911 Crazy

Has anyone had any experience with a scissor lift? A buddy of mine has one and swears by it....and maybe at it. Says it's way more versatile than a 2 or 4 post lift. Easier to move, less expensive and not have to bolt to the floor. Thoughts?


Approx. $1500

911 Crazy

And I forgot, you can take it for a walk.......second picture I figure.

masterdave

The biggest advantage that scissor lifts give you, is the ability to do suspension work. I have been after one for a while for just this reason. The other nice thing with these cars is because they are rear engine they have no drive shaft in the middle. Thus with a scissor lift on the center of the tub of these cars, there is nothing you can not access. I would get one as apposed to a 4 post lift to do work on these cars. In my opinion the only reason to get a 4 post would be for storage. If you are looking for a work lift this is what you want. With a 4 post you cant do tires, breaks, any thing related to suspension for the most part, and depending on the lift you may not even be able to drop the engine through it. These are things that can all be done with a scissor lift.

Before you jump and buy this one, search your local craigslist people sell these kind of things all the time. Another good place to search is local garages that may be closing or just selling things. In a lot of cases you can buy a really nice lift used for the same price as a mediocre lift new. Im not saying this lift is mediocre I know nothing about it, just making a point.

Regards
Dave

salukijac

Tim correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't this covered in one of your previous threads?

Reiver

I think they are a good idea if you do not have the room (ceiling height) for a 2 or 4 post lift. The nicest thing about my 4 post lift is I can stand erect under it, walk for tools rather than low crawl.
If I need suspenion (tires off) work as I just did putting the front oil cooler in the wheel well you simply put the supports in the sliding bridge. The bridge came with the lift and you can do brakes or whatever you want to. I've had all 4 wheels off with the car on the lift.
Of course you can drop an engine thru a 4 post lift.
The complete belly of the car is open for access. Most scissors lifts have poles/braces directly under the vehicle that you have to work around.
I also stack cars for parking. It does not need to be attached to the floor and can be moved once set up.
Go to a pro shop and see what kind of lifts they use....they aren't scissor lifts.

masterdave

My reason for saying that you could not drop an engine was more speculation, some of the 4 post lifts I have seen dont seem wide enough to fit an engine through the center, I apologize for making the sweeping assumption.

911 Crazy

No it wasn't. Thank you.

Reiver

The distance between ramps on my lift is 38" and I'd guess that is about the same on all of them unless you are looking for a truck/ hvy equipment lift.
I looked at scissors too but didn't like the fact that I still had to lay down to work and many of them had cross bracing like the first pic where the braces would be right under your back unless you layed a sheet of plywood or something on them.
For a Porsche you'd also have to block the ramps with 2x4's or something to keep from crushing your oil lines.
What are they generally rated at for lifting capability?

911 Crazy

The one pictured is rated for 6000 lbs.

packet

The problem with most scissor lifts and 911s is it's a pain to drop the tranny. The majority of the scissor lifts out there are based on the same design. There's a rear support bar that gets in the way of removing the transmission. I've seen some that cut this off, but I wouldn't want to be modifying safety equipment. The Norco 86002 supposedly doesn't have this issue.

The top lift you posted looks like a low rise lift, which won't give you enough space to drop the engine.

While you can move a scissor lift around, it's not something I'd want to do on a daily basis. Also, you'll need to build a ramp to park the car over it.

blake

Check out this thread from the 993 forum: https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...ssor-lift.html

I have a Bend-Pak and contributed to that thread. If I could do it over, I would buy a MaxJack.

-B

Brett San Diego

Any one lift is not going to satisfy all your needs optimally. You really need two. The right lift for you depends on your priorities. Limited space? Need portability? That portable scissor could be just the ticket. The one you show is also open in the middle which is a bonus for access particularly with front engine cars. I have a Bend-Pak portable low-rise parallelogram-style lift. I push it way over to one side and park over it, but then I move it to the middle of the garage for more space all around the car when needed. I do wish I had more height, but it's good for now. I would really like a 4-post AND either a 2-post or mid rise scissor.



Brett

masterdave

In reference to the tranny drop, I have been looking at this one scissor lift a friend of mine is selling, its an older snap on lift and the back has a cut out in the center, although I have not had my car on it yet, it appears that the tranny would clear it. When I get the car on it I will post the results.

Regards
Dave

Reiver

Correct about one lift not being perfect.
Bottom line is any lift beats no lift.
I have a Direct Lift and really like it, makes pita work like oil chamges fun, don't even change clothes.
Just really pay attn to the safety factor, they are unforgiving if you are not paying attn.

Brett San Diego

Ain't that the truth. It's the best tool I ever bought.

Brett