That’s your Garage? Wow! I am seriously in the wrong place…
does anybody in the forum have a normal concrete oil stained floor with boxes of everybody elses crap stacked around the edges? Seriously? Wow!! your garage is nicer than my house!
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I went with a 4 post because I wanted a way to store a car as well as work on it. I really didn’t think the process through when most of the work done on my clapped out Jaguars is suspension work. Dropping the IRS with a 4 post is pretty simple. I will admit, There is a bit of pucker factor when hanging the back of the car off the lift and the weight distribution is no longer equal on all 4 posts in order to drop the IRS out. for this reason alone, I’m seriously considering getting a two post lift. If I do, I will weld up some arms that extend under the tires, to keep the IRS from falling on the ground or the car underneath while being stored for the winter.
Most lift websites have the installation manual for preview online. review the installation requirements carefully. I laid string out so I could visualize where the lift was going to be placed. Naturally all of my planning went in the toilet once I got the lift assembled. Here’s some things to consider:
- It’s basically measure, and then measure again.
- leave enough room to get around the lift once its installed.
- review clearance and possible obstructions - The garage door, door hardware and how far the garage door goes back when opened.
- This one is extremely important with a 4 post lift they can’t be installed on a slope, and the ramps must be perfectly level, and parallel with one another. otherwise you run the risk of the posts buckling and some seriously bad will ensue.
- Most garages have some slope. Not enough to would prevent installing a lift. My garage floor had about a 10 degree slope starting 24" from the garage door, which forced me to put the lift back an additional 2 feet. My garage has a 10’ ceiling, but the garage doors hang down about 16" below the ceiling. I ended up removing the door opener, moved the lift back far enough where I could get the car on the lift, and back far enough were I could open the garage door without pushing the door the the windscreen. Once I figured out how high I could put the car up on the lift without pushing through the garage ceiling and into my daughters bedroom, I marked the post on the lift.
- Jags aren’t very tall as a mater of fact I lose mine in the car park all of the time because I can’t see it. The roof line way below nearly any car on the road today. Anyway, think about what is going to go up or under the lift and make sure there’s enough clearance. I’ve got my XJS on top and the XJR underneath, with plenty of room to open the bonnet or the boot without hitting the lift. On the flip side, there is no way in hell I’d get the the Suburban under the lift.
if you want more information on how to pick a lift, PM Private Message me and I’ll share my research. It was a daunting task when I first thought about it. Twenty Five hundred bucks is a lot of money to me; Money that I don’t let go of easily; so making sure what I ended up with was going to work perfectly for my needs was paramount.
Hope this helps.
Well planned… (He must be a rithmetician) 
oooops"… need 20 words, don’t I! fourteen fifteen sixteen seventeen eighteen nineteen twenty
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You really should submit this as a screenplay to the Red Green Show…!!!
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Yes, that is my garage attached to the house with a breezeway. I have since expanded with a 25 x 25 addition to the back side. Never can have to much space. As far as the garage door, I used a direct drive motor and a high lift door. That way the door will not open into a car on the lift and there is no arm protruding with a chain or belt drive. Epoxy flooring is the way to go also. Easy to clean, sweep and looks great. Don’t forget to install heat & air. No use sweating while working on a car.
With the two post lift, the only time I have been nervous about the car being light on either end is when the bonnet is off and you pull the engine. The front end is a bit light but still not enough to go anywhere. Easy enough to add a chain or strap for stability if you are nervous. Best part of a two post lift is the car is out there where you can get to everything easily.
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Yep: 400 square feet, containing a good deal of what used to be in my 3500 sq. ft. shop, of olde.
If I have to hang a 1/2” wrench, it takes me a few minutes to find enough room to do it…
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If it is in the budget, a thermal floor is the cat’s meow! Once you’ve worked on a radiant floor, you will wonder how you ever did without.
I remember thermal floors when I lived in San Francisco years ago. Really nice and quiet. However in Atlanta, the heat and humidity are more of a factor. Almost Christmas and is will be 66 degrees today. Colorado is a bit different.
After reading about a couple of forum members removing the rear suspension by hanging the back of the car off the end of a four post lift I thought I would show the way I removed mine. I think it is easier and safer. I first put the car on the hoist in the normal way and removed all the connections except for one of the through bolts in each of the 4 suspension mounts. I then dropped the car back down and pushed it off the lift,raised the lift back up and pushed it back under the runways. 2 heavy duty tiedown straps with a 10000 lb. rating were then looped around under the body being carefull to avoid any sharp things. On a finished car sill protection would be in order but mine have to be cut out anyways. The rear suspension can now be supported on a low wheeled dolly, the remaining 4 bolts removed and the whole car lifted. There is no need to to have any part of your body under the car at any time except when it is originally on the lift to remove the main connections. (And to reach into the wheel wells to pull out the last 4 bolts). If you are worried about the straps damaging the sills a heavy beam could be placed under the car front and back and the straps connected to the beams with. adequate spacers between beam and lifting points. Hope this is helpful.
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Once my kids had grown, I picked up a 4 post, It actually makes doing the routine jobs fun again and you work like a human.
Just cleaning the cars or checking things is such a pleasure.
I agree, couldn’t live without one now.
GTJOEY1314
Just cleaning the cars or checking things is such a pleasure.
I agree, couldn’t live without one now.
GTJOEY1314
As an inferior alternative this works pretty well for most operations like changing out the exhaust system. It will be like this a while; UPS misplaced my new down pipes.
I’m seriously considering a two post lift. I like the looks of Doug’s MaxJax.
It was more of a general statement, Dick: for others who arent in such tropical climes…
Seven years ago, I borrowed a friends lift to change the clutch in a Miata and I said to myself, “I’m 58 years old and I don’t have one of these. What is wrong with this picture?” So I bought one.
My ceiling is only 9’ 1" so I vaulted the ceiling for eight feet of it. I set up the lift and used it for a scaffold:
cheers
Doug
Geoff, everyone has their own methods but!! STRAPS EASIER SAFER,
Cmon! Take ALL the bolts out when on the Fourposter, lower, then wheel the car back allowing clearance for the suspension, block the body then raise the lift leaving the sus assembly on its wheels ,or a dolly,at no time are you under the car. A simple “slave” axle is then attached to maintain mobility.
When Brown`s Lane closed the dispersal sale included numerous
Fourposters, hammer price approx 400 sterling each, I think mine was
located in the rectification dept,so, of course!!! small usage.
Peter B
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Thank you Dirt! I like you’re work space, I feel at home 
I’ve been debating this for ages. A MaxJax makes a lot of sense for me as I have a tight 3 bay garage. However, I’ve really been looking at the QuickJack which has a very loyal following.
My main concern is will I really do enough of my own work to warrant the space and expense. I’m not very good with my hands.
Know how you can get better?
DIVE IN!! Hang around this Gang, and I bet you’ll never come up with a question they cannot answer!
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A lift makes many jobs a lot easier, and faster. Bleeding the clutch or rear brakes really isn’t a bother when the car is up above you.
And if you’re not used to working on it yourself it’s a lot easier to walk over to your tool cabinet to get the right size wrench etc. than to roll out from under the car, stand up, walk over, grab the tool, walk back, get back down on the damned creeper, roll back under the damned car…
EDIT: This doubly so for the period when you keep thinking “That’s 1/2 inch” when it is in fact 9/16.