lift question: Grassroots Motorsports forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

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Oct. 1, 2009 7:05 p.m. willy19592 Reader

My Son and I bought a 2 post lift for the shop. its the "portable max jax" it has 3 positive lock points where you raise the car, and put in bars , let it down and relieve the pressure off the hydraulics.

so, i kinda forget half the time to put these bars in, I was raised in a garage long ago that this was never an issue. My Son really gets weird about this. thinks i will wreck the lift. by not putting the bars in, and leaving the miata in the air.

Most times said miata already has the engine and sub frame out, so I would guess the weight is some where around 1500 pounds or less.

opinions is this bad?

is my Son being overly cautious?

note, I would never go under the car without the bars, this is just rising and lowering taking stuff off, and then leaving the shop
Oct. 1, 2009 7:09 p.m. mad_machine SuperDork

safety first.... while I doubt you would hurt the hydraulics... it is best to get into the habit of ALWAYS using the pins. The one time you forget and crawl under, could be your last
Oct. 1, 2009 7:29 p.m. stuart in mn SuperDork

mad_machine wrote:

safety first.... while I doubt you would hurt the hydraulics... it is best to get into the habit of ALWAYS using the pins. The one time you forget and crawl under, could be your last

x 1,000,000. Even if you're not standing underneath when it fails, it won't do the car any favors either.
Oct. 1, 2009 7:42 p.m. willy19592 Reader

like I said, when Im working under a load im cautious. Im talking about leaving the shop. and hehe the cars we are taking apart.. well if they came down I doubt it would be a loss ;)
Oct. 1, 2009 8:17 p.m. blizazer New Reader

If you're not in the shop, then who's going to caution the other guy who stopped by and is about to crawl under the car?

I use underhoist stands every time. Its cheap insurance.
Oct. 1, 2009 8:41 p.m. ww SuperDork

I also have a MaxJax and I neglected to put the safety bars on one time and went inside for "just a minute". The next morning when I came out, one column was "several" inches lower than the other and there was a nice puddle under the control caddy where the hydraulic fluid had seeped out from the blank screw on the right side that didn't have a perfect seal.

I always use the safety bars now.
Oct. 1, 2009 9:48 p.m. mad_machine SuperDork

I just find that once you get "sloppy" about not doing something under one set of circumstances.. it is too easy to get sloppy under all of them.

Like when I deal with power cables on stage. Even if I KNOW they are not energised.. I ALWAYS treat them like they are.
Oct. 2, 2009 6:00 a.m. 914Driver SuperDork

Imagine you son walking into the garage and trying to call 911 while pulling you out from under a 1500 lb. car.

Don't be stupid, the bars are there for a reason.
Hydraulics leak.

Safety First!
Oct. 2, 2009 6:34 a.m. spin_out New Reader

I once crawled under a 5,500 lb Lincoln and remember thinking, I had better be careful here, this is a very heavy car. Then I thought, wouldn't a 2,000 lb car also crush me. Safety first.
Oct. 2, 2009 7:41 a.m. car39 Reader

One tech where I work disabled the safety catches so he could lower the car faster (flat rate speed = $$) and was written up for it. Bitch, moan, bitch, moan, and a few days later, the hydraulics ruptured on the lift next to him. Car fell 6 inches onto the safeties and stayed there. Funny thing, end of the bitching and moaning. Car was stuck there for a day until the lift could be fixed, but we didn't lose work to attend a funeral.
Oct. 2, 2009 7:48 a.m. walterj Dork

Never, ever use any sort of "pins". Where is the excitement in that? I think people get too hung up on safety. I would try to make it interesting - like putting spikes hanging down from the car and marbles on the floor. Tie the release lever to the doorknob with some string... be creative.
Oct. 4, 2009 8:43 a.m. willy19592 Reader

okay, all points well taken, and I also thought about the fact leaving it up without pins and then my son getting under it, not knowing and getting hurt, for my lack of thought. Thanks guys Been thru the loss of a child already, dont need that ever again (medical, not an accident)

I have taught him from the time he was a youngin never to be under a car without jack stands, on a jack, and its one thing he actually listened to me on lol.

I am interested in the lift stands that the other poster talked about, any idea where we can find them? I have never heard of them.

reiterate I will always use the pins now, but I still want to know if I can actually damage the unit by leaving a car in the air without them? just kinda a point of knowledge now ;) and a beer argument with my son ;)
Oct. 4, 2009 10:38 a.m. porksboy Dork

I lost a friend I went to school with when the lift he was working under fell and crushed him beneath a Mercedes 560SEL.

Also be aware that you can pull the car or parts of one off on top of your self while under a car. Another friend was killed when he went to pull the oil drain plug loose. The front of the car broke loose just in front of the B pillar and crushed him. Seems someone had welded the good back half and front good half together and sold the car. Car comes in to shop for an oil change and the rest is history. Yes, people went to prison over that one. Not for directly for the death tho, selling a car without disclosing such things to a Federal prosecutor is not a smart move.

Shake the E36 M3 out of the car as soon as the wheels leave the floor. Dont put yourself under a car unless you know it is structurally sound and above all else

NEVER GET UNDER A CAR WHEN ALONE!

remember this is suposed to be fun, a little of the fun goes away each time someone gets killed or maimed from a careless acident that could have been avoided.