My Christmas present to me

[alabbasi]

I've had a 2 post lift for a good few years now and it's been a real help especially when doing suspension work as I hate crawling around on the floor and underneath cars. However, when I tried to put my 1 ton pickup truck on it, it's simply too narrow and awkward as the arms have to be fully extended in order to lift the car up by the frame rails. I did not feel safe and so I ended up rebuilding the front suspension on the truck by using the lift to just pickup the front of the truck and leave the back wheels on the floor.

I now need to do the front pump seal on the transmission which requires the car to go up in the air. Every shop that I've spoken to wants about $2000 for the job (because they won't agree to just to the seal itself without doing the whole transmission) so I started looking for a 4 post lift and found this beast.

The PO has had it about 7 years and never put it up. It's American made, 12,000lbs capacity and the ramps are wide enough for my dually. It will also come in handy when I get around to working on my 300SEL which has faulty air suspension that can't be diagnosed on a two post lift.

Loading it on a trailer was all kinds of fun but I expect to get a lot of good use out of it once it's setup.

[rich.]

ok i will admit it, i am jealous.... show lots of pics when you have set it up

[Grumpy Northener]

Very wise purchase if you have the room for one - we fitted a two post when we extended my mates workshop and it has proved invaluable - I need something in my own workshop to get the vehicles off the ground but do not have the head room in my own workshop for a full lift - although useful for gaining underside access for me it is more about raising the lower half of the vehicle to a more comfortable working position - i.e. so that I don't have to get on my hands & knees when rubbing down or working on the lower sections of the vehicles so I am currently considering one of these which would resolve the issue http://www.cjautos.eu/product_p/cl02.htm It's air over hydraulic so I could also use it outside when I need to pressure wash a vehicle so there are no electrics effected etc - will lift 2,500 kilos and is fully mobile -any one else got a ramp / lift fitted in their workshop ?

[alabbasi]

My 2 post lift has come in really handy over the years, I bought it used from a buddy of mine and it had bad seals and a bad motor. By the time I got to rebuild the seals and the motor, I could have bought a new one but it would have been a cheaper Chinese lift and not a US made Rotary. It's quite heavy duty but not wide enough for a pick up truck with frame rails towards the center which make it awkward to lift.

If I had to choose one type of lift, it would be a 2 post because you can swing a hammer under one without having to work around the ramps. I also thought about this option which seems like a fantastic idea. It's basically designed like a pallet jack so you can take it to the car. In my mind, you can almost use this as a fork lift truck to stick cars and parts into tight spaces.

[JPB]

Wow! That has to qualify as one of the best ever ways to spend some money from the car budget. What a fabulous device.
I'm off to sniff around at eBay.

[alabbasi]

It's finally up, and with just one near death experience.

[rich.]

nice! how many cars have you got in that garage?

[alabbasi]

Too many, but i've elected to go through a purge and dismantle or sell a bunch of my project cars. I don't have enough years to fix them all.

[3xpendable]

If that red E30 is a 325i I'd be interested if you ever want to get rid. Should have a job soon!

ETA: Or is that a 5 series (E34)?

[3xpendable]

Wow! That has to qualify as one of the best ever ways to spend some money from the car budget. What a fabulous device.
I'm off to sniff around at eBay.

Trouble with that is is costs just as much as a permanent 4 post lift!