some from underneath, and none easily. But without remembering exactly how I snaked my big, fat arm into every tiny crevice and with what tool so many years before the last time I did it, I must've raised and lowered the car more than a dozen times finding just the right position to reach every bolt. If I had to jack the car and place jackstands each time I needed to "try" another position or a different length socket extension, it'd have taken me a month of weekends to do a four hour job. And after it was all finished, I still had some time left. I had noticed how the white letters on the tires were turning brown (they call it "blooming" as some chemical leaches out of the rubber). It sure was nice to raise the car to workbench height to clean the tires and not have to squat on the ground. Might not have saved a lot of time detailing, but sure saved wear and tear on the disks in my back. In short, its a purchase you won't regret.

 

With my asymmetrical, you can drop the IRS out, no problem.

Not sure about other designs.

Rob

 

Whats that mean Robert - "asymetrical"? I've seen those terms on different suppliers websites.

 

original 2 post lifts were symrtrical with the same length arms extending out the front and back of each carrier on each post. So the center of gravity of the car must be directbetween each post. This puts the car door right by the post making it almost impossible to open the door without dinging the post

asymetric lifts have a short front arm and longer back arm with posts that are turned 30 to 45 degrees. That allows the CG to be put BEHIND. The post and still distribute the weight to the carriage evenly. Because the cg of the lift is behind the post not inline with the posts. That allows you to open the doors and get in or out without as much door dinging potential

 

nice setup , and a bonus inside,

i had to locate mine outside as my garage would have needed major alteration for lack of height ,

so i laid a reinforced slab of high density concrete and positioned my 2 post outside , works well







i get my X-type, XJS , XJ40 XF and my Smart car on there without issue

BB

 

I went with a four post because I needed the ability to move it around the shop if necessary. Like one said - why didn't I buy one sooner? My Brother-in-law and I set it up ourselves. Took about four hours to get everything fettled.

Triumph four post with '61 Zephyr