Half the stuff we do to our cars is easier if the car is off the ground. Whether you’re performing major suspension surgery or simply swapping your street wheels for your track setup, getting some air between the ground and the undercarriage increases the efficiency of your wrench time.
For many folks, getting a car off the ground means using …
For safety, I also bought the mechanical-style lift. I bought the EZ Car-Lift, made in California. It is also drill driven, with acme threads on the links it cannot come down, unless driven down with the drill. This one comes apart for easy transit, and, after it is at full lift a cross link at one end can be removed, allowing most any powertrain work. There is even an option for 4-wheels which are locked into place - but still swivel - so you can move the car around even when off the ground. Handy and safe. I choose not to go under a car when only jack-stands are holding it up (maybe).
sethracer said:For safety, I also bought the mechanical-style lift.
FWIW, while the QuickJack is hydraulic power mechanism, it has a mechanical safety (legs that drop into place onto a safety catch) when it's all the way up. You definitely don't crawl under it without engaging those.
(It's visible in the photo with the Fiat -- look at the black tube going at the opposite angle to the main hinged sides)
Also, the article says:
While the Autolift3000 occupies a larger footprint than the QuickJack, its much lighter weight makes it far more feasible for a lone operator to move and store
While the autolift3000 is 99 pounds (per the specs on the web site), the individual frames on the QJ 5000 are 76 with another 15 for the power unit. So yes, the QuickJack as a whole is heavier, but you only have to pick up one piece at a time. Also, one of the major use cases for portability is taking it to the track, and in that case I suspect the 3500 makes more sense. It's lighter (frames are 60 lbs) and while the capacity is lower, it's enough for most track cars.
I see the autolift is now $1100 on their site and Costco sells the Quickjack for $1000-$1200 on sale. I am hoping in a couple years the lower the price below the $1k mark to make it a reasonable price for as little as I might use it, but useful to have it.
The only problem I have with these is that you can't access bolts and such from the side of the car. Often, that's the direction your body needs to face to have the torque you need for a bolt. Also, if you have a narrow car, there's hardly any elbow room once you're on a creeper.
Is there maybe an advertiser that sells the QJ? I just can't figure out a way to get a 2post in the garage without making someone unhappy most of the time.
_ said:The only problem I have with these is that you can't access bolts and such from the side of the car. Often, that's the direction your body needs to face to have the torque you need for a bolt. Also, if you have a narrow car, there's hardly any elbow room once you're on a creeper.
Use them to get the car in the air, put jackstands under it and take them down in that case.
Stefan said:_ said:The only problem I have with these is that you can't access bolts and such from the side of the car. Often, that's the direction your body needs to face to have the torque you need for a bolt. Also, if you have a narrow car, there's hardly any elbow room once you're on a creeper.
Use them to get the car in the air, put jackstands under it and take them down in that case.
That doesn't really work with the QuickJack because the ramps are long and are usually lifting from the spots where you'd put the jackstands.
That said, back when I used my QJ regularly (I have a big lift now so I mostly don't any more) I didn't find the lack of side access to be a big deal.
End if the year summary, I wanted an Autolift 3000 but when I went to shop for one in november, there were none to be had either from the manufacturers website or anywhere else I could find. The QJ 5000 however was on sale at home depot.com for 1050 for the unit itself, so I purchased it, along with the 7 inch risers that fit it. I just got it together last weekend and tested it and am very please with the quality and construction and ease of use. The older I get the less I want to mess with a floor jack and jack stands no matter what work Im doing on my cars.
Stefan said:_ said:The only problem I have with these is that you can't access bolts and such from the side of the car. Often, that's the direction your body needs to face to have the torque you need for a bolt. Also, if you have a narrow car, there's hardly any elbow room once you're on a creeper.
Use them to get the car in the air, put jackstands under it and take them down in that case.
I have a friend who has one. When he explains setting it up and getting the car in the air I think to myself, that seems like it takes the same amount of time as using a jack. And that's with a stupid car like mine that does not have front and rear center jack points.
I could see either of those products being useful at the track or something where you are getting a car up in the air many times a day and saving 3 mins each time really adds up.
gunner (Forum Supporter) said:*SNIP*
I just got it together last weekend and tested it and am very please with the quality and construction and ease of use. The older I get the less I want to mess with a floor jack and jack stands no matter what work Im doing on my cars.
I need to stop playing and do something like this myself.
Sorry to hi "jack" this thread, but do any of you have a Maxx Jaxx?
In reply to sethracer :
Can it be run with a cordless drill?
This looks like a nicer solution than the QuickJack, to be honest. More adjustable and importantly has the ability to mount rotating casters. I can see this being a very useful thing to have in the future.
