asoduk wrote: It should be noted that having a lift will lead you to buy other stuff, like a drain pan to use with the lift and some of those cool jack stands to use way up in the air for holding stuff up for you. This is only the beginning of the slippery slope though if you don't already have: a big compressor and air tools, a welder, lots of cutting tools, lots of work lights and a service cart.
Wait... Are you saying thats a bad thing or a benefit?
Tom_Spangler wrote:kevlarcorolla wrote: Honestly if the lift doesn't go high enough to walk upright under the car than I'd rather lay on my back with jackstands-no way I want to kneel or contort under something only 4 feet high.I'm a carpenter and spent enough time in crawlspaces 3 or 4 feet high to know it sucks doing ANYTHING.I agree. That is just high enough that you can't reach anything. And you have the lift in the way, too. No, thanks.
Really? If I do something under the hood of the Merc, I put the front end on ramps so I don't have to stoop over. For wheel-well work, I have to put it on jack stands (15 minutes by the time it's said and done) then jam my body in the wheel well to work. I'd LOVE to be able to stand up and replace struts or brakes. As far as under car work, a sitting creeper gets my body upright to allow leverage that a lay-down creeper just doesn't.
kevlarcorolla wrote: Honestly if the lift doesn't go high enough to walk upright under the car than I'd rather lay on my back with jackstands-no way I want to kneel or contort under something only 4 feet high.I'm a carpenter and spent enough time in crawlspaces 3 or 4 feet high to know it sucks doing ANYTHING.
Spoken like someone who has never used one. So you're sitting under the car instead of standing... BFD...
And yes... one of my first post-lift purchases was a 8 gallon oil drain tank. This one:
http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/p-15893-lisle-11102.aspx
I orginally planned to cut down the center pipe until I discovered the funnel fits directly into the tank neck.
An undercar support has been a bit more challenging. Northern tool sold a Torin mid-rise adjustable support for a short period of time, but I procrastinated and they sold out. I built one using the threaded bits from a full-size support and a H-F tripod support but haven't had need to try it out yet.
And I agree... for a lot of simple under hood work, I'll raise the car a foot or so off the ground some I'm not bending over so much. Is it a bit of a luxury? Maybe. But I have it and it makes wrenching more enjoyable, which is the whole point.
Lastly, the reality is I bought the lift mainly because at the time I was working a lot on MINIs and getting a MINI up high enough to even get under one with a creeper can be sketchy at times. After a couple of jack-stand scares with cars almost falling, the money for the lift seemed cheap.
In reply to Ian F:
My point was if your buying a lift go all the way,with the drive over scissor lift the bottom of the car isn't accessable anyway so unless you want to build,lug around a store some safe 4' tall jack stands go full height 2 post lift. Sitting under a car is FAR less comfortable than standing under a car so I "stand" by earlier opinion.
kevlarcorolla wrote: In reply to Ian F: My point was if your buying a lift go all the way,with the drive over scissor lift the bottom of the car isn't accessable anyway so unless you want to build,lug around a store some safe 4' tall jack stands go full height 2 post lift. Sitting under a car is FAR less comfortable than standing under a car so I "stand" by earlier opinion.
Like I said before, I'd love to have a 2-post for all the reasons you've mentioned. So what is your solution if you can't fit a 2-post?
I have worked on a car with a 2-post and to be honest, I don't care for standing and would rather sit. But that's just my opinion.
I have an old weaver two post lift in my shop. I have more money tied up in the nice floor jack I bought new
I couldn't be without a lift. I love it
But I am 6'5"tall. I often find myself lowering the car so I can sit and work because I am about two inches or so shy of being able to stand up under certain cars. I have even made blocks to put on the lift arms to raise the car that last two inches
I have no problems sitting on my stool and working though
Sitting on stool is much different then sitting on the floor or kneeling.I'd be also be happy sitting on a roller seat under a car.
I like to stand. Mostly maneuverability. I learned a long time ago (as a carpenter) that you can't work productively sitting down (even if you are nailing a floor).
It also gives me a sense of security. I like the idea that if I hear a weird loud noise, I can jump really quickly. I always keep an escape route.
Even if it's silly, it makes me feel better.
Of course if I had no ceiling height, I'd consider a chair over no lift at all. Just wouldn't like it as much.
kevlarcorolla wrote: In reply to Ian F: My point was if your buying a lift go all the way
Yes, and when you buy a sports car, you go all the way, right?
