jpitman2

The 928 jacking points are at the front and rear of the sill area, close to the outside of the car, so I doubt the short lift shown by the OP would be suitable.
I could not do any type of post hoist due to height limitations, so I went with the quickjacks. Have now done several lifts on 928 and 2 other cars, which required the optional pinch seam welded rubbers (slotted to engage the seam). No issues at all , except maybe the force required to get the connectors engaged. No leaks ever. Occasionally need to refill the small gas cylinders to improve the lowering process. Pic below will give you an idea of height - plenty of room to go under on a creeper, even for a fatty like me. Stability is excellent, although I have put a 20L/5gal drum in each side as a back up - they are a nice fit, and should slow down the collapse if something fails. The struts that take the load when set are in pure compression, and the top bolt seems adequate.
Attachment 1343104
I found that it needs both the thick and thin rubbers on the 928 used to avoid the steel part of the lift fouling on the rear footwell curved section. Have also lifted a Mazda3 and a Miata with the slitted rubbers, no issues.
Maybe I was suckered in, but was offered a slight discount - total of A$2300 with the optional rubbers, delivered. These days you might squeeze a deal out of the dealer (Qld)
jp 83 Euro S AT 57k

grepin

Hi JP,

Thats a good price. Was it for the basic 5000 series. I have a SUV as well and was sort of keen on the 7000 series.

G.P.

I'm 168 cm or about 5' 7" tall
Ceiling height is 2.5m

fatmanontwowheels

I have lift bars, but I am really liking the MaxJax. That looks to be a 8-10' ceiling which is what I have. ( Rob's pic )



__________________

dr bob

MaxJax reality: I use the first height setting, or put a jackstand under the carriage 90+ percent of the time. Big benefit is that the columns move out of the way between uses. Current workbay has ten-foot ceilings (lowered the floor a couple feet during major remodel, allowing room for four feet of lift at chassis height on otherwise six foot height SUV without hitting the ceiling. Adjust your expectations based on actual ceiling height. Easiest: Measure from vehicle roof to ceiling and lights. Got 42"? It will work for you. I'm 5'10" or so, an sit on a 12"-tall roller seat working under the car. I wear a hat and bump gently (learning...) on the lift arms but just clear the underside of the car. Just right for overhead work. Room to set a transmission on a cart, plenty for motor mounts and front cross-member removal if needed again. Bulk of use is at low lift heights, working in wheel spaces and such. Five bolts each side, quick disconnects for the hydraulics.

Look at the picture of Rob's workbay. We mounted the hydraulic unit on the wall, and routed hydraulic hose extensions in PVC pipe through the ceiling space, so no hoses to trip over. There are electrical and air drops available to the columns from overhead near the hoses so less cords and hoses on the floor. Pretty much took a "lessons-learned" list to his installation from my first. My current workbay is a bit wider and deeper than the "original" on in the L.A. hilltop place, but the stuff we did in Rob's is here now. There's another MaxJax-like lift that has stops every few inches vs. the three that the MaxJax columns offer, and I'd be looking hard at that knowing what i know now. The difference isn't enough to change from what I have, but it is undoubtedly an improvement.

The scissors-style are interesting but they are ALWAYS under the car unless you have a place to store them. Wall space is precious here, dominated by wall cabs and benches now. Not sure i'd like having to drive over those QuickJacks or find space to hang them out of the way when not in use. I use the workbay for other things too, so the clear floor is important.

For those playing along in the US, there's a QuickJack ad in the March Costco flyer I think, good for a few more days.

G.P.

I am in the process of making ramps for my scissor lift, so i won't actually drive 'over' the lift, but park the 928 on top of it. The 928 is the only thing that uses the garage space though (its a precious little thing).

FredR

The concern about using a square section beam is valid and used without thought could easily lead to collapse and mechanical damage to the car. In my [former] professional capacity I have planned and executed many heavy lifts using some of the biggest lifting kit on the planet the jewel in the crown being lifting 70 tonnes of redundant kit out of the middle of a huge cat cracker on the biggest refinery in the UK. The lift had to clear a structural height of 150 feet and the lift radius was 160 feet and that over a live process unit- if that does not make one's butt pucker nothing will!

All lifting operations have their own unique problems no matter how big or small and preparation/understanding is everything. First priority is to avoid injury and second priority is to avoid loss and lifting the 928 is no exception. It does not take a genius to understand that raising the car with a differential height element side to side has a degree of risk- the management of said risk is what counts.

