[tamathumper]

Here's a couple of photos of my car up on the Harbor Freight 6,000 Lb Scissor Lift. They have a short lift, and a mid-lift, and this is the mid-lift.







There is just enough room under there to be comfortable working overhead from your knees, or on a little roller stool. My garage height (with the gantry crane overhead) would not allow me much more lift than this anyway, and the real reason I bought it is that it's portable so I can take it to my next house.



I can't tell if there is deflection in the back lift arm or not, (it looks like it) under the passenger rear, but I give it the woolly eyeball every time I walk by, and there are no less than four 2-Ton jackstands under the car too, just in case something goes wonky with this thing.







I notice that the car tends to be a bit "nose down" due to the lift points in the rear being lower than the very front of the frame rails in the front. I did not want to use the "safe points" in the front of the car due to them being collapsible on the 944 I had, and there is no good information on using them for the 968.

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[mbardeen]

Nice! I'd love to have a lift. I've been leaning towards a 4 post, so I can get 3 cars into my (future) 2 car garage. But this is nice since it's "portable" and doesn't take up too much space.

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[DaveN]

Looks good but I'm curious. With the lift in place and those 4 towering jack stands securing everything where does the mechanic get to stand and work?

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[tamathumper]

The photo makes it look tighter than it is. Which reminds me of a girlfr,... Never mind.



I'm working on the clutch so I have the car backwards on the lift, one end if which is pretty open between the lift arms. I can get right between the two jack stands and have plenty of room to work overhead. Not standing, mind you, but way, way more room than if the car were on short jacks and I was on a creeper.



I have had a pretty easy time of it so far, knock on wood, but if I were on a creeper this would be the job from hell.

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[flash]

no problems dropping the exhaust?

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[mbardeen]

If you lived in a seismic place, where the earth has an alarming tendency to shake.. would you trust that lift + the jack stands to keep your car in the air?

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[tamathumper]

@flash - nope, no problems removing the exhaust. I did have to lower the lift slightly, leaving the car supported by the jack stands in the front, to get off the rearmost steel pan because it has those high "ears" on it, but only by a couple of inches.



@mbardeen - I can't say about that because I've never lived in a seismic zone, so I don't know how much the earth moves. I can't say as I'd trust anything to hold my car up if the earth started shaking, because any support would be susceptible to a given harmonic, would it not?

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[flash]

hmmm - i may have to consider this lift. i have a tension slab floor, which means i have to x-ray it to drill for any other lift. if i get a metal plate for the ground, to save my floor, and then use one of these, i wouldn't have to do anything.



what is the height of the unit when it is fully down? my car is pretty low, and i wonder if i need to make ramps?

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[tamathumper]

flash, here's a link to the product manual, which states the height at the pads is 7" fully retracted. The pads come out, though, and save a few inches so the total height might be less than that, probably about 5" I'm guessing.



I used four 10' 2x6 on each side, nailed together double-thick with cross-members to put my tires into, and then built short hillbilly ramps to get up onto them. It works great for my needs, but it's probably not for everyone.



When I get into the new house, I'll build some proper ramps, or put it into a shallow pit.

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[mbardeen]

I'm leaning towards the 4 post lift because I want long term storage -- Porsche on top -- and that strikes me as the most stable especially when the earth moves. During the 8.8 that we had two years ago and the 7.2 we had just recently, there was a lot of quick jarring motions, but not a lot of big swaying. With either type of motion, I can't imagine that I'd want a car stored on a 2 post...



The problem is that the 4 posts don't really make it easy to work under the car, so this would be ideal to have as an auxiliary "work" lift.



Regardless, those kinds of decisions are a long way off at this point. I still need to build the garage to house them.

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[WJH]

[quote name='mbardeen' timestamp='1334615741' post='125300']

I'm leaning towards the 4 post lift because I want long term storage -- Porsche on top -- and that strikes me as the most stable especially when the earth moves. During the 8.8 that we had two years ago and the 7.2 we had just recently, there was a lot of quick jarring motions, but not a lot of big swaying. With either type of motion, I can't imagine that I'd want a car stored on a 2 post...



The problem is that the 4 posts don't really make it easy to work under the car, so this would be ideal to have as an auxiliary "work" lift.



Regardless, those kinds of decisions are a long way off at this point. I still need to build the garage to house them.

[/quote]

Don't believe everything you hear. I've got a four post Direct-Lift. I've found nothing that I can't do on my cars and truck. I've done brake lines, dropped gas tanks, removed and replaced exhausts, headers, starters, timing belts, radiators, etc. With a bridge jack (just recently got one) or just using the jack tray that comes with the lift, you can also do wheel work. I lift one end of the car with the bridge jack, raise the lift to a level where I can look at the wheel, take it off, and go to work. As a bonus, the runner acts as a nice work surface for your tools.



Last week I decided to clay bar the car and detail up the paint. When cleaning the wheels or working on the lower painted areas, I just put it on the lift and set it at chest level - sweet!



In a nutshell, I like my lift. It is the BEST CAR TOOL I ever bought.

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[flash]

there are advantages and disadvantages to a 4 post.



it's a bit more of a pain for suspension work, but it also allows you to do corner balancing and alignments.



it takes more space and can get in the way, but can create more space by allowing a car parked underneath.

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[WJH]

[quote name='flash' timestamp='1334713684' post='125414']

there are advantages and disadvantages to a 4 post.



it's a bit more of a pain for suspension work, but it also allows you to do corner balancing and alignments.



it takes more space and can get in the way, but can create more space by allowing a car parked underneath.

[/quote]

I bought an extra height lift. When I don't have a car on the lift or want to do something else in the space I put it all the way up. I then have around 6' under the ramps and can easily walk under and use the space to do other things. Mine also came with wheels that allow for the lift to be moved although I don't move mine.

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[Ryan]

I have one of these as well. It is made by Bend Pak and is very handy.

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[flash]

yeah - the only thing i have to figure out to make it work is the ramp and plate.



my garage floor is finished, and i don't want to scratch that up as the lift rolls up and back, nor do i want something that is going to look bad because i can't clean it. i haven't figured out what that surface wants to be yet.



the ramps will need to be made so they also look good. they would need to be aluminum so i can keep them clean and then move them to clean the floor. they are likely to cost me as much as the lift itself.



which is why i still don't have one.

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[DaveN]

I never thought of buying a lift to work on my antenna <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/rolleyes.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/laugh.png" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[robadams56]

I am still trying to figure out, what do you use as the lifting points? If you use the safepoints, where would you place jackstands and where do you find jackstands that tall?

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[tamathumper]

I used the safety/lift points in the rear, and I used the front-most points on the frame rails in the front. Then I placed the jack stands under points that will hold up the car, but that I probably would not use to lift it except in an emergency, for instance under the transmission in the rear, and under the control arms in the front. I think I got those terms right. Some sources say the front safe points are OK on the 968, but I know they weren't on my 944S and I just haven't dared to try them.



I got the jack stands at Harbor Freight. They had them all in stock, and they were $59 each.



I kind of used this picture as a guide:

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[robadams56]

Thanks tama....useful information!



rob

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[AJG]

This jack just looks wrong. Is there an independent locking machanism should there be some kind of failure? It would come down like a ton of bricks.

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