Hi jag members, any own a 4 post lift in their garage. Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

Don't have a 4 post, but do have a 2 post lift. I've really enjoyed it, as have my neighbors and friends! The 4 post is easier to use for general maintenance ( just drive on and go). The two post takes a couple of minutes to position the legs, but allows for access to the suspension, wheels, brakes, etc without having to use secondary lifting devices, etc. I think the choice depends a lot on how you intend to use the lift.

 

Thanks, will use for xjr underneath. Storage and working on cars.

 

I don't have one, but would definitely recommend a 2 post over a 4 post for access and working under the car. If you just want to store a car, then go for a 4 post.

 

2 post lifts are versatile. Here I'm using mine to remove a motorcycle engine from it's stand.

 

If you have a CBX, you better be posting more than just that photo!

 

One American spec and one UK spec.

 

I have a 2 post used commercial from work 20 years old. My neighbor has a 4 post and hates it because most everything you do, the ramps are in the way. Reason I purchased a used commercial is because the lift service company said the residential/China are crap and they replace motors and leaking rams all the time.
Ide even like to get another 2 post since I have a 40x60 12 car garage behind the house.

 

I have a 4-post lift. I bought one of the Chinese ones called Direct Lift fifteen years ago and love it. They advertise its ALI certified if that means anything. The ram did start leaking after about ten years but that's when I discovered that my installer had filled it with ATF instead of hydraulic fluid. I posted about it on the garage journal forum and from the replies I got back it seems its pretty common to use ATF and divided about 50/50 opinion-wise whether you should or not. The rebuild kit for the ram was $85 and I flushed it and put the factory recommended hydraulic fluid in it. No big deal really. Wouldn't stop me from buying another one. Mine gets operated a couple of times at least every weekend. If I were using it more frequently, it might need service more often.

If you want to stack cars for storage, the the 4-post is the way go. The 2-post is definitely more versatile for working on cars, but its not good to store your cars with the suspension hanging at full extension. I needed occasional extra car storage so my compromise solution was I also ordered two of the sliding scissor jacks so that I can easily raise all four wheels off the ramps. In fact its actually somewhat better for things like doing brake jobs because its like having your car mounted in a vise on top of your work bench. The stuff that's hard to do on a 4-post is primarily with front-wheel drive or rear/mid-engined cars as you can't just drop components straight out the bottom with the ramps in the way. With front-engine, rear wheel drive cars, you can do most everything on a 4-post with sliding jacks. I've only run into issues with dropping fuel tanks and sometimes with suspension work I wish my sliding jacks went a couple inches higher. It'd be nice for example to be able to drop the front cradle out of the XJ8 to replace the bushings, but I can do 90% of everything I'd ever want to do. The one thing I found the 4-post is awesome at is lifting a Corvette body off a frame because I can attach many straps to support the entire length at every body mount so no risk of cracking the fiberglass. Another thing that's great about the 4-post is the drive-on convenience for simple and repetitive stuff like oil changes which is most of what I do anyway.

But whatever you do, DON'T mess with the "jack tray" that comes with every basic 4-post lift package and definitely don't buy a second jack tray. Just throw that in the metal recycling bin. Its too narrow to reach the proper jacking points on most cars and if you're doing that then you might as well be on the floor with jackstands anyway. The sliding scissor jacks are about $750 each and you need two of them, but they are worth every penny of $1,500. When I bought mine, I bought it from a local vendor and I also paid $450 for delivery and setup. The pieces are extremely heavy and dangerous if you don't know what you are doing and don't have heavy equipment. The experts assembled mine in their shop, made sure it all worked, then brought it out on a trailer. Well worth it.

Of course if you don't need storage and just doing repair work then the 2-post is more bang for your buck. Its not as convenient for those oil changes but if you are not a professional, then you may want the versatility over speed. If I had room for another, I'd buy a two post and have one of each. The only other issue to think about with a 2-post lift is do you have the concrete thickness and PSI rating for the anchor bolts. You don't want a front-heavy car to tip over and pull out the anchors.

Whichever you choose, you won't regret it. It makes working on your car so much more pleasant a task that you'll wonder how you ever got along with it.

 

I also have a direct lift 4 post lift and it has performed well. I have had for around twelve years with no problems. A 2 post is better for heavy torquing but mine is mainly for storage and regular maintenance.

 

Yes, I've run into that with the ramps being in the way of swinging tools occasionally, particularly working on a old rusty antique car and needing to use a long cheater bar to break bolts loose. But if you have a 2-post, that's also where you want to be absolutely certain of it being well anchored and that the concrete is up to spec. Just imagine what 300 ft/lbs at the axle translates to at the base of the lift.

 

Pdupler, i paid $1500 installed
also who said a 2 post is not good for storage and leaving suspension hanging???
All the long term of even short term storage is take the weight off the suspenion. And im sure youve heard of flat spotting tires which happens every time when you leave the weight on the tires and suspension. Springs sag too all theyre constantly supporting the weight of the car. My race cars slicks are so flat spotted they have to be replaced from flat spotting and ha to adjust the spring up since the ride height dropped. Just was not able to leave on stands moving to much in the shop and had on car casters.

 

I've learned a lesson the hard way. For most cars, suspension is set up with alignment and all the bolts torqued while the full weight is on the wheels so that the rubber or polyurethane is neutral at the normal stance. When the suspension is left hanging at its extreme extension, then the rubber in your bushings is in stress just like the rubber in your tires when they are sitting in one spot. So tires or suspension bushings, either way, but tires are easier to replace. I messed up some brand new bushings just from leaving a car hanging for a few months duration of a repair project. Its like stretching a rubber band and leaving it. Eventually it takes a new set and loses some of its elasticity. Now for tires I had bought some reproduction Goodyear bias ply tires that do flat spot really, really bad, much worse than radials (I think that's why they called them "Wide Ovals" in the first place ). Wound up buying a second set of radials and swapping them out for show. They do sell some tire cradles designed to maintain the curvature of your tires while in storage, but I've never tried any. That may be another option. I have another car that has some radials that I can't get the same size anymore so I use a trick I learned back in my autocrossing days and keep them aired up to 45psi. That minimizes the flat spotting, plus I try to get it out once a month, two at most. At that, I can drop them to standard pressure to drive on and any flat spots will generally work themselves out within a few miles of driving. There is no perfect solution for car storage except to dismantle it and put all the parts on a shelf in climate-controlled storage. Springs take a set too, but my guess is steel must not be nearly as vulnerable as the rubber parts as it seems to take a decade or more to lose noticeable ride height.

 

yep nothing is ideal and bushings do have a range of twist and movement. where you will run into issue with any rubber product and urethane also is age. when they set and aren't used they dry rot much faster than when being used. moral of the story, drive our cars and don't let then sit .
Oh and on the tire flat spotting issue, air them up to 50-60psi like Jaguar does to all new cars shipped over from the UK so theyre not flat spotted. We don't let the air down till delivered to new owner

 

I used to have a turbo charged 1979...what a hand full to try to drive.
wj