Porsche never designed this car to be lifted onto axle stands or so I deduced. Seems they learnt something as my Cayenne actually is designed that way with a lifting point and a support point on each corner. When I first attempted to lift the car on my home brewed bars I simply lifted it on both sides in small increments of about 1 inch even trying to side load the car to test for any reaction- non! From testing I concluded the best approach was to lift with two jacks in increments of about 2 inches once the car was completely off the ground. Each jack was placed about a 1/3rd of the way along the beam. Lift with my trolley jack then lift with a multi stage bottle jack- secure under the axle stand and then go ot the other side and do the same until I had the max extension on the axle stands.

As stated earlier I fitted shear stops on the top side of the beam and my trolley jack has a three inch round pad with a rubber insert and some notches. The trolley jack also rolls in as the height increases thus the bottle jack is a secondary back-up device only- not really necessary but an increment of security. I recently used my scissor jacks in this secondary capacity- just takes a little longer.

From my point of view the problem is getting a decent jack- you can pay $100 for a trolley jack as I did but you will not be getting a Rolls Royce at that price point.

I was looking for something that took minimal fabrication effort- one cut with my angle grinder and the piece was nigh on complete. It is not a perfect solution and I understand its limitations thus the additional care and attention.

A round section beam would theoretically add a small increment of safety when lifting but may also introduce an additional element of insecurity due to the small pad area if/when using a bottle jack. If I were to do that I would put a "pliable pad between the jack pad and the lifting beam.

The minute we start working on these cars we take on responsibility for safety and integrity of what we do. Understanding and managing those risks is critical to success.

jpitman2

That was for the 5000slx, which has extended trays for the rubbers to allow for a car's lifting pads to be further apart. Apart from the unit needing to fit on the ground between the wheels, you also need the lifting rubber spacing to match your jacking points.
​​​Will work fine on all my cars except the Clubbie, whose chassis tapers at the front. The importer suggested using the jacks sideways, but havent tried that yet. None of mine are over 1500kgs, so the 5000 is adequate.

jp 83 Euro S AT 57k

zekgb

Was looking at the Twin Busch version of this lift pre-Apocalypse as I have a post tensioned concrete slab that can't be drilled into. Any issues with yours?

sendarius

I don't remember who supplied my MaxJax - which is crazy because the company's logo is on a sticker on each post, and I pass it almost every day.

Ironically, after I bought it, I moved into a workshop with more headroom (about 6 metres above where the hoist is installed), so I could easily accommodate a full height two-poster now.

G.P.

I am happy with the hoist, but it is manufactured in a place known for low standards, meaning that you should watch it closely when raising or lowering.
There are three buttons to operate it. Top button is up, Bottom button is down and the middle button lowers it slightly and locks a sturdy safety catch into a ratchet type mechanism on the base. This holds the hoist up without relying on the hydraulic system.
I had an issue with the adjustment of the safety mechanism when lowering, after I bolted it to the floor. One side stuck on the 'ratchet' and the car started lowering on one side only. This was scary but not an issue to adjust (I raised the car again and lowered it). You don't really need to bolt it to the floor, I just prefer it that way. I suspect there was a bit of movement in the frame when it was bolted to the floor and caused the adjustment on the safety catch to go out.
So yes, one serious issue, but easily overcome. I suspect most professional workshop hoists are installed by the manufacturer or supplier. The ones purchased for home use, are installed by the home owner, so the home owner needs to be aware of how it works and its adjustments. Check any welds for cracks and hydraulic leaks regularly.

grepin

A couple more options of the same theme. I do like this idea as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrYZsOgcoQI&t=823s

​​​​​​
You can buy these but once again not in Australia.

grepin

Sorry too much time on my hands in 14 day Isolation.

Wisconsin Joe

The new version of the bars for the older cars is straight.

I have a pair, one of the first pairs he made with the new design.

I can't speak for Ken, but if it were me, I'd get in touch with him and see if he'd sell you a set of plans for a nominal fee (and an agreement that you only use them to make a pair for yourself).

hb253

If anyone is interested, Costco has the Quickjack 5000SLX on sale for $999 including shipping. The sale ends today. I took the plunge and ordered one. I hope it doesn't disappoint.

Hugo