I don't have the room for a twin-post, so I'm looking to make a compromise that I can live with
Sitting under a car, on a rolling seat-creeper isn't as nice as standing, but it sure beats laying under it, with the bottom of the car 3" above my belly. It's hard to get leverage that way, I don't want to weld or cut metal that close to me. Also, doing brakes while standing as opposed to sitting on a 4X4 hunk of wood is a peach. Also, getting a car 3' in the air in 20 seconds, not 10 minutes is nice too.
But, you just keep holding out for that Muira.
Lucky for me my wife was willing to make compromises rather than waiting on that millionaire cowboy!
In reply to DrBoost:
Ah the American way,freedom to bear arms,freedom of speech,freedom to ask opinions and the freedom to tell those that offer their opinion why their wrong.
Buy whatever you want,your going to anyways.
kevlarcorolla wrote: In reply to DrBoost: Ah the American way,freedom to bear arms,freedom of speech,freedom to ask opinions and the freedom to tell those that offer their opinion why their wrong. Buy whatever you want,your going to anyways.
Do you think I was telling you that you are wrong? You had an opinion and you expressed it. Lots of people have died to give you that right and I'd never trample on that. I just expressed my personal reasons that I'd rather accept the compromise of a scizor lift over the compromise of no lift at all. I spent many years in a dealership as a tech so I think I'm pretty clear on the advantages of a proper twin post lift. Unfortunately, my garage just isn't big enough.
Will you still take me for a ride in the Muira 
Sorry the Miura does nothing for me at all and 2 of my race cars are single seaters so no rides.
Do office supply repairmen use scissor lifts?
kevlarcorolla wrote: In reply to DrBoost: Ah the American way,freedom to bear arms,freedom of speech,freedom to ask opinions and the freedom to tell those that offer their opinion why their wrong. Buy whatever you want,your going to anyways.
Well, I asked you for an alternative if one doesn't have room for a 2-post lift? I seriously doubt you can find crawling around on your back preferable to a scissor lift.
If you want access to the underside which I do than a scissor lift is a no go.
kevlarcorolla wrote: If you want access to the underside which I do than a scissor lift is a no go.
Really? Not if you do it right.
Ooo... I'd forgotten about that one. For anyone curious, here's the entire thread (with more pics and info) on Garage Journal:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35433&highlight=scissor+lift
Sucks the price ($3100) has gone up so much since the OP original posted the thread back in 2009 ($1830). Still tempting nonetheless.
kevlarcorolla wrote: In reply to Ian F: My point was if your buying a lift go all the way,with the drive over scissor lift the bottom of the car isn't accessable anyway so unless you want to build,lug around a store some safe 4' tall jack stands go full height 2 post lift. Sitting under a car is FAR less comfortable than standing under a car so I "stand" by earlier opinion.
I have both, a Rotary 10k midrise pad lift and a Challenger 7k two post. The Rotary is in use and the challenger isn't simply because I don't have the roof height for the challenger yet. Not to mention it is HUGE, so depending on your shop layout can really cramp your style. Right now I have cars packed in failry tight, which would be impossible with the two post, but easy with the midrise since you just drive over it when not in use, unlike the posts are the large lift which you always have to work around.
Also, I have a midrise, not a scissor. The midrise allows more access to the underside of the car. The end without the pistons is very open, so if you place the car right you'll have more access than you think.
Here is the midrise I have: http://www.rotarylift.com/templateProduct.aspx?id=718
In reply to Ian F:
I forgot about that one too...real nice setup.
In reply to DrBoost:
I converted a "house" on our property to my shop about 10 years ago and installed a 2 post short lift because of the ceiling height limitation - 9' at the back and 14' at the front, around 11' at the posts. Local zoning laws make it prohibitively expensive for me to make external changes to the building so I couldnt just raise the roof. The space has a couple horizontal support beams running thru the overhead to stabilize the glass and door 14' end to deal with. This Eagle fit my needs nicely. While the ceiling height means I cant lift cars high enough to walk my 6'2" around underneath without stooping, I have learned to do just that, or I use one of a couple roller seats. It beats the heck out of jack stands.
fasted58 wrote:phenryiv1 wrote: ^^^^^^^^^^^^ And the lift goes MUCH higher- I had it up only to test function.what is the maximum lift height?
Max raised height is 53" for the TD6MR (http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/Atlas-TD6MR-Portable-Scissor-Lift).
I had the garage door open in that picture, so if I went any higher I'd have hit the car on the door. With the door down (or with a high-lift garage door rail system) I'd be able to go to full height.
You'll need to log in to post.