ProDarwin said:Stefan said:_ said:The only problem I have with these is that you can't access bolts and such from the side of the car. Often, that's the direction your body needs to face to have the torque you need for a bolt. Also, if you have a narrow car, there's hardly any elbow room once you're on a creeper.
Use them to get the car in the air, put jackstands under it and take them down in that case.
I have a friend who has one. When he explains setting it up and getting the car in the air I think to myself, that seems like it takes the same amount of time as using a jack. And that's with a stupid car like mine that does not have front and rear center jack points.
I could see either of those products being useful at the track or something where you are getting a car up in the air many times a day and saving 3 mins each time really adds up.
Can confirm. I have a QuickJack and a low race car, and I have that car in the air between every session when I'm at the track in large part because it's so easy. I leave the QJ set up so I just have to park between the two frames. Get out, push them under the car and press a button.
But in the garage if I'm doing something quick like a wheel swap, I'll just use a jack. If it's something where I'd be using jackstands, I tend to use the QJ because it's both taller and more stable than jackstands. For example, when I was doing the MaxPeeDingrods testing I did all the work on the QJ because it was the right combination of convenience and capability. I can't think of the last time I put a car on jackstands when I think about it.
I've never felt limited by the inability to reach from the side and on a Miata it's been plenty wide enough for anything I've had to do underneath so far. But I have yet to use it for a transmission swap.
The lack of side access kills it for me, but I think that's partly a function of the vehicles currently in my garage. Probably would be fine on the Prius, but for the Jeep end access only would be awful due to having to climb past the solid axles. On the BMW, the car is just so long that certain things would require climbing a full body length under the car from one end (and in the case of checking trans fluid, it would require climbing that far under the running car). And certain things are just at a better angle to reach from the side.
For the height problem I mostly use 6 ton jackstands, as they can get a car up high enough for just about anything I'd need. In general, I'd rather spend the money on a good assortment of various size jackstands and a couple good jacks until I've got a space and budget that allows a proper lift.
I would think that a solid axle Jeep would be easiest to lift by putting jack stands under the axles themselves. I think this is probably the last time I put a car on jackstands, trying to deal with the amount of suspension travel in the XJ.
Keith Tanner said:I would think that a solid axle Jeep would be easiest to lift by putting jack stands under the axles themselves. I think this is probably the last time I put a car on jackstands, trying to deal with the amount of suspension travel in the XJ.
Unless you need the suspension drooped for the intended work, yeah, that's usually the best method. And when you need the suspension drooped, you either use very tall stands or you put the body on stands, then jack up the axles and remove the wheels to let the axles drop closer to the ground.
Keith Tanner said:I've never felt limited by the inability to reach from the side and on a Miata it's been plenty wide enough for anything I've had to do underneath so far. But I have yet to use it for a transmission swap.
I agree, the "can't get under from the side" seems like much bigger deal than it actually turns out to be. It's a few inches higher than typical jackstands which is just enough to mean that the creeper is much more usable than normal.
I have swapped transmissions and motors on my Miata using the quickjack, worked great.
If it's useful, here's a height comparison between a set of 2 ton jackstands and a QJ 3500 (the shortest of them all) with the shortest rubber pads. Shot this during a suspension development session.
Nothing to add about the functionality of either unit, but just wanted to point out a typo so you can fix it for posterity. In the second paragraph about the AutoLift, you said "cat" instead of "car"
and how it puts the cat at a favorable work angle.
I'm trying to avoid visualizing exactly what a favorable work angle is on a cat.
If I had seen this picture on QJ's website before purchasing, there would be a Quick Jack in my garage instead of a scissor lift.
Looks like this setup could address many of the concerns for a QJ... Reaching things from the side, different length units for different wheelbase cars, etc...
thedoc said:Sorry to hi "jack" this thread, but do any of you have a Maxx Jaxx?
I do. It has been outstanding up until a couple of weeks ago when the concrete at the base of one tower failed. It will be outstanding again as soon as I get the concrete replaced. If you buy one, check your concrete every time you use it. Mine was fine for almost three years before it cracked through three of the anchor holes.
I don't think I would like the Quickjack at all after using the MaxJax for a couple of years. The QJ limits access too much for the kind of work I frequently do.
The ability to do a brake job without squatting, or exhaust work sitting under the vehicle is well worth it. The only thing better would be a full height 2 post lift.
I just did a transfer case swap on this thing. A QJ wouldn't have put it far enough in the air to not be fighting it on my back.
Edit to say, the portability of the Quickjack would be awesome at the track though. Dealing with jack stands on dirt and asphalt is a pain in the butt.
I loved the idea of a QuickJack until I learned how much it weighed, which would discourage me from using it as a good jack and stands are a lot easier on my beat up shoulders.
What do they weigh?
(That's one of the biggest downsides of my scissor lift- 1700 lbs)